(Photo: Courtesy of Drew Gress) The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts will continue its free Duke Jazz Series with a performance by Drew Gress and 7 Black Butterflies on August 26 at 7:30 p.m. Accompanying Mr. Gress will be Tim Berne on alto saxophone, Shane Endsley on trumpet, Tom Rainey on drums, and Craig Taborn on piano. The performance will be held in the Bruno Walter Auditorium, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center, 40 Lincoln Center Plaza. Doors open at 7:00 p.m. and performances begin at 7:30 p.m. All concerts in the Duke Jazz Series are free and open to the public on a first-come, first-served basis. For information, please call (212) 642-0142. Composing for big bands since high school, Drew Gress is a bassist with a background in contemporary improvised music. His latest project is entitled The Irrational Numbers (Premonition) and features original compositions for a quintet. Earlier releases include the critically-acclaimed 7 Black Butterflies (2005), Spin & Drift (2001) and Heyday (1997). Mr. Gress’s future projects and endeavors include a solo bass recording and an electronics project. He boasts an extensive resume of collaborations with such artists as John Abercrombie, Ralph Alessi, Tim Berne, Don Byron, Uri Caine, Bill Carrothers, Ravi Coltrane, Marc Copland, Mark Feldman, Fred Hersch, John Hollenbeck, Tony Malaby and John Surman. He has toured extensively through North and South America, Europe and Asia and previously served as the Artist-in-Residence at St. Petersburg Conservatory in Russia. He has received grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, Meet the Composer and Chamber Music America. "His bass-driven jazz digs deep into, as Jack Kerouac said in his novel On The Road, the 'pit and prune juice' of the human experience." -- Kevin Eagan (http://blogcritics.org/music/article/music-review-drew-gress-the-irratio...) The Duke Project is more than pleased to welcome Drew Gress and 7 Black Butterflies. I'll leave you with Drew's phenomenal rendition of Autumn Leaves (a video taken as part of David Gage Workshop/Mike's Master Class on April 15, 2008) as a sneak preview! We hope to see you there!