Evan Harris Quartet featuring Nick Pennington at Breaking Ground Thanksgiving Dinner
I’ve been teaching for a fantastic non-profit organisation called S’Cool Sounds for a number of years. In addition to the thrill of teaching music, S’Cool Sounds also has an incredible knack for fostering a kind of symbiotic relationship with other benevolent organisations, whether they be schools in Kiberia, Kenya, or with Breaking Ground, on our own doorstep in New York City.
Over the summer I was fortunate to be a function of one such symbiosis, facilitating recorder and music classes on behalf of S’Cool Sounds, with my students being Breaking Ground residents of their Flat Iron District location, the Prince George. This beautiful hotel houses much New York heritage, and residents who were once homeless, and so the Prince George is a shining example of a lease of new life.
The program was terrific, heartwarming and by far the highlight of my week for its length of around three months, and culminated in a festive summer barbecue. The recorder ensemble was the highlight of the afternoon’s entertainment, and performed Duke Ellington’s “C Jam Blues”, Charlie Parker’s “My Little Suede Shoes” and Antonio Carlos Jobim’s “Samba de uma Nota So”. The recorder section was accompanied expertly by my longtime collaborator, Nick Pennington. Nick and I continued to play as background for the continuing festivities, and as the recorder performers revelled in their musical success.
This summer barbecue set the scene for a further performance at the Prince George, where my quartet appeared, again featuring Nick Pennington, for Breaking Ground’s Thanksgiving Gala. It was lovely to reconnect with those familiar residents, and to feel their newfound understanding of and appreciation for music performance. Naturally, our sets included those compositions the residents themselves had performed. I found great pleasure in seeing their reactions to Nick’s performance, as he was leading on guitar, his solos often blistering and unrelenting. My quartet comprised:
Nick Pennington - lead guitar
Ben Tiberio - double bass
Andreu Pitarch - drums
Evan Harris - saxophone
