Join us for an Uncle Cheef pop-up show at Bedford Playhouse, celebrating the release of Alison Shearer’s new album “In the Garden.” Shearer’s quartet will perform music from the new album, followed by a VIP reception. Special guests will include star saxophonist Ian Hendrickson-Smith, along with some other surprises.

Called “a force on the rise” by JazzTimes magazine, Alison Shearer’s explosive career hits refresh on what it means to be a jazz saxophonist today. She leads a new generation of performers, inhabiting her individuality as a member of an international artistic community. Shearer has toured extensively in the US, Canada, Europe and Pakistan as a member of Red Baraat, Sunny Jain’s Wild Wild East, and as saxophonist for acclaimed Broadway composer Jason Robert Brown. She has appeared with Kurt Elling, Nate Smith, Charlie Hunter, Anna Egge, Bille Porter, Ben Platt, among many others. 

Alison gathered her eponymous Quartet, with Kevin Bernstein, keys, Marty Kenney, bass, and Horace Phillips, drums, in 2015. She writes most of the group’s music, and their soulful, groovy, melodic take on fusion found immediate acclaim in New York City, where they got their start. Their debut album ‘View From Above,’ was a JazzTimes Editor’s Choice, and one of NPR’s Jazz Night in America’s Top Ten Albums of 2022. The success of this album led to a residency at the Moab Music Festival, and ultimately a record deal with Pinch Records, a hot new label out of Brooklyn New York. 

The new record, “In the Garden,” was recorded live to tape over five days and features nine songs by Shearer, including two improvised interludes. The Bedford Playhouse show will be a celebration of this new album, and LPs will be available for purchase.