Jazz: CHARLES TOLLIVER

JAZZ welcomes a legend to the West Room for his debut at Nine Orchard. If you know anything about jazz, you know the name Charles Tolliver. If you don’t, then you’re in for a treat.

When asked, “What trumpet players do you hear today whom you like?" in an interview for DownBeat Magazine, Dizzy Gillespie replied: “Charles Tolliver – I like him.”

Entirely self-taught, Charles Tolliver is a foundational figure in jazz, with a storied reputation as a trumpeter, bandleader, composer, arranger, and educator. He began his professional career alongside saxophone giant Jackie McLean, making his debut on Blue Note Records in 1964. The rest is history. Since then, Charles has recorded and performed with an extraordinary list of artists, including Roy Haynes, Hank Mobley, Willie Bobo, Horace Silver, McCoy Tyner, Sonny Rollins, Booker Ervin, Gary Bartz, Herbie Hancock, The Gerald Wilson Orchestra, Oliver Nelson, Andrew Hill, Louis Hayes, Roy Ayers, Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers, and Max Roach.

A passionate evangelist for jazz, Charles co-founded Strata-East Records in 1971 with pianist Stanley Cowell. The label became a landmark for avant-garde, afro-centric, post-bop, and psychedelic jazz, with its most iconic release being Gil Scott-Heron & Brian Jackson’s “Winter in America,” featuring the enduring single “The Bottle.” Strata-East remains active today, with many historic reissues underway.

Charles is a master trumpet player, known for his distinctive sound and strong sense of tradition. On his approach to improvisation, he once shared: “I like to rumble. I take the most difficult routes for improvisation. It’s easy to play a number of choruses effortlessly and never make a mistake, never break down. That’s no fun. You need to get in hot water by trying something out right from the jump, get yourself out of that, and move on to the next chorus.”

Doors will open at 8:00 PM, with the performance starting at 9:00 PM, followed by records spun by Stretch Armstrong.