site.btaAmerican Saxophonist Patrick Bartley and His Quartet Perform in Sofia on International Jazz Day

American saxophonist and composer Patrick Bartley is coming to Sofia with his quartet to mark International Jazz Day. The show will take place at Hall 3 of the National Palace of Culture (NDK) on Thursday, April 30, as part of the Salon des Arts at NDK, according to the organizers.

Original music by Bartley will be performed from his new, as yet unrecorded project New Visions, which he presents with a quartet of American musicians.

Co-organizers include the Festivals in Bulgaria Association, NDK, Jazz FM Radio, and Sofia's National Academy of Music, where the American quartet will also conduct a workshop with Bulgarian jazz talents.

Patrick Bartley was born in 1993. He began playing the clarinet in third grade, switched to saxophone in high school, and made his first professional recording at the age of 17.

He has worked with and shared the stage with Wynton Marsalis, Herbie Hancock, Jon Batiste, Carole King, Christian McBride and Dee Dee Bridgewater. He has performed at venues such as Madison Square Garden and Jazz at Lincoln Center, and on television programmes including "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert", on CBS.

He was twice invited to the Grammy Recording Academy's High School Ensemble and reached the final stage of nominations in the "Best Improvised Jazz Solo" category in 2014. He performed at the 52nd Grammy Awards ceremony as part of the Dave Matthews Band. At Wynton Marsalis's invitation, he also composed music for a concert series at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

Bartley's music brings the jazz tradition into the present day and is enriched with influences from funk, soul and Japanese pop culture, turning his concerts into a dynamic experience that attracts both traditional jazz audiences and new listeners, critics note.