Closing Time Live Edge Trio

• 1Ben's Tune06:43
• 2Closing Time06:36
• 3Don't Stress06:52
• 4Fantasy for Cede07:14
• 5Old Folks07:42
• 6Hope10:17
• 7Cape Verdean Blues05:32
• Total Runtime50:56

Info for Closing Time

Constantly swinging, harmonically rich, and with infectiously inviting compositions, the members of Live Edge Trio earned their rapport through many gigs and recordings over their years on the Denver music scene. Now all on faculty at the University of Wyoming, they've found inspiration in formalizing the group and further refining their collective musical voice. For Closing Time, pianist Ben Markley, bassist Seth Lewis, and drummer Andy Wheelock are joined by the incomparable New York vibist Steve Nelson, whom jazz critic Ted Panken called "...the most completely realized and original performer on the vibraphone." Together, their sound may hearken back to the MJQ, but with a dynamic and ensemble interplay all their own through their five originals and takes on the jazz classic "Old Folks" and Horace Silver's "Cape Verdean Blues."

"Sounds inspired by the Modern Jazz Quartet are delivered by the trio of Ben Markley/p, Seth Lewis/b, Andrew Wheelock/dr and guest Steve Nelson/vibes. The comparison to the MJQ is inevitable, but the sound hear has a bit more muscle as on a bopping take of Horace Silver's "Cape V erdean Blues" and the journey of Wheeler's "Hope" that builds up to a ..." (Jazz Weekly, George W Harris)

Ben Markley, piano
Seth Lewis, bass
Andy Wheelock, drums
Guest:
Steve Nelson, vibraphone

Recorded, mixed & mastered by Colin Bricker at Mighty Fine Studios, Denver, CO
Recorded on November 18th, 2023
Produced by Andy Wheelock

Ben Markley
a jazz pianist, has performed with Greg Osby, Eddie Henderson, Terell Stafford, George Garzone, and John Fedchock. Markley is active as a composer and arranger with several big band and vocal jazz charts published through UNC Jazz Press. Compositions from Markleyʼs first two albums have earned him ASCAP Young Jazz Composers Awards. Markley was selected to participate in the Betty Carter Jazz Ahead program held at the Kennedy Center.

Markley's book A Practical Approach to Improvisation - The David Hazeltine Method was published by Jamey Aebersold Jazz in December of 2014. It documents David Hazeltine's process of creating etudes from transcriptions.

Markley is an active performer in the Denver-metropolitan area and along the front range. He can be seen regularly in Ft. Collins as part of the Subterranean jazz trio at Ace Gillett's Lounge.

Markley currently serves as Director of Jazz Studies at the University of Wyoming where he directs and coaches the Wyoming Jazz Ensemble, Western Blue, and combos. He also teaches applied jazz piano, improvisation and is the director of the UW Jazz Festival.

Seth Lewis
Music has been an essential part of life for Seth since he was a child­, singing with his mother and playing numerous instruments until age 12 when he found the bass. His most recent recording, Dream Theme, produced by Octave Records, is available on all platforms and he can be heard on many other recordings as a leader and a sideman. Thanks to his life in music Seth has travelled the world performing and teaching and has collaborated with celebrated jazz artists as well as performing with Broadway and Las Vegas shows. During his time in New York, Seth regularly appeared at well-known jazz clubs including Smalls, Smoke, Dizzy's Club Coca­-Cola, Cleopatra's Needle and The Iridium. Some of the outstanding artists Seth has worked with include: Mulgrew Miller, Louis Hayes, Eric Alexander, Adam Nussbaum, David Hazeltine, Chico Freeman, Bobby Watson, Harold Mabern, Gabriel Mervine, Jerry Dodgion, Randy Brecker, Sheila Jordan, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Greg Gisbert, Dave Liebman, Eric McPherson, Abraham Burton, Josh Evans, Stacey Dillard, Dawn Clement, Alexis Cole, Benny Golson, Jeff Hamilton, Evan Sherman, Jonathan Barber, Emmet Cohen and many others. Seth studied privately and was mentored by two legendary bassists; the late Bob Cranshaw and Ron Carter. Seth has also studied with Christian McBride, Nat Reeves, John Lockwood, Martin Wind, Bill Charlap and Steve Davis.

Seth has been awarded research grants from the Institute of Jazz Studies at Rutgers University and the University of Northern Colorado. His research has been published in Allegro Magazine (Feb. 2020) and he has presented research at the Jazz Education Network Conference and the International Society of Bassists Conference. Seth holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the Hartt School of Music and a Master of Music degree from William Paterson University and a Doctorate from the University of Northern Colorado. Seth currently teaches at Colorado State University, The University of Wyoming and the Stanford Jazz Workshop. Seth has previously taught at the Hartt School of Music, The Artists Collective, Newark Academy and the Litchfield Jazz Camp. Music is a gift that is meant to be shared and Seth is grateful for the continued opportunities he has to bring music to new audiences.

Andy Wheelock
is a Drummer, Percussionist, Composer, and Educator. Wheelock is an active performer and can be heard performing regularly around the Front Range. He is a founding member of the Live Edge Trio, the Whee3trio, and KEWO, and can be heard playing with the Gonzalo Teppa Quintet, Ben Markley, New Stream Brass Ensemble, the University of Wyoming Jazz Faculty, and the Cheyenne Symphony. Wheelock has had the honor of sharing the stage with Adam Birnbaum, Bill O'Connell, Craig Handy, Ernie Watts, SK Kakraba, Jorge Glem, Bobby Shew, Chuchito Valdés, Joel Frahm, Henry Linarez, Bob Bowman, Ivan Trevino, and William Moersch.

As a composer and arranger, Wheelock writes regularly for his own recording projects as well as big bands, percussion ensembles, Samba Bateria's, and Pan-Afro-Latin Ensembles. His debut record as a leader, View From Here ft. Ernie Watts, has received outstanding reviews and ample air time around the country. As a clinician and adjudicator, Wheelock has been a guest artist at Ohio State University, Central Michigan University, Friends University, Columbus State University, Washburn, Hope College, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Wichita State, and the University of Illinois.

Wheelock currently serves as the Director of Jazz Studies and Percussion area coordinator at the University of Wyoming where he directs the Wyoming Jazz Ensemble, Jazz Combos, Samba Bateria, Pan-Afro-Latin Drumming group, and the UWYO Percussion Ensemble.

Steve Nelson
Acknowledged as "...the most completely realized and original performer on the vibraphone," Steve Nelson is one of the most highly regarded vibraphonists of his generation. Recognized for his inventive and fluidly harmonic approach, Steve began his career following the path blazed by his first major influence, Milt Jackson. After a college stint with guitarist Grant Green, Nelson performed and recorded with James Spaulding and Kenny Barron, before landing a spot in David "Fathead" Newman's quintet.

Steve has been the vibist of choice among some of jazz's most iconic artists including Jonny Griffin, Jackie McLean, Bobby Watson, Curtis Lundy, James Williams, and Lewis Nash. Steve is a veteran member of Dave Holland's acclaimed quintet and Big Band, George Shearing Quintet, and was a friend and frequent collaborator with Mulgrew Miller on his Wingspan sextet. Expressing his admiration for Miller, Steve says, "The thing that really stood out for me was his honesty in music...We had many of the same goals and ideas about taking the foundation of jazz and then advancing it." Steve continues to tour and record with Donald Brown, Renee Rosnes, Geoffrey Keezer and Jeremy Pelt, among others.

Widely acknowledged as one of the pre-eminent modernist vibraphone improvisers, Steve has appeared on numerous recordings, and at concerts and festivals worldwide including the Newport Jazz Festival, The Montreux Jazz Festival, Montreal International Jazz Festival, and the Netherlands International Jazz Festival to name just a few. His original releases include Full Nelson, Fuller Nelson, Brothers Under the Sun, Communications, Sound Effects and more. He is a dedicated educator with prior positions at Princeton University, William Paterson University, and Conservatorium van Amsterdam. Steve is a 2021 Doris Duke Charitable Foundation supported New Jazz Works commissioned composer.

This album contains no booklet.