On Tue, Dec 16, the Alan Ferber Nonet premieres a new suite of music, commissioned by Chamber Music America and funded by the Doris Duke Foundation. The group is thrilled to perform this piece at Smalls considering the band's fruitful relationship with the club dating back to 2004. For the last five years, Alan Ferber has been recognized as one of the leading trombonists of his generation in Down Beat magazines International Critics Poll and Readers Poll. He has released five albums as a bandleader, all of which blur traditional boundaries through an intriguing mix of influences. The Wall Street Journal describes his music as somehow both old school and cutting edge. Alans newest release, March Sublime, features stunning new music for big band and was nominated for a 2014 Grammy award in the Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album category. Additionally, it has received rave reviews including an editors Pick of the Week on eMusic which states, This is one of those albums where I just want to forgo the synopsis and just say go buy the damn thing. Just stellar. Ferbers music draws from a broad stylistic base considering the array of artists with whom he has closely worked. In the jazz world, he has performed and/or recorded with Esperanza Spalding, Charlie Hunter, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Ted Nash, Todd Sickafoose, Miguel Zenon, Toshiko Akiyoshi, Michael Formanek, David Binney, Lee Konitz, John Ellis, John Hollenbeck, and Don Byron. He has worked extensively in other genres with artists including Peter Gabriel, Paul Simon, Sufjan Stevens, The National, Dr. Dre, Harry Connick Jr, Michael Buble, and Beirut. His discography lists well over 100 CDs on which he has played trombone. As a composer and arranger, Alan has been commissioned to write for the Atlantic Brass Quintet, Paul McCandless, Sara and Rachel Caswell, the Asphalt Orchestra, Jon Gordon, and numerous universities. He is also the recipient of a 2013 Chamber Music America New Jazz Works grant, funded by the Doris Duke Foundation. This grant will allow him to create and promote a brand new extended work for his Nonet over a three-year period. Finally, Alan enjoys cultivating emerging talent as an adjunct professor of jazz trombone and composition at New York Universitys Steinhardt School, Johns Hopkins Universitys Peabody Conservatory, and Montclair State Universitys John J Cali School of Music.