New Trio Recording Underway
I'm pleased to announce that tracking is underway for the latest Paul Hemmings Trio albums. Along with Lou Grassi on drums and Gaku Takanashi on bass, I'm back in the studio once again, this time to produce an album of standards in addition to another album of my original compositions. We'll be premiering some of the new material at our April 14 gig at Two Boots Tavern; for more details check out the "Gigs" page. Stay tuned for more info about album release dates.
Rent - The Musical in Williamsburg, Brooklyn
I'll be playing guitar in a limited-run production of
Rent in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, along with Fima Ephron on bass, Sean Willis on keyboards, and Casual-T on drums. One weekend only, March 4, 5, & 6. See the "Gigs" page for more details.
Mini-tour in Switzerland Wraps Up
A big "thank you" to all of the Swiss musicians whose generosity helped make the gigs on my trip to Switzerland so much fun. Special thanks in particular to
Elmar Frey and
Christoph Sprenger in Zurich,
Daniel Schläppi and
Simon Fankhauser in Bern, and
The Just Friends Trio -- Gabriel Zufferey, Nivaldo Candido, and Roberto Titocci -- in Lausanne.
2009 Summer residence at The Garden Cafe
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Catch The Paul Hemmings Trio, featuring Lou Grassi and Gaku Takanashi, every Friday night this summer from 7:30 to 10:30 at the Garden Cafe in Upper Manhattan. Located at 4961 Broadway, the Garden Cafe has a great outdoor patio where you can enjoy food, drinks, and an enjoyable al fresca atmosphere. As we'll be playing outdoors, each performance may be cancelled in the event of rain; call The Garden Cafe at 212-544-9480 to confirm. You can also visit the Garden Cafe's website at www.gardencafe-nyc.com to see their menu or to get directions. |
See Rock City at New 42nd Street Studios
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Winner of the 2008 Richard Rodgers Award and The BMI Foundation's 2007 Jerry Bock Award, See Rock City & Other Destinations is a contemporary pop-rock musical about everyday travelers at tourist destinations across America. With music by Brad Alexander and a book by Adam Mathias, See Rock City has teamed up with Transport Group Theatre Company to stage a reading at New 42nd Street Studios. The band includes piano and musical direction by Justin Hatchimonji, Garo Yellin on cello, Brian Grochowski on bass, and myself on acoustic & electric guitars. Seats are limited; visit the Transport Group website by clicking here to make reservations. |
2009 Matt's Promise Fundraiser
The latest incarnation of The Paul Hemmings Trio -- with Lou Grassi on drums and Gaku Takanashi on bass -- will be returning to perform at this years' annual Matt's Promise Foundation gala fundraiser on Thursday, May 14, 2009. The event will once again be held at the cavernous Cipriani Wall Street and we'll be preceding singer-songwriter Gavin DeGraw. The Matt's Promise Foundation aims to make a difference in the lives of young people affected with terminal diseases; learn more by visiting their website at
www.mattspromise.org.
Upright Cabaret Returns to Joe's Pub
I'm excited to once again be performing with LA's Upright Cabaret for their return to New York City after joining them for their sold-out NYC debut at Joe's Pub in January. The Upright Cabaret features stars from Broadway, television, and beyond as they belt out songs in contemporary cabaret fashion. Joe's Pub will be hosting the Upright Cabaret for three nights this time around -- May 1, 2, and 4 -- and I'll be joining Chris Bratten on piano, Justin Hosek on bass, and Joe Nero on drums. Visit
www.uprightcabaret.com for more details or visit
www.joespub.com for tickets.
Hell's Kitchen - The Musical at The Hudson Guild Theater
My foray into the world of musical theater continued in February 2009 with a week-long run at the Hudson Guild Theatre playing guitar in
Hell's Kitchen - The Musical, an homage to the neighborhood that I called home for the first seven years of my life in New York City. The show features a book written by Jon Montgomery, music by Toby Kasavan, and a great band including Lou Grassi, Fima Ephron, Toby Kasavan, Erika Ito, and myself. Visit
www.hellskitchenthemusical.com for more info.
Like You Like It at The Gallery Players
I returned to the Gallery Players Theater, chorus pedal in hand, in October/November 2008 to play guitar in their production of
Like You Like It, "a 1980s-style totally awesome mix of Shakespeare and John Hughes," with book and lyrics by Sammy Buck and music by Dan Acquisto. Check out
www.likeyoulikeit.com for more details.
The Deciders at 2008 Fringe Festival
Mitch Kess's rock musical
The Deciders saw its premier at the 2008 New York International Fringe Festival. The show examined "power, patriotism, & propoganda" in the Bush administration's decision to invade Iraq and featured myself on electric guitar, David Fletcher on keyboard, Ashley Baier on drums, Eric Milano on guitar, and Mitch Kess on bass. Click
here to visit the official website.
Letter From America CD Review in Jazz Times
The May 2008 issue of
Jazz Times featured a nice review of
Letter From America by The Paul Hemmings Trio with John Tchicai. Featured in the
Undertones section of the CD reviews, which focuses on emerging or under-publicized artists,
Jazz Times calls
Letter From America "a curious amalgam" with a "clear...rapport between the leaders." Click
here to read the whole review.
All About Jazz names Letter From America "one of the year's best albums."
The Paul Hemmings Trio and John Tchicai were featured in the March 2008 edition of
All About Jazz Los Angeles/San Francisco with a CD review that described
Letter From America as "bravely original" and "one of the year's best albums." Click
here to read the clipping of Peter Sanchez's full review.
Letter From America CD release party at the Knitting Factory
John Tchicai & The Paul Hemmings Trio celebrated the release of the new album
Letter From America with two sets at the Knitting Factory in New York City on Thursday, February 7.
Benefit For The Malawi Children's Mission
The Paul Hemmings Trio and special guest John Tchicai performed on February 5, 2008 at the Malwai Children's Mission's First Annual "Be The Foundation" Fundraiser at Bobby Van's in Manhattan. The event raised funds to help serve the physical, educational and emotional needs of orphans in Malawi, Africa.
Letter From America out now
The newest album from The Paul Hemmings Trio with saxophonist John Tchicai was released on January 22, 2008. CDs are available in stores including the Downtown Music Gallery in New York City (see below) and Amoeba Records in L.A. & San Francisco. MP3 downloads are also available online at the Apple iTunes Store. Check out samples on the
listen page.
The Wild Party in Brooklyn this February
Paul will be playing guitar in the Gallery Players' 2008 production of
The Wild Party by Andrew Lippa. There will be 14 performances running between Feb. 2-24 at the Gallery Players Theatre located at 199 14th Street, Brooklyn, NY 11215. Find out more about the show, including a complete schedule, on the Gallery Players website:
click here.
Letter From America now available at NYC's Downtown Music Gallery
Available at NYC's Downtown Music Gallery: Next time you find yourself on The Bowery in New York City, make sure you stop by the one and only Downtown Music Gallery to pick up the latest CDs from The Paul Hemmings Trio, including
Letter From America with John Tchicai. The Downtown Music Gallery is located at 342 Bowery, between 2nd and 3rd Streets. CDs are also available through their website by clicking
here.
New recording with John Tchicai
The Paul Hemmings Trio returned to the studio on a cold Monday in February 2007 to record their third album for Leading Tone Records. The album will feature the Trio along with avant-garde saxophone pioneer John Tchicai (
www.johntchicai.com) performing all new original compositions. Downloads and CDs will be available early in 2008.
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Live!) released on CD and iTunes
Leading Tone Records has released a live recording from the March 2006
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band concert that has steadily been garnering enthusiastic reviews as well as national and international radio play. You can purchase CDs through the
shopping cart page or download the entire album from the
Apple iTunes Store. Click
here to listen to samples.
The End of the Beginning sees its NYC premier
November 10th marked the NYC premiere of Sabu Quinn's indie film
The End of the Beginning, an Official Selection at the 2006 ReelHeART International Film Festival. The original score, composed by Jared Fankhauser, features performances by Paul on guitar and ukulele. Click
here to watch and listen.
Paul now on MySpace
Figuring that it is something that will catch on eventually, Paul can now be found on the myspace.com website at:
www.myspace.com/paulhemmings. Now that Paul is on myspace, watch for Google to move in for a leveraged buy-out in the near future.
Paul Hemmings Video Posted to YouTube Days Prior To Google Takeover: A Mere Coincidence?
Paul Hemmings Video Posted to YouTube Days Prior To Google Takeover: A Mere Coincidence? A video of a Paul Hemmings Trio performance is posted on YouTube.com and three days later Google purchases
