ELEVATION

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LUCIAN BAN piano

ABRAHAM BURTON ten sax
JOHN HEBERT double bass
NASHEET WAITS drums

ELEVATION presents what All About Jazz called “ … a jazz quartet as it’s done in New York”
– one of the strongest jazz ensemble of the NYC scene led by
romanian expat pianist & composer Lucian Ban.
The group presents some of the most important jazz musicians of today’s jazz scene:
Abraham Burton (ten sax), John Hebert (double bass) and Nasheet Waits(drums)
About ….

Born out of the collaboration between Transylvanian expat, NYC based pianist & composer Lucian Ban and
tenor great Abraham Burton the quartet was founded in 2006 with the addition of John Hebert on bass
and contemporary master Nasheet Waits on drums. The group has performed dozens of concerts in US and
toured Europe up to date featuring a large body of original music.

Benefiting immensely from Mr. Abe Burton’s mastery and incredible sound & concept, the group also
features the pianistic expertise and strange Eastern European influences of Mr. Lucian Ban’s piano, the
innovative bassist John Hebert and the creative rhythms of a master of modern jazz drumming, Mr.
Nasheet Waits.
Pulsating blues, post bop lines, intricate compositions and grooves together with free jazz outbursts can be
found in their music but the sound of the group goes well beyond all those to become a voice of its own.
Playing original music the four musicians have to “be seen and heard” to get the full picture.

LUCIAN BAN (piano, co-leader & composition) - Originally from Romania

pianist & composer Lucian Ban now lives in NYC where is considered to be “one of the
most gifted and talented pianist to come to NY in the past decade”. The Hans Koller
Foundation and the Austrian Culture Department nominated him twice in 2005 & 2006
for “Best European Jazz Musician”. He has recorded 6 albums as a leader for labels in
US and Europe.

"Ban plays with a fluency and sensibility that recalls Vladimir Horowitz as much as McCoy Tyner”
Terrell Holmes All About Jazz NY
“Lucian Ban playing reminds of a great Bill Evans or Krystof Komeda “- Jazz Podium Magazine, DE
Mr. Ban leads the ASYMMETRY Quartet feat. Jorge Sylvester (alto sax), Brad Jones (bass) and Derrek Phillips, the
TUBA PROJECT a group featuring the great Bob Stewart on (tuba), Alex Harding (bari sax), Bruce Williams (alto sax &
flutes) and Derrek Phillips (drums), the super-group HIEROGLYPHICS featuring drum legend Barry Altschul, master
violinist Mark Feldman and bassist Hilliard Greene and the group ELEVATION featuring the great ten sax Abraham
Burton, drummer Nasheet Waits and bassist John Hebert.
He also co-leads with bari sax extraordinaire Alex Harding the LUMINATION Ensemble. In 2003 the Lumination
Ensemble featuring drum legend Barry Altschul was voted "One of the best shows of 2003” by the All About Jazz NYC
along with Cecil Taylor and Joe Lovano groups.
In 2003 he releases his debut recordings in US with "Something' Holy" a duet CD with Alex Harding followed by
"Premonition" a Quintet album feat. Alex Harding, Damion Reid, Erik Torrente and Chris Dahlgren both for CIMP
Records... albums were met with critical acclaim by press in both US and Europe.
The duet album with Alex Harding receives a 4 * Star Award by All Music Guide.
2006 sees Mr. Ban releasing 3 new CDs for American and European labels with Asymmetry Quartet for Norwegian
label Jazzaway Records, the TUBA Project (with J.D Allen on tenor sax) for the CIMP label and as a guest pianist &
composer on bari sax player Alex Harding & BLUTOPIA group (feat. Nasheet Waits, Brad Jones and Andrew Daniels).
He also writes & arranges for Machito Orchestra and was commissioned by them to write a piece for their opening
concert at Super Bowl 2003. Lucian Ban has performed/recorded with: Alex Harding, Barry Altschul, Gerald Cleaver,
Bob Stewart, Ken Filliano, Mark Helias, Sam Newsome, Art Baron, Curtis Fowlkes, Gene Jackson, Nasheet Waits, Ron
Horton, Pheeroan AkLaff, Reggie Nicholson, J.D.Allen, Willard Dyson, Carlo DeRosa, Damion Reid, Jorge Sylvester, Josh
Roseman, Abraham Burton, Essiet Essiet, Chris Dahlgren, Brad Jones, Bruce Williams, Bruce Cox, Tassili Bonds, Hill
Greene, Mark Feldman etc. He also writes music for theatre, film and dance and his music for ‘Philosopher Fox’ was
nominated for the prestigious Innovative Theatre Award in NYC in 2004.
For more info, bio, sound samples, press please visit: www.lucianban.com
 ABRAHAM BURTON (ten sax) - New York saxophonist Abraham Burton's music has
been called exquisite jazz. New York Times says about Burton “If the young saxophonist Abraham
Burton was ever to be drawn in a cartoon, he’d have flames coming out of his saxophone. His
solos are powerful and creative. He began developing his natural skills by attending Hartford's
Hartt School of Music where he learned well from talented artists like Michael Carvin and Jackie
McLean. Burton graduated from the school with a B.A. in music and a new love for the work of
jazz greats such as Louis Armstrong and Lester Young. In 1992, the young Burton became a
member of the Wailers, a jazz band headed by longtime artist Arthur Taylor. The group released
two albums together. They also did a number of tours through Europe. Burton left the Wailers by
1994 to form his own band. With pianist Marc Cary, Eric McPherson on drums, and bassist Billy Johnson, Burton
released his debut album, Closest to the Sun, in 1994 under the ENJA record label.
The group toured Europe many times, performing at the North Sea Festival, the Leverkusen Festival, the Moers
Festival, and many others along the way. With his career on a clear path, Burton released his next album, The
Magician, in 1996. In 1998, he collaborated with drummer Eric McPherson, bassist Yosuke Inoue, and pianist James
Hurt to release Cause and Effect. McPherson, Inoue, and Hurt stayed on for the next album as well, titled Forbidden
Fruit. For more info, bio, sound samples, press please visit www.abrahamburton.com

NASHEET WAITS, (drums) - is a New York native. His interest in playing the
drums was encouraged by his father, legendary percussionist, Frederick Waits. Over
the course of his career, Freddie Waits played with such legendary artists as Ella
Fitzgerald, Sonny Rollins, Max Roach, McCoy Tyner, and countless others.
While attending Long Island University, Waits studied privately with renowned
percussionist, Michael Carvin. Carvin’s tutelage provided a vast foundation upon which
Waits added influences from his father, as well as mentor Max Roach. It was Max that
first gave Nasheet’s formidable talent international spotlight, hiring him as a member of the famed percussion
ensemble M’BOOM. One highlight of Nasheet’s tenure with M’BOOM was the live concert performance of M’BOOM
with special guests Tony Williams and Ginger Baker.
Nasheet’s talent came to the attention of reedman Antonio Hart, who asked Waits to originate the percussion chair of
his first quintet. Nasheet remained a member of Antonio’s group through 1998.
Most recently Nasheet has been a member of Andrew Hill’s various bands, Jason Moran’s Bandwagon, and Fred
Hersch’s trio. As an originating member of pianist Jason Moran’s Bandwagon, Jason, bassist Tarus Mateen, and
Nasheet have been deemed, “the most exciting rhythm section in jazz” by JazzTimes, The 2001 recording “Black Stars”
with the Band wagon, featuring Sam Rivers was named the “Best CD of 2001” in (Jazz Times, Jan 2002) and “The New
York Times”. In addition he is receiving accolades as the drummer for Nasheet’s recording and performing discography
is a veritable who’s who in Jazz, boasting stints
with jazz notables such as Geri Allen, Mario Bauza, Hamiett Bluiett, Jane Bunnett, Abraham Burton, Jaki Byard, Ron
Carter, Marc Cary, Steve Coleman, Stanley Cowell, Orrin Evans, Stefon Harris, Andrew Hill, Bill Lee, Joe Lovano,
Jackie McLean, Mingus Orchestra, The New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, Greg Osby, Joshua Redman, Vanessa Rubin,
Antoine Roney, Wallace Roney, Shirley Scott, Jacky Terrason, and Mark Turner.
For more info, bio, sound samples, press please visit www.nasheetwaits.com

JOHN HEBERT (double bass) One of the most in demand bass players in New York. He
was voted twice in 2006 and 2007 in DownBeat Critics Poll as a “Rising Star Acoustic Bassist”.
He worked also with the late Andrew Hill Trio, Nonet and Quintet appearing on his latest
Blue Note Records album “Time Lines” album voted “Album of the Year” in 2006 by
Downbeat Magazine. He has worked alongside such world famous artists such as Andrew Hill,
Lee Konitz, Paul Bley, John Abercrombie, Greg Osby, Kenny Wheeler, David Liebman, Fred
Hersch, Paul Motian, Maria Schneider, Jason Moran, Toots Thielemans and many others.
For more info, bio, sound samples, press please visit: www.johnhebert.com