Albuquerque’s own multi-Grammy-winning tenor saxophonist Doug Lawrence, the featured soloist with The Count Basie Orchestra for the past 25+ years, is joined by Tadataka Unno, Japan’s most renowned jazz pianist plus, bassist John Webber,  and drummer Jerome Jennings for this special concert. They will perform music associated with Unno’s three mentors – Hank Jones, Jimmy Cobb and George Cables (all of whom Lawrence has worked with extensively throughout his long career) plus music associated with Dexter Gordon (to honor the legendary saxophonist’s Centennial birthday) and some originals as well.  Flying in from his hometown of Asahikawa, Japan for this NN mini tour (the band will also play in Taos on Thursday, November 9), Tadataka Unno first came to international prominence under the mentorships of Hank Jones and George Cables, and joined NEA Jazz Master Jimmy Cobb’s Quartet with whom he performed, recorded and toured worldwide. He has worked with many of the biggest names in jazz and toured and recorded with Roy Hargrove’s band for the last seven years of Hargrove’s life. On September 27, 2020, he was attacked and seriously injured during a wave of anti-Asian hate crimes in New York City during the COVID-19 pandemic. The unthinkable incident was reported widely in the U.S. media, including the New York Times and CBS News. After emergency surgery, he temporarily returned to Japan, and after about two and a half years of treatment, he released his return album Get My Mojo Back which became a top-selling jazz album. Mr. Unno continues his “comeback” world-wide in 2023 with high profile performances as a featured sideman with many top personalities in the jazz world including NEA Jazz Master George Coleman and Doug Lawrence. He has only come back to the USA to perform with Coleman and now with other trusted friends, Lawrence, Webber, and Jennings.  Besides his work with the Count Basie Orchestra, Doug Lawrence has also worked and recorded with a veritable “who’s who of jazz” including Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, Dizzy Gillespie, Benny Goodman, Sarah Vaughan, Joe Williams, Nancy Wilson, Joey DeFrancesco, Aretha Franklin and many others. He continues to tour and record with many of today’s top names in jazz. Bassist John Webber began working with Von Freeman in Chicago in 1985 and made appearances at the Jazz Showcase with Tommy Flanagan, Eddie Harris, James Moody and Ira Sullivan, before moving to NYC in 1987 where he performed with Bill Hardman and Junior Cook. He has enjoyed long-running collaborations with Johnny Griffin, George Coleman, Eric Alexander, Doug Lawrence and Jimmy Cobbs Mob and has worked with Horace Silver, Brad Mehidau and many others. Drummer, activist, bandleader, sideman, and Emmy Award winning composer, Jerome Jennings has performed, toured and recorded with Sonny Rollins, Hank Jones, Gerald Wilson, Christian McBride, Ron Carter, George Cables, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Wynton Marsalis (J@LC), The Count Basie Orchestra and countless others. His 2016 debut recording, The Beast, was named one of the top three Jazz releases by NPR and was nominated for the prestigious French ‘Grand Prix du Disque’ award for Album of the Year.