Last month, I headed over to the Late Show set with Kojo Roney, by invitation of the show's band leader, Jonathan Batiste. We got to hear the band rehearse and we saw Stephen Colbert rehearsing some of the sketches and jokes for the taping. Afterwards, Jonathan asked Kojo and I to come up and play something with him, before everyone had to begin preparing for the taping. We played "Listen Here" by Eddie Harris for about five minutes! A minute is below (that was all that was taped). It was a great experience going to the set, as well as a great opportunity for us.
In February, I played "Well You Needn't" at the Dizzy's Saturday night jam session, hosted by Camille Thurman. I was playing with my friends Malick Koly and Jason Clotter! Russell Hall, Evan Sherman, Camille Thurman, all shared love and advice with me. Camille Thurman and Russell Hall were cheering me on during the song! I am very grateful for this opportunity and this wonderful experience :)
Three weeks ago, I played at Sista's Place, an establishment in Brooklyn with a strong understanding and awareness of Black and African culture. At Sista's Place, I was welcomed on stage to play with Mr. Rene McLean, the renowned multi-instrumentalist and son of Jackie McLean. I went to Sista's Place joining Kojo Roney and Antoine Roney (Kojo was the drummer on the gig). On bass was Dezron Douglas, Neil Clark on African percussion, and Davis Whitfield on piano. Antoine Roney, an established musician and a mentor of mine who has made me a more intelligent musician and thinker, also played soprano at the gig.
Rene McLean
I joined the band, along with Jovan Alexandre and Jordan Young, for the second set. We played two songs, with extended solos. The audience's presence was felt (to say the least!), and the energy was great in the club. It was an honor being on the same stage as Mr. McLean, and I look forward to learning from him in the future....
I am compiling recordings from my rehearsals with Jason Clotter (bass), Jordan Carr (drums), and Leo Posel (piano). So far, there is only one song, however, I will add more songs as we record more material. This compilation's purpose is to share our sound as a group, as well as the energy we bring and amount of interaction we try to achieve.
Last Saturday I played at Bill Saxton's jazz club in Harlem. I played a blues with him and Camille Thurman, and playing alongside them was an honor. Bill Saxton is a veteran of jazz and he showed me pictures of the legends he met. He was trying to 'do for me what the legends had done for him,' and I plan to go back to Bill's Place so I can learn more from him.
Emilio Modeste playing "Tenor Madness" at Bill's Place with Camille Thurman and Bill Saxton. 9/26/15
Monday Night (8/31), I had a gig with the Clifford Barbaro Quartet at Fat Cat. The gig was from 9PM to 12 Midnight. It was my first gig, and the first time I had been to Fat Cat. We played tunes from the late '60s, along with some standards. Below are some excerpts from the gig.
"'Til Then" with the Clifford Barbaro Quartet
"Don't Misunderstand" with the Clifford Barbaro Quartet
I played at the Saturday Afternoon Jam Session at Smalls Jazz Club. In this video I am playing over a blues in C. This was my first performance after having attended the Jazz at Lincoln Center Summer Jazz Academy.
In April, I had the opportunity to play at the Tribeca Family Festival with members of the Jazz Standard Youth Orchestra. Kojo Roney is on the drums. We played a thirty minute closing set until around 5 o'clock. This John Coltrane composition is a favorite of mine; the melody is so simple and leaves a great deal of space for the phrase to be absorbed by the listeners. The sound was not set up too great on the stage, but the concert was positive overall. Since this video, I am using a better horn and mouthpiece and have developed more complex thoughts.
Photos by Caroline Conejero
