Grammy-nominated bassist/composer Stephan Crump is an active bandleader with fifteen critically acclaimed album cd’s, in addition to numerous film scoring contributions. Known for transforming his instrument into a speaking entity of magnetic pull, his focus on creative instrumental music has led to collaborations with many of the leading lights of his generation, most notably Vijay Iyer, in whose trio and sextet Crump played a dynamic, founding role.

In a rare solo bass concert at The Front Porch on Sunday October 27th at 4pm, sponsored by The Charlottesville Jazz Society and WTJU, Crump will play selections from his latest release Rocket Love.  Stephan’s solo performance, which explores his unique musical language through an expansive range of sonorities on the acoustic bass, is a culmination of decades of work as a bassist, composer, and improviser. Stephan can be heard with his own Rosetta Trio (with Jamie Fox, Liberty Ellman), his Rhombal quartet (with Ellery Eskelin, Adam O’Farrill, Tyshawn Sorey), Borderlands Trio (with Kris Davis, Eric McPherson) and other groups at the forefront of modern jazz. Crump’s physical and emotional connection to the bass is abundant through the new sextet album Slow Water, which explores ecology and environment through composition and group communication.

The New York Times says “Crump plays the bass with an effortless balance of molten flow and forceful power. For a listener, the result is another kind of healthy tension: between dynamic uncertainty and deep reassurance,” and All About Jazz calls Crump : “a visionary artist who can convey profound themes through the medium of sound.” Tickets to see Stephan Crump on Sunday afternoon October 27 th at 4 pm are available online at CJS.Ticketbud.com.

After the concert, walk across the mall to Miller’s for a free concert by Ivan Orr and Friends, also sponsored by The Charlottesville Jazz Society. For more information call 434-249-6191.