"The Soartet was born of four musician's desire to play in a relatively safe environment during the height of the Covid pandemic. Work had seriously diminished with the lockdown, clubs closed or went out of business, commercial work dried up, and playing "sessions", the large volume of which have always been unique to our New York City metropolitan area, had also dropped precipitously with players' desire to stay safe and uninfected by Covid. We all knew each other from past associations and decided to create a musical bubble, playing once a week over a period of approximately two years. We masked except for Rick, our trumpet player, while playing, tested regularly and played and played and played! We also recorded many of our sessions. The playing was very simpatico, big fun and a great learning experience for all of us. The idea for a band was born quickly among us, the end result being the Soartet. 

This collective has a unique sound with a nice blend of moods, textures and feels within a unique repertoire of originals and standard tunes. We have been able to keep our jazz muscles strong and supple, our initial goal, as well as develop an ensemble with an original sound and an intimacy that comes from hundreds of hours playing and, more recently, performing together."   Eliot Zigmund

Soartet is comprised of veteran NYC jazz musicians that have worked and/or recorded with Bill Evans, Michel Petrucciani, Stan Getz, Tania Maria, Art Farmer, The Supremes, Nancy Wilson, Tony Bennett, John Abercrombie, Blood Sweat & Tears, Benny Golson, Sonny Fortune, Billy Hart and many others. They are seasoned jazz educators and have performed workshops and clinics throughout the US and abroad.  

BIOS:  

ELIOT ZIGMUND • Drums/Composer 

Eliot Zigmund has been a professional musician for over 60 years. As a New York City native, he was steeped in the jazz tradition of the city with the help of an older brother who was an aspiring jazz guitarist. Eliot earned a BA in Music from combined studies at the City College of NY and Mannes College of Music.  

He has performed and recorded extensively with such jazz luminaries as Bill Evans, Michel Petrucciani, Jim Hall, Lee Konitz, John Abercrombie, Stan Getz, Eddie Gomez, Vince Guaraldi, Richie Beirach, and many others.  

As a former faculty member of William Paterson University Jazz Studies, NJ and NYU Jazz Studies, NYC, Eliot has extensive experience in jazz education. In addition, throughout his career and far flung travels, he has been involved in all manner of workshops and clinics world wide and continues to teach privately and do workshops around the world. For more info: Eliotzigmundjazz.com 

RICK SAVAGE • Trumpet/Flugelhorn/Composer 

Educated at world renowned music school Indiana University, musician/composer/ producer/audio engineer/videographer, Rick Savage has lived and worked in & around New York city for the past 36 years. He continues to be in demand as a performing & recording trumpet player, making guest solo appearances on the CD projects of many NY area artists. His Rick Savage 4tet recently appeared at the Hudson Valley Jazz Fest.  

Rick also has a rich composing background. He scored "A Whole New Day" for Cinemax, staring James Gandolfini. Other composing credits include jingles & industrial films for Nissan & Pfizer. Locally, Rick is owner of Savage Multimedia (savagemultimedia.com). His history as a former band member/ studio musician for the following well known artists, set the stage for the makings of an extremely versatile artist.  

Tania Maria, Gerry Mulligan, Eliot Zigmund, Jack McDuff, Mel Lewis, Nancy Wilson, Mel Torme, Tony Bennet, Toshiko Aikioshi, Dione Warwick, Warne Marsh, The Jackson Five, Randy Brecker, The O’Jays. Stan Kenton, Daniel Ponce, Anthony Jackson, Nestor Torres, Blood, Sweat & Tears. For more info: savagemultimedia.com 

DAVID JANEWAY • Pianist/Composer 

David Janeway, grew up in Detroit in the early sixties and was heavily influenced by Motown and local jazz musicians such as Marcus Belgrave and Harold McKinney before moving to New York City in 1978.  Janeway studied with the late Albert Dailey and performed with many Latin-Jazz and mainstream jazz artists during this period including The Supremes, Art Farmer, Angel Canales and Sabor, Michal Urbaniak, Jr. Cook, Sonny Fortune, Tom Harrell, Valery Ponomarev, Dakota Staton and many others.   

He's recorded and produced seven CDs as a leader,  including “Inside Out “on Timeless Records (SJP 402), featuring Sonny Fortune, Billy Hart and Valery Ponomarev, "Shadow Dances/Hastings Jazz Collective" (New Direction/2011); a group he established in 2008 that features Tim Armacost, Jay Azzolina, Harvie S and Ron Vincent and his most recent trio release in 2021,; “Distant Voices” (Steeplechase/SCCD 33145) with his working trio of Cameron Brown on bass and Billy Hart on drums.  

Janeway has performed extensively in the NYC club scene from the late 70s to the present both as a leader and sideman at Sweet Basil, Birdland, Visiones, Zanzibar, Jazz Forum, Maureen’s, Zinc Bar and Mezzrow  as well as the Detroit Jazz Festival, Madison Square Garden for the 1980 Salsa Festival, the Village Gate for the Salsa Meets Jazz series and other clubs and venues throughout the US and Europe. For more info: Davidjaneway.com 

David Kingsnorth • Bass 

Bassist David Kingsnorth has performed with the John Abercrombie /Rob Scheps Quartet, Eliot Zigmund, Joshua Breakstone, Oscar Brown, Jr., Richard Wyands, Frank Jackson, the New Jersey Ballet, and the Orchestra of St. Peter by the Sea. He is orginally from California, where he studied with John Clayton and received degrees in math and music from the University of California, Berkeley. He also received a master's degree in classical performance from Montclair University, where he studied with Linda McKnight. He is currently on faculty there, where he continues to teach classes and in private.