The EarRegulars are a celebrated jazz ensemble that has been enlivening Sunday nights at The Ear Inn, one of New York City’s oldest bars, since 2007. Founded by trumpeter **Jon-Erik Kellso** and guitarist **Matt Munisteri**, the group is renowned for its dynamic performances of classic jazz, encompassing styles from New Orleans and Tin Pan Alley to swing and mainstream jazz. As Nate Chinen for the NY Times describes them, this might be “*music regarded as old-fashioned even 60 years ago, but the clarity of their enthusiasm and the caliber of their execution add up to a present-tense transaction*.”
A Sunday night at The Ear Inn is a scene that regularly finds visiting musicians and fans from all over the world crowing in to hear old-school collective jazz improvisation played by some of the most creative musicians anywhere practicing the art form. Jon-Erik Kellso is at the peak of his powers as a trumpeter and a band-leading “shepherd”, and the rest of the drummer-less acoustic quartet accesses telepathic communication, as Munisteri brings it all together into a pocket that is alternately cozy and ferocious. No, this is NOT your grandfather’s “Dixieland”.
In addition to Kellso and Munisteri, this evening’s quartet will feature the remarkable multi-reeds-and-brass instrumentalist **Scott Robinson**, a regular EarRegular who goes from “trad to rad”, and bassist **Barry Stephenson**, a newer EarRegular who perfectly straddles a century of New Orleans’ grooves and NYC edge.
“*The music of the EarRegulars is so effectively played, so aggressive, and so full of ideas and spirit that the last thing one thinks about when listening to it is trying to pigeonhole it into a specific subgenre*.” – NY Sun