Downbeat magazine gave his fourth and most recent album, Phenomenology, a rave review. The critic could only find one fitting word to describe it: perfect. A great honor for trumpeter Liam Sillery (New Jersey, 1972), who will undoubtedly perform music from this CD at the North Sea Jazz Festival. While Sillery was a student, tenor saxophonist Joe Henderson took him under his wing and that turned out to be a major turning point. Trumpeters like Freddie Hubbard, Woody Shaw and Wynton Marsalis also served as role models for his playing. Like Sillery, alto saxophonist Matt Blostein is busy on the New York scene, and the same applies to pianist Jesse Stacken and drummer Vinnie Sperazza. Bassist Michael Bates already has four CDs of his own to his name as well as hundreds of compositions. Much of his writing is for chamber music ensembles. The Liam Sillery Quintet will be performing with a classic quintet lineup: trumpet, saxophone, piano, bass and drums - but the music is undisputedly of the 21st century.
