After a very well-received performance at An Die Musik Live! in February 2009, Boston’s Makanda Project returns this year, again joined by Baltimore’s Carl Grubbs on alto and tenor saxophone. The group bring more of the unique and beautiful compositions by Makanda Ken McIntyre, whose large body of (over 300) previously unrecorded pieces the band was formed to play. The group will be slightly larger (12 musicians) this year, and will include a vocalist who functions as part of the horn section on some pieces.

The music has been arranged for the large ensemble by pianist John Kordalewski, a former Washington, D.C. resident and former McIntyre student and sideman. The other members are among Boston’s leading jazz musicians: saxophonists Kurtis Rivers, Sean Berry, and Charlie Kohlhase; trumpeters Josiah Woodson and Jerry Sabatini; trombonists Bill Lowe and Robert Stringer; vocalist Diane Richardson; bassist John Lockwood; and drummer Yoron Israel.

The distinctive sound and construction of McIntyre’s compositions qualify him as one of the significant jazz composers of the past 50 years. His distinguished career included landmark recordings with Eric Dolphy and Cecil Taylor, and a series of albums on Presitge, United Artists, and SteepleChase documenting his own music. For more information on Makanda Ken McIntyre and the Makanda Project, please visit www.mkmjazz.com.

Carl Grubbs, a 2009 Baker Artist Awards winner, has been one of Baltimore’s leading jazz voices for the past 30 years, as both saxophonist and educator. He received his early musical guidance from John Coltrane, who was married to Grubbs’ cousin Naima, and he is among the handful of living musicians who most closely represent Coltrane’s legacy. For more information on Carl Grubbs, please visit www.carlgrubbsjazz.com.

Tickets: $20 general/$10 students