Celebrating Smoker: A Celebration of the Life and Music of Paul Smoker presented by Bop Shop Records

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE TICKETS FOR TONIGHT ONLY

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE A DISCOUNTED 2-DAY PASS

SEATED TICKETS ARE LIMITED… If all seating sells out, standing tickets will become available online and at the door.

IF YOU PURCHASED A SEATED TICKET… To secure your seating for this show, please call the venue at (585) 292-9940 to make a reservation (only after everyone in your party has purchased a seated ticket). YOU MUST be the person who placed the ticket order to make the reservation, and the number of tickets purchased must match the number of people in your reservation. A seated ticket guarantees you admission and some form of seating, but if you don’t make a reservation, your whole party may not be sat together. You may not include standing ticket holders in your reservation.

PAUL SMOKER (1941-2016) – TRUMPET, COMPOSER, EDUCATOR.

“What Paul Smoker produced on his horn was unheard of in these latitudes; his complete command of his instrument allowed him to play whatever extravaganza he would think of, harmonically as well as in terms of dynamics. Styles, modes and techniques of every era of the history of music — Baroque and Bebop, Structuralism and Storyville, Blues and Berio… To the widely discussed question about the future development of the jazz trumpet, Paul Smoker’s musical concept could definitely constitute a far-reaching answer.” — Jazz Podium

As a trumpeter, Paul Smoker’s influences included avant-garde classical sources as well as the jazz trumpet tradition, and also the saxophonists John Coltrane and Anthony Braxton. For over twenty years he taught trumpet, jazz, and 20th-century ‘classical’ music at the Universities of Iowa, Northern Iowa, Wisconsin-Oshkosh and Coe College. During his tenure at Coe he founded the Paul Smoker Trio with Ron Rohovit and Phil Haynes, and they began to receive international attention, recording five albums and playing jazz festivals in the U.S., Canada, and Europe. In late 1990 he moved to upstate New York, where he concentrated on teaching, composing, and performing.

Since the mid-80’s he made over fifty recordings as a leader of his own groups and with Anthony Braxton, Joint Venture, Vinny Golia, Lou Grassi, Herb Robertson, Jay Rosen, Adam Lane, Burton Greene, Dom Minasi, et al. He also worked with David Liebman, Evan Parker, Don Byron, John Tchicai, Art Pepper, Frank Rosolino, Barry Altschul, Gerry Hemingway, Ellery Eskelin, Borah Bergman, Mark Dresser, and on and on…

Paul directed the jazz studies program at Nazareth College in Rochester, NY. As part of The Commission Project, he was a composer-in-residence at Cornell University and Rochester’s School of the Arts and East High School. The Paul Smoker Notet debuted in 2003 at Tonic in New York City, and included Smoker, guitarist Steve Salerno, bassist Drew Gress, and drummer Phil Haynes. Notet recordings include Live At the Bop Shop, Cool Lives, and Landings. It Might Be Spring, a duo concert with Phil Haynes in Buffalo, NY, is also available.

Paul passed away on May 14, 2016 at his home in the Rochester, NY, area, surrounded by his family.

Doors @ 6:30pm | $25 advance / $30 day of show / $40 2-day pass
Show @ 7:30-10:30pm