Rico Jones’ “Bearer of the Awakening”
About This Event
At Smalls Jazz Club, Rico Jones presents "Bearer of the Awakening" in a late-night setting that privileges small-group interplay and measured phrasing. The bill features Jones leading his quartet and a set by the Jerome Gillespie Quintet; both bands emphasize ensemble conversation, time feel and patient solo development rather than display, making the evening an exercise in collective listening.
About Bearer of the Awakening
“Bearer of the Awakening” is presented in New York City in the close quarters of Smalls Jazz Club, framed as a live jazz set rather than a fixed repertory program. Featured performers include the Jerome Gillespie Quintet, Rico Jones, and the Rico Jones Quartet, with improvisation doing the work of narrative and argument. There is no confirmed NYC premiere history on record for this title, but its placement at Smalls situates it in a longstanding downtown lineage where new material is tested in public. One clear virtue is its willingness to let tempo, tone, and ensemble dynamics carry the meaning.
About the Artists
Jerome Gillespie Quintet
The Jerome Gillespie Quintet is a New York City–based jazz group heard at Smalls Jazz Club, where small-room acoustics reward detail and restraint. The band works in a quintet format that foregrounds ensemble interplay, with solos shaped as extensions of the group conversation.
Rico Jones
Rico Jones is a New York City–based jazz musician whose work is often heard in the close quarters of Smalls Jazz Club. He leads the Rico Jones Quartet, a working unit built around small-group interplay and clear, unhurried phrasing.
Rico Jones Quartet
Rico Jones Quartet is a jazz group heard in New York City rooms such as Smalls Jazz Club, where the set list often keeps close to the bandstand tradition of working tunes into new shapes. Led by Rico Jones, the quartet draws on his experience performing alongside a range of collaborators under his own name.