Master pianist Jeff Gardner was born in New York and moved to Brazil in 2002. After classical piano lessons with Ruth Schontal, he studied jazz piano with Jaki Byard and John Lewis. Since then, Jeff has played as a leader at major venues on five continents, including performances for German, French, Czech Republic, Slovak, and Polish national radio. Jeff is a versatile musician - equally at home with jazz and Brazilian music - who has played with stars such as Kenny Wheeler, Gary Peacock, Eddie Harris and Steve Lacy. He formed a duet mixing jazz and new music with drummer Andrew Schloss, performing at the IRCAM in Paris, the Center for Art and Media technology in Germany, and in the US. He's also performed classical-jazz fusion with soprano vovalist S'ange Susan Belling, recording their upcoming duet release "Lightsong," featuring jazz arrangements by Debussy, Villa Lobos, and other modern composers. Legendary Brazilian musician and composer Hermeto Pascoal has said this about Jeff Gardner: "This music is tasty and beautiful, wait and see, Jeff is a great musician, I am speaking from the heart." Dr. Michael Hittman of radio WLIV says of Jeff's talent: "Taste, touch, and a blockbuster technique; elegance and eloquence in both conception and articulation… arguably the most compelling and unique post-Bill Evans pianist." Tonight, he presents a repertoire of bossa nova, contemporary and classical compositions with his trio, featuring: Jeff Gardner - piano Tony Degradi - sax Doug Belote - drums