PJF at AM Studios in NYC in late February recording "Alone In The World."

The Primordial Jazz Funktet plays Furman’s compositions and arrangements. “It is intense music that has a groove and that tells stories--sometimes with words, sometimes without,” he says.

The intensity is in part due to the exceptional cast of musicians who have played with the Funktet, both in Atlanta and New York. These have included, among others... trumpeters Yoshiko Okazaki, Tatum Greenblatt, Joe Gransden, Lee Hogans and James Cage; saxophonists Joel Frahm, Chelsea Baratz, Eric South, David Freeman and Tomas Ramirez; bassists Michael O'Brien, Dan Loomis, Zack Pride, Alex Hernandez, Blake Gaines, George Grier and Paul Beaudry; drummers Jun Saito, Corey Rawls, Che Marshall and Pete VanNostrand; and vocalists Vienna Carroll and Jace Harnage.

Furman counts many influences in his music. “I love hard swinging pianists like Oscar Peterson, Wynton Kelly and Johnny O’Neal. Like most other jazz players, I’ve been greatly influenced by Miles, Monk, Coltrane, Ornette Coleman and all the greats. Then there’s the music that we grew up listening to, from rock to funk, from classical to TV themes.”

See the calendar page for upcoming performances.

Dan Furman | danfurman@aol.com | 212 932-7925 | (c) 404 819-9726