Nasar Abadey
Drummer and Composer Nasar Abadey is the founder, leader and driving force of SUPERNOVA®. His debut CD, Mirage was released in 2000 on the Amosaya Record Label, and a follow-up CD is planned to be released later this year (2006). He has performed with Amiri Baraka, Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Rouse, Gary Bartz, David Sanchez, Cyrus Chestnut, Sonny Fortune, Ella Fitzgerald, Eartha Kitt, Kenny Kirkland, Gary Thomas, Stanley Turrentine, Sun Ra, Frank Morgan, Bobby Hutcherson, Pharaoh Sanders, Malachi Thompson and many others. Additionally, he has appeared in various festivals including, San Remo (Italy), Montreal (Canada), Cap City (DC), Virgin Island (Caribbean), JVC (NYC), Morocco (Africa), Chicago Jazz Festival, Iowa City Jazz Festival, D.C. Loft Jazz Festival, Atlanta Jazz Festival, Mellon Bank Jazz Festival, (Philadelphia), The East Coast Jazz Festival, the Free World Jazz Festival (DC), International Children's Festival (Seattle), Guatemala City Jazz Festival, among others.
Prior to forming SUPERNOVA® he was co-founder/leader, along with Joe Ford and Paul Gresham, of BIRTHRIGHT, and co-producer of two (2) albums, Free Spirits and Breath of Life. Abadey formed SUPERNOVA® to explore his compositional concepts through the many facets of African American classical music, i.e. Jazz. Moreover, he plays a music, which he describes as MULTI-D, which is multi-dimensional and multi-directional. These many directions and dimensions are fields of realities that change according to density and vibration. Working within this paradigm, SUPERNOVA® exercises its artistic license to perform and explore this African American Classical Music, that includes, but is not limited to: traditional African rhythms, R&B, reggae, world, bebop, fusion, afro-Cuban, Brazilian, new age, free form, etc. These terms are mere labels representing polarities of one energy.
Abadey has been awarded grants for performance, merit and composition, by the National Endowment for the Arts and Humanities, the D.C. Commission for the Arts, Creative Arts Performance Services (CAPS), the Mid-Atlantic Arts Foundation, and the Prince George's Arts Council, respectively. In addition, he has served as music panelist for the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts and Humanities, and the D.C. Commission for the Arts, and is a board member of the Washington Area Lawyers for the Arts (WALA). In his own words Abadey says, "I feel most comfortable at the cutting edge of the music. It is there that I play past what I know so that my creativity is inspired from a higher source."
Though his travels have taken him to Europe, Africa, the Caribbean, and throughout the USA, he still finds time to teach privately, while performing workshops and residencies in the Washington, DC and the surrounding area public schools for Young Audiences, the Prince George's Arts Council, the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz and Gateway CDC. NASAR ABADEY and SUPERNOVA®, Colors...Textures...and Groove! Nasar Abadey is an endorser of SABIAN cymbals and Vic Firth sticks and products.
SUPERNOVA...the band
Alto, soprano saxophonist, arranger and composer Joe Ford was born in Buffalo NY and graduated from Central State University, Ohio. As co-leader and co-producer, along with tenor saxophonist Paul Gresham, and drummer Nasar Abadey, he formed the unit BIRTHRIGHT. This alliance resulted in the release of two recording projects for Freelance Records — Free Spirits and Breath of Life. After an invitation to join the McCoy Tyner Quartet, Ford later relocated to New York City, and has since established himself as a strong alto voice on the NY scene. His hardy and robust alto, and pretty soprano sound, keeps him in high demand.
Since his arrival Ford has appeared on more than 30 CDs. His performance credits include, but are not limited to, the McCoy Tyner Big Band, Jerry Gonzalez and the Fort Apache Band, Kenny Kirkland, Abdullah Ibrahim, Jeff "Tain" Watts, Freddy Cole, Malachi Thompson, Charles Fambrough, Nova Bossa Nova, and John Blake. Additionally, his debut CD as a leader Today's Nights, was warmly received by critics and fans alike. Ford's style is in the tradition of John Coltrane, Wayne Shorter and Jackie McLean, but look for a personalized approach to improvisation. He is a very lyrical storyteller.
Tenor Saxophonist Gary Thomas is the Chair of the Jazz Studies Department and Faculty member at the Peabody Institute, John Hopkins University, and a native of Baltimore, MD. Internationally-known, Thomas has traveled the globe as a leader and a side-man. He has performed and/or recorded with the likes of Miles Davis, Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Jack DeJohnette, John McLaughlin, Pat Metheny, Terri Lyne Carrington, Dave Holland, Ron Carter, Wynton Marsalis, David Sanborn, Kenny Garrett, Tony Williams and a host of other stellar musicians. In addition he has 11 recording dates as a leader and has appeared on more that 80 recordings as a featured sideman.
Bassist and composer James King was born in Houston, Texas. He has performed with Elvin Jones, Sonny Fortune, Stanley Turrentine, Gary Bartz, Marlena Shaw, Frank Morgan, Mulgrew Miller and Milt Jackson, just to name a few. King is a very gifted composer with a lyrical bass style.
Pianist, composer, and arranger Allyn Johnson was born in Washington, DC. A graduate of the University of the District of Columbia, he currently teaches piano at his old alma mater. He has worked with Andrew White, Frank Morgan, Sonny Fortune, and Stanley Turrentine among others. His recent debut recording Premonition with the trio Three for All is a perfect environment to showcase several of his compositions. His style is lyrical, fiery and bright. He is soon a force to be reckoned with.
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