As the grandson of great American songwriter Hoagy Carmichael, drummer, bandleader, and composer John B. Arnold grew up in the legacy of jazz tradition. For him, music is a gift that is given from one generation to the next. With that gift comes a responsibility to offer younger musicians the opportunity to hone their craft and express themselves artistically in an environment that does honor to the past while at the same time leaving room for the future. This is the beating heart of John Arnold’s newest project, The Vanguard: not just to showcase the most brilliant young musicians in New York City, but to invite them to reinterpret what has come before, and to explore the real dynamics of jazz and neo-soul, from roots to leaves, from growl to whisper.
John, a native New Yorker, cultivates a New York sound with young, New York-based musicians, all in their teens: tenor saxophonist Ben Sherman; trumpet player Elijah Allen; pianist Bix Cole; and bassist Sam Konin. They are the carriers of the new tradition, and from their ranks will come the next luminaries of American musicianship.
“John is pushing the barriers of contemporary drumming to new heights,” guitarist John McLaughlin said. With his quintet, The Vanguard, John aspires to bring some of New York City’s strongest young talents to new heights–and beyond.
