Brooklyn Jazz Underground - A Portrait of Brooklyn (2012)

The Brooklyn Jazz Underground, recently featured in the March 2012 issue of DownBeat Magazine, is an artist run association that is in constant motion and evolvement. This Spring the members, Anne Mette Iversen, Adam Kolker, David Smith and Rob Garcia are pleased to welcome three new members, vocalist Tammy Scheffer, pianist David Cook and drummer Owen Howard to the fold. They are pleased to announce the release of the first Brooklyn Jazz Underground Ensemble recording, A Portrait of Brooklyn, initiated by a grant from the Brooklyn Arts Council, and featuring David Smith (trumpet), Adam Kolker (tenor sax, alto sax, clarinet, bass clarinet, flute), Dan Pratt (tenor sax, clarinet, flute), Anne Mette Iversen (bass) and Rob Garcia (drums). The CD will be released on the BJU's sister company, Brooklyn Jazz Underground Records on June 26.

In 2011 the members of the Brooklyn Jazz Underground composed new music for their first collaborative effort, A Portrait of Brooklyn, for the premiere in May 2011 at Sycamore in Brooklyn (where the BJU, in collaboration with Connection Works, curates a weekly concert series). These performances marked the first time that the BJU members came together as an ensemble (previously they have only operated as an association of bandleaders performing independently with their own groups). "Performing together proved to be such a wonderful experience for us that we unanimously decided to record and release this collection of music. The CD, featuring two compositions from each member, that are reflective of our experiences living in Brooklyn, is not an attempt at defining or representing Brooklyn, it is simply A Portrait", said bassist/composer Iversen.