Lee Pardini

The Lee Pardini Quintet, under the direction of pianist and Bay Area native Lee Pardini, began on the streets of uptown Manhattan in early 2007. It was while attending the esteemed Manhattan School of Music that the members of the quintet met, working together on various different projects. As a pianist, Lee Pardini has had the privilege of working with a variety of artists- including Sheila Jordan, Luciana Souza, Cecil Bridgewater, and Peter Eldridge, as well as cabaret artist/actress Sandra Bernhard. He has also been fortunate to travel all over the world, performing in Africa, Europe, and Japan with a diversity of musical styles ranging from jazz, blues, hip-hop, rock and ska. The Lee Pardini quintet is comprised of Lee Pardini (leader, piano), Philip Dizack (trumpet), Samuel Ryder (tenor saxophone), Jayme Silverstein (electric bass), and Joe Saylor (drums), with special guest vocals by Peter Eldridge (New York Voices). While maintaining a deeply rooted jazz sensibility, the quintet prides itself on its eclectic influences. With it’s debut release set for the spring of 2008, the Lee Pardini Quintet has revisited the classic Marvin Gaye album of 1971, “What’s Going On,” playing unique and modern jazz arrangements of the entire album. Chosen not only for its unforgettable songs such as “What’s Going On”, “Mercy, Mercy, Me (The Ecology)”, and “Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)”, the quintet recognizes the album’s applications in today’s society. Touching on issues of war, poverty, education, and ecological crisis, “What’s Going On” has a significant message nearly four decades later. Through Pardini’s re-arrangements, the quintet hopes to bring a new perspective and a fresh energy to the very same questions that drove Marvin Gaye to make one of the most important albums of all time.