WPA Virtual Commissions: "Raindrops Down Rue Laurence Savart" by Eyal Vilner

Commissioned by Works & Process at the Guggenheim.
Co-presented by The Joyce Theater and The College of Performing Arts at The New School.

Artist statement by Eyal Vilner:
"Somehow I ended up in Paris during these strange times of pandemic and quarantine. Other than getting groceries about once a week, I barely left the apartment. But every once in a while I got a chance to wander around the quiet streets of Bellville, where I could stop and breath and sense the pulse of a city that has come to a halt. This piece was written after a stroll down my favorite street on a rainy day in May, when the world, or maybe just us, stopped turning."

"Raindrops Down Rue Laurence Savart
" by Eyal Vilner
Saxophone and composition: Eyal Vilner (Paris)
Piano: Jonathan Thomas (NYC)
Video: Eyal Vilner
May 2020

Eyal Vilner has become one of the leading new voices in the New York swing and big band scene. Born in Tel Aviv, saxophonist, clarinetist, flutist, composer and bandleader Eyal Vilner moved to New York in 2007 and started his big band the following year. The Eyal Vilner Big Band has been performing widely at some of New York’s landmarks such as Jazz at Lincoln Center, Midsummer Night Swing, Birdland, Dizzy's Club, Smalls Jazz Club, Minton’s Playhouse, The Django, Battle of the Big Bands on the Intrepid, Swing ReMix, Swing 46 and Central Park SummerStage. Internationally, Eyal has performed on Israel's most prestigious stages such as the Red Sea Jazz Festival, Tel Aviv Museum, Jerusalem Theater as well as the historical La Bellevilloise, Caveau des Oubliettes and Caveau de la Huchette in Paris. The big band performs Eyal’s new arrangements of jazz and swing tunes as well as his original compositions. Their music, which derives from the tradition of jazz, swing and the blues, strives to bring a unique voice to this beautiful art form. The big band’s first four albums: "Introducing the Eyal Vilner Big Band," "Almost Sunrise," "Hanukkah" and
"Swing Out!" received rave reviews and made it to the Top Jazz Radio Charts of the US and Canada.

For more info:
www.EyalVilner.com

Jonathan Thomas
Deemed “stunningly good” by the "New York Times," Thomas has played
in jazz festivals around the world, and has performed with Charles Toliver, Marquis Hill, Bruce Williams, Richie Goods, Jazzmeia Horn, and the Cleveland Jazz Orchestra, among many others. He can be found at his bi-weekly residency at Smalls Jazz Club which he has hosted since 2015. Thomas graduated from The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music in 2015 and The Juilliard School in 2019. He has been a student to pianists Aaron Goldberg, Dan Nimmer, Aaron Parks, and Taylor Eigsti. In 2012 he was awarded The ASCAP foundation Herb Alpert Young Jazz Composer Award. Born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, he benefited from the city’s wide range of jazz veterans and swing-rooted tradition. Sonically, his sound harkens to the creative influences he’s adopted. Influences such as Kenny Kirkland, Wynton Kelly, and Mulgrew Miller are apparent muses and thus lend their sound to his style.

Works & Process Artist (WPA) Virtual Commissions
To financially support artists and nurture their creative process during these challenging times, Works & Process at the Guggenheim will grant over $150,000 for artists to create new works while observing social distancing guidelines. New works posted every Sunday and Monday at 7:30pm. Please consider a donation. Every dollar you give will go directly to the artists.

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WPA Virtual Commissions has been supported by Jody and John Arnhold, Stuart Coleman, Antonio Convit and Tim McGraw, Lucy Dobrin, Adam Flatto, Bart Friedman, Bond Koga, Jayne Lipman, Bonnie Maslin, Nina Matis, Eve Mykytyn, Steven and Michèle Pesner, Cynthia Hazen Polsky, Stephen Kroll Reidy, Denise Saul, Annalyn Swan, Shelby White and many others. Virtual video design supported by Anupam and Rajika Puri. New music for dance supported by The Charles and Joan Gross Family Foundation.

Lead funding for Works & Process is provided by the Ford Foundation, Christian Humann Foundation, Leon Levy Foundation, Mertz Gilmore Foundation, NYC COVID-19 Response and Impact Fund, Stavros Niarchos Foundation, Rockefeller Brothers Fund, and Evelyn Sharp Foundation, with public funds from New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Works & Process has received support from U.S. Small Business Administration Paycheck Protection Program and NYC Employee Retention Grant Program.