LES PAUL BIRTHDAY WEEK CELEBRATION: ROBBEN FORD with OZ NOY ORGAN TRIO with Brian Charette and Shawn Pelton,
About This Event
At the Iridium, guitarist Robben Ford joins the Oz Noy Organ Trio, featuring Hammond organist Brian Charette and drummer Shawn Pelton. Ford's career spans blues, jazz and rock and includes collaborations with Miles Davis and Joni Mitchell; Charette won DownBeat's 2014 Rising Star organist poll and Hot House Magazine's 2015 Fan's Decision Jazz Award for Best Organist, while Pelton has been a first‑call New York drummer since the late 1980s.
About Les Paul Birthday Week Celebration
At the Iridium, the Les Paul Birthday Week Celebration continues with guitarist Robben Ford joining the Oz Noy Organ Trio, with Brian Charette on Hammond organ and Shawn Pelton on drums, alongside Oz Noy. Ford’s long, cross-genre career includes high-profile work with Miles Davis and Joni Mitchell, grounding the set in a lineage that moves between blues, jazz, and rock. Charette’s DownBeat Rising Star recognition signals the contemporary organ tradition at play. The pairing sketches a living map of New York’s club-bred improvisation culture, where rock vocabulary is treated as material rather than costume.
About the Artists
Oz Noy
Oz Noy is an Israeli-born guitarist and composer who has made New York City his base since the 1990s, moving between jazz, rock, blues, and funk with a fusion player’s instincts. A regular presence at Iridium, he leads projects like the Oz Noy Trio and the Oz Noy Organ Trio, and has shared bills there with artists including Wayne Krantz, Robben Ford, Brian Charette, and Shawn Pelton, alongside appearances tied to Les Paul celebrations.
Brian Charette
Brian Charette is an American jazz pianist, Hammond organist, and electronic music producer. He took first place in the 2014 "Downbeat Magazine Critic's Poll Rising Star: Organ" category and "Fan's Decision Jazz Award for Best Organist 2015" in Hot House Magazine.
Shawn Pelton
Shawn Pelton is an American drummer and percussionist. He has recorded with a wide range of artists and has been a first call player since moving to New York in the late 1980s.
Oz Noy Organ Trio
Oz Noy Organ Trio is a guitar-led group heard in New York City rooms like the Iridium, where the band has appeared during Les Paul Birthday Week events. The trio centers on Oz Noy with Hammond organist Brian Charette, a DownBeat Rising Star, and drummer Shawn Pelton, building sets that move between rock, pop, blues, and jazz language.
Robben Ford
Robben Lee Ford is an American blues, jazz, and rock guitarist. He was a member of the L.A. Express and Yellowjackets and has collaborated with Miles Davis, Joni Mitchell, George Harrison, Larry Carlton, Rick Springfield, Little Feat, Jimmy Witherspoon, and Kiss.