Soartet Performs at Amity Gallery

Known for its intimate venue and eclectic expositions of artists from April through October, the Amity Gallery in Warwick, featured a group of four musicians of Soartet who had all played with prominent world-class performers and who treated the crowd with covers of well-known jazz standards plus a few of their own brilliant compositions to the delight of the mostly adult audience.

”The Soartet was born of four musician’s desire to play in a relatively safe environment during the height of the COVID pandemic. Work had seriously diminished with the lockdown, clubs closed or went out of business, commercial work dried up, and playing sessions,” according to drummer Elliot Zigmund. “The large volume of gigs had also dropped precipitously with players’ desire to stay safe and uninfected by COVID. We all knew each other from past associations and decided to create a musical bubble, playing once a week over a period of approximately two years,” he added.

The idea for a band was spontaneous, revealed trumpeter Rick Savage. “We developed a unique sound with a nice blend of moods, textures and simpatico combining originals and standard tunes. We have been able to keep our jazz muscles strong and supple, our initial goal, as well as develop an ensemble with an original sound and an intimacy that comes from hundreds of hours playing and, more recently, performing together,” said Savage.

Soartet is comprised of veteran NYC jazz musicians that have worked a variety of notable musicians. They are seasoned jazz educators and have performed workshops and clinics throughout the US and abroad: David Janeway, keyboards; David Kingsnorth, bass; Rick Savage, trumpet and flugel horn; and Elliott Zigmund, drums.

Zigmund has been a professional musician for over 60 years. As a New York City native, he was steeped in the jazz tradition of the city with the help of an older brother who was an aspiring jazz guitarist. Zigmund earned a BA in music from combined studies at the City College of NY and Mannes College of Music. He has performed and recorded extensively with such jazz luminaries as Bill Evans, Michel Petrucciani, Jim Hall, Lee Konitz, John Abercrombie, Stan Getz, Eddie Gomez, Vince Guaraldi, Richie Beirach, and many others.

Savage was educated at world renowned music school Indiana University, musician/composer/ producer/audio engineer/videographer, Rick Savage has lived and worked in and around New York City for the past 36 years. He continues to be in demand as a performing and recording trumpet player, making guest solo appearances on the CD projects of many New York-area artists. His Rick Savage 4tet recently appeared at the Hudson Valley Jazz Fest. Savage also has a rich composing background. He scored “A Whole New Day” for Cinemax, staring James Gandolfini. Other composing credits include jingles and industrial films for Nissan and Pfizer. Locally, Savage is the owner of Savage Multimedia (savagemultimedia.com).

David Janeway grew up in Detroit in the early 60s and was heavily influenced by Motown and local jazz musicians such as Marcus Belgrave and Harold McKinney before moving to New York City in 1978. Janeway studied with the late Albert Dailey and performed with many Latin-jazz and mainstream jazz artists during this period, including The Supremes, Art Farmer, Angel Canales and Sabor, Michal Urbaniak, Jr. Cook, Sonny Fortune, Tom Harrell, Valery Ponomarev, Dakota Staton and many others.

Bassist David Kingsnorth has performed with the John Abercrombie /Rob Scheps Quartet, Eliot Zigmund, Joshua Breakstone, Oscar Brown Jr., Richard Wyands, Frank Jackson, the New Jersey Ballet, and the Orchestra of St. Peter by the Sea. He is originally from California, where he studied with John Clayton and received degrees in math and music from the University of California, Berkeley. He also received a master’s degree in classical performance from Montclair University, where he studied with Linda McKnight. He is currently on faculty there, where he continues to teach classes and in private.

The Amity Gallery (amitygallery.org) at the intersection of Amity Road and Newport Bridge Road in Warwick and developed by Phyllis Lehman and Diane Arcieri, provides unique programming throughout the season.