This last month of public programming in the year 2012 by the National Jazz Museum in Harlem presents conversations with well-established jazz artists such as Hal Galper and Steve Turre for Harlem Speaks, and live performances by emerging jazz musicians Jon Escreet, Sam Yahel and Dan Tepner for Harlem in the Himalayas at the Rubin Museum of Art. Museum co-director Christian McBride, who recently released the big band recording The Good Feeling and the duet CD, Conversations with Christian, will lead a month long journey into the sounds of the great jazz cities Pittsburgh, Chicago, Detroit, and Philadelphia—his hometown—for Jazz for Curious Listeners. Our final Saturday panel focuses on the centennial of the birth of jazz drumming icon Jo Jones. The panel will be moderated by executive director Loren Schoenberg, and features Jones protégéMichael Carvin, a master drummer and teacher; Bob Mover, a fine saxophonist and singer; Paul Devlin, editor of the recently published Rifftide: The Life and Opinions of Papa Jo Jones; and Stanley Crouch, one of the most important jazz critics of the last 40 years. Thursday, December 1, 2011Harlem SpeaksHal Galper, Pianist6:30 –8:30pmLocation:NJMH Visitors Center(104 E. 126th Street, Suite 2C)FREE | For more information: 212-348-8300Note location is correct, different than some listings Hal Galper, an excellent jazz pianist and master educator at the New School, studied at Berklee (1955-1958) and then worked in groups led by artists the caliber of Chet Baker, Stan Getz, the Brecker Brothers, Bobby Hutcherson, and with such singers as Joe Williams, Chris Connor, and Anita O'Day. He played electric piano with the Cannonball Adderley Quintet during its last years (1973-1975) and also spent time playing with Lee Konitz and John Scofield.According to one reviewer, Galper’s 1976 record, Reach Out, was one of his best to that point. Post-bop and Latin styling were the playgrounds upon which Galper played, and the feature for Michael Brecker, “I’ll Never Stop Loving You”is transcendent.Galper recorded as a leader for Mainstream, SteepleChase, Enja, Concord, and Blackhawk, and gained his greatest visibility for being a pianist with Phil Woods' quartet/quintet from 1981 to 1990.He’s been on the scene as a professional for about 50 years, so his insights into the changes in jazz and the music scene generally should be telling. We hope you’ll come through for the telling of Hal Galper’s story, and how it intersected with the course of jazz history.Friday, December 2, 2011 Harlem in the HimalayasJon Escreet Trio7:00pmLocation:Rubin Museum of Art(150 West 17th Street)$18in advance | $20 at door |For tickets: RMA Box Officeor call 212-620-5000 ext. 344John Escreet - pianoJohn Hébert – bass Tyshawn Sorey - drumsBritish pianist Jon Escreet has been making waves since he moved to New York in 2006, and especially after graduating in 2008 from the Master’s Program at Manhattan School of Music, where he studied piano with Kenny Barron and Jason Moran.That very year he released a well-received album, Consequences, which featured David Binney (alto saxophone), Ambrose Akinmusire (trumpet), Matt Brewer (double bass) and Tyshawn Sorey (drums). He has also worked in Binney's other musical projects.How young artists balance tradition and innovation is always at question in jazz.  Escreet’s own musical statement tonight will answer the question in his own special way, as his musical vision takes form in the acoustically rich venue at the Rubin Museum of Art.Saturday, December 3, 2011Saturday Panels Jo Jones at 10012:00 –4:00pm Location: NJMH Visitors Center(104 E. 126th Street, Suite 2C)FREE | For more information: 212-348-8300 Special guests include Paul Devlin, Stanley Crouch and Michael Carvin  Papa Jo Jones, the pioneer of jazz drumming in the 20th century, would have been 100 this year. Join us for an afternoon of conversation as well as audio and video clips of Papa Jo in his element of free play and improvisation. Very recently, the University of Minnesota Press released Rifftide: The Life and Opinions of Papa Jo Jones (as told to Albert Murray). Paul Devlin, an expert on the work of Albert Murray, edited the tapes of conversation between Jo Jones and Albert Murray, and weaved together a narrative that becomes a part of a stream of Afro-American story-telling and a testament to the genius and unique voice of Jo Jones. Paul Devlin will be on the panel, and joined by Bob Mover, an excellent saxophonist who knew Papa Jo, master drummer Michael Carvin, a major jazz artist who studied at the feet of Papa Jo, and Stanley Crouch, a major voice for jazz excellence who, quiet as its kept, came to New York not just as a writer, but as a drummer. The afternoon promises to be an exciting time of reflection, swing, and a moment of tribute to Papa Jo Jones, the man who defines the core of what jazz drumming is and what jazz drumming means.Tuesday, December 6, 2011Jazz for Curious ListenersA Month with Christian McBride: Pittsburgh—Steel Town Swingin’ 7:00 –8:30pmLocation:NJMH Visitors Center(104 E. 126th Street, Suite 2C)FREE | For more information: 212-348-8300What do these jazz greats have in common other than their jazz artistry? George Benson, Art Blakey, Ray Brown, Billy Eckstine, Roy Eldridge, Errol Garner, Slide Hampton, Earl ‘Fatha”Hines, Lena Horne, Ahmad Jamal, Eddie Jefferson, Joe Pass, Dakota Staton, Billy Strayhorn, the Turrentine brothers Stanley and Tommy, and Mary Lou Williams?They all hail from Pittsburgh.Join co-director Christian McBride in an exploration in sound of the urban jazz and jazz artists that came out of Pittsburgh.Tuesday, December 13, 2011Jazz for Curious ListenersA Month with Christian McBride: Chicago—Windy City Hipsters  7:00 –8:30pmLocation:NJMH Visitors Center(104 E. 126th Street, Suite 2C)FREE | For more information: 212-348-8300Jazz history weaves through Chicago from the earliest days during the Great Migration, to Armstrong and Earl Hines, the Chicagoans and the Austin High Gang, Benny Goodman and the Swing Era through the bebop revolution and musicians such as Johnny Griffin, and the other-worldly sounds of Sun Ra and AACM. Today, saxophonists such as Von Freeman keep that Midwest flame burning.To feel just how hot the flame of jazz is through the prism of Chicago, let Christian McBride take you on a swingin’journey.Thursday, December 15, 2011Harlem Speaks Steve Turre, Trombonist                                                 6:30 –8:30pmLocation:NJMH Visitors Center(104 E. 126th Street, Suite 2C)FREE | For more information: 212-348-8300Steve Turre was born to Mexican-American parents and grew up in the San Francisco Bay area where he absorbed daily doses of mariachi, blues and jazz. While attending Sacramento State University, he joined the Escovedo Brothers salsa band, which began his career-long involvement with that genre.In 1972, Ray Charles hired him to go on tour. Woody Shaw, his mentor, brought him into Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers. After his tenure with Blakey, Turre began to work with a diverse list of musicians from the jazz, Latin, and pop worlds: Dizzy Gillespie, McCoy Tyner, J.J. Johnson, Herbie Hancock, Lester Bowie, Tito Puente, Mongo Santamaria, Van Morrison, Pharoah Sanders, Horace Silver, Max Roach, and Rahsaan Roland Kirk. Kirk introduced him to the seashell as an instrument.As fate would have it, while touring in Mexico City with Woody Shaw, Turre's relatives told him that his ancestors played the shells too. Since then, he’s incorporated seashells into his diverse musical style.Turre is known as a member of the Saturday Night Live Band, in which he’s played since 1984. He’s also led several ensembles. One of them, Sanctified Shells, uses the seashell in a larger context, and transforms his horn section into a "shell choir." Turre's Verve release, Lotus Flower, showcased his Sextet With Strings in the spring of 1999. The recording explored great standards and original compositions, all arranged by Turre with the unique instrumentation of trombone and shells, violin, cello, piano, bass and drums. In the Summer of 2000, Telarc released In The Spur of the Moment. This recording features Steve with three different quartets, each with a different and distinct master pianist: Ray Charles, Chucho Valdes, and Stephen Scott.Turre is a very outspoken artist, unafraid to voice his displeasure with the political scene today, so along with a discussion about his life and career, his political point-of-view will also be pursued.Friday, December 16, 2011 Harlem in the HimalayasSam Yahel 37:00pmLocation:Rubin Museum of Art(150 West 17th Street)$18in advance | $20 at door |For tickets: RMA Box Officeor call 212-620-5000 ext. 344A distinctive voice among the new breed of Hammond B-3 organ players on the jazz scene post-Larry Young, Sam Yahel earned the top spot in Downbeat's annual International Critics Poll as a "Talent Deserving of Recognition" for four consecutive years.Buy Now!Since moving to New York in 1990, he’s worked with a string of notable jazz artists including tenor saxophonists Joshua Redman and Eric Alexander, former James Brown sideman and alto sax great, Maceo Parker, guitarists Peter Bernstein and Bill Frisell, trumpeters Ryan Kisor and Jim Rotondi. Yahel also played on Norah Jones' Grammy-winning Come Away With Me as well as on recordings by vocalists Lizz Wright and Madeleine Peyroux. But it has been as a solo artist and leader in his own right that Yahel has made his most personal statements as both composer and player. Come experience one of the most exciting jazz organists of his generation.Tuesday, December 20, 2011Jazz for Curious ListenersA Month with Christian McBride: Detroit—Motor City Soul  7:00 –8:30pmLocation:NJMH Visitors Center(104 E. 126th Street, Suite 2C)FREE | For more information: 212-348-8300 Detroit was a hub of jazz long before Motown Records, and concurrent to the rise of the automobile industry there. Famously, the Jones Brothers (Hank, Thad, Elvin) hail from the Motor City, as do Barry Harris, Yusef Lateef, Milt Jackson, Kenny Burrell, Al McKibbon, Wardell Gray and Howard McGhee.. Cass Technical High School was a training ground for many jazz artists and instructors—Geri Allen, Donald Byrd, Ron Carter and others worthy of note passed through those halls. Christian McBride performs annually at the Detroit Jazz Festival, and has played with the leading lights of jazz from Detroit across several generations. Give yourself the holiday treat of tonight’s free class with the great bassist and educator Christian McBride.Wednesday, December 21, 2011 Harlem in the HimalayasDan Tepner, Solo Piano7:00pmLocation:Rubin Museum of Art(150 West 17th Street)$18in advance | $20 at door |For tickets: RMA Box Officeor call 212-620-5000 ext. 344Born to American parents in Paris, France in 1982, Dan Tepner began classical piano studies at age six at the Paris Conservatoire Paul Dukas. He took a somewhat circuitous route to a jazz career, earning a bachelors degree in astrophysics from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland. He played extensively on the jazz scene in college and enjoyed a brief stint as an opera conductor. After graduating in 2005 from Boston’s New England Conservatory, where he completed his masters under the guidance of Danilo Perez, Dan moved to New York and quickly became an in-demand player and composer. Dan has also been named a Cultural Envoy of the U.S. State Department, with recent travels to Azerbaijan, Georgia and the Czech Republic. He has lectured and led master classes at the Royal Academy of Music (London), the Seoul Institute of the Arts (South Korea), the Chopin Conservatory (Warsaw) and many more. He was recently commissioned by the Prague Castle Guard Orchestra to compose a concerto for wind symphony and improvising piano. Titled “The View from Orohena,”the work premiered in the Prague Castle on May 4, 2010. In summer 2011, Dan released a solo album on Sunnyside/Naïve entitled Goldberg Variations/Variations. In this new work, he performs Bach's original variations as written while adding his own improvised variations in between each, thus generating a dialogue with the old master. A contemporary commentary on a revered masterpiece, the project affirms the timelessness and continuity of musical expression. Tonight, the evening of the Winter Solstice, expect an imaginative program with a bright young light in jazz.Tuesday, December 27, 2011Jazz for Curious ListenersA Month with Christian McBride: Philly—The Brotherly Ones 7:00 –8:30pmLocation:NJMH Visitors Center(104 E. 126th Street, Suite 2C)FREE | For more information: 212-348-8300Don’t Miss tonight’s final NJMH session of the year!Tonight’s session with Christian McBride discussing and playing representative music from his hometown of Philadelphia is likely to be a highlight of this year, and a perfect way to go into 2012. End the old and bring in the new as Philadelphia is given props as one of the mainsprings of jazz in the 20th century. Is it just happenstance that John Coltrane, Benny Golson, Jimmy Heath, Pat Martino, Christian McBride and a plethora of other greats are from Philly? No way. Tonight’s session will reveal why.