After the Herbie Hancock birthday celebration at Carnegie Hall, I rode the subway to Christopher Street and stopped in at the 55 Bar to see guitarist Mark Whitfield, drummer Billy Kilson and organist Pat Bianchi. Bassist Linda Oh joined the trio for the second set.
Mark graduated from the Berklee College of Music in 1987 and has since gone on to collaborate with numerous musicians including Art Blakey, Jimmy Smith, Herbie Hancock, Quincy Jones, Betty Carter, Ray Charles, Gladys Knight, Burt Bacharach, Wynton and Bradford Marsalis and George Benson.
Billy Kilson began playing drums at age 16 and has performed with bassist Dave Holland, Dianne Reeves, George Duke, Ahmad Jamal and George Duke.
Pat Bianchi was selected as one of the top 10 jazz organists by Downbeat magazine. The genre of jazz organ continues to grow in popularity with audiences worldwide.
The next stop was the birthday jam for Herbie Hancock at the City Winery on Varick Street with scores of musicians taking the stage including Robert Glasper, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Linda Oh, Jason Lindner, Mark Guiliana, James Genus and Nir Felder, all hosted by drummer Jeff "Tain" Watts. The evening ended at 4 A.M.
Mark graduated from the Berklee College of Music in 1987 and has since gone on to collaborate with numerous musicians including Art Blakey, Jimmy Smith, Herbie Hancock, Quincy Jones, Betty Carter, Ray Charles, Gladys Knight, Burt Bacharach, Wynton and Bradford Marsalis and George Benson.
Billy Kilson began playing drums at age 16 and has performed with bassist Dave Holland, Dianne Reeves, George Duke, Ahmad Jamal and George Duke.
Pat Bianchi was selected as one of the top 10 jazz organists by Downbeat magazine. The genre of jazz organ continues to grow in popularity with audiences worldwide.
The next stop was the birthday jam for Herbie Hancock at the City Winery on Varick Street with scores of musicians taking the stage including Robert Glasper, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Linda Oh, Jason Lindner, Mark Guiliana, James Genus and Nir Felder, all hosted by drummer Jeff "Tain" Watts. The evening ended at 4 A.M.
