In this very special, official album release show, CJC-alum Michael Echaniz and his malleable ensemble, dubbed “Rebiralost”, will present music from his critically-acclaimed debut album, Seven Shades of Violet, rearranging the densely-layered original compositions and arrangements for the intimate spontaneity of the acoustic-electric trio. Don’t miss this one!

Featured in DownBeat Magazine’s “Best Albums of 2023”

★★★★ “This is simply great, challenging music.” – Brian Morton, DownBeat

“Seven Shades of Violet is not just a collection of individual compositions; it’s an intricately constructed and musically complex masterpiece.” – Steven James, Jazz in Europe

On September 8th, 2023, Ridgeway Records released Seven Shades of Violet (Rebiralost), the stunning debut jazz album from San Francisco based pianist, keyboardist, and composer, Michael Echaniz, in the wake of a prolonged health crisis. Well over an hour in length, this epic conceptual work features the core contributions of producer, bassist, and vocalist Jeff Denson, drummer and percussionist Dillon Vado, and primary vocalists Danielle Wertz and Molly Pease with an array of special guests, including features from saxophonist Dann Zinn, percussionist Silvestre Martinez, and the strings of Friction Quartet. Symmetrically constructed, the nine original compositions and two arrangements feature a wide variety of synesthetic moods and acoustic-electric textures, drawing inspiration from mathematics, history, Basque heritage, and existential crisis. Accessibly melodic, rhythmically complex, melancholic, introspective, cathartic, often maximalist, Seven Shades of Violet presents a bold contribution to the futurist, contemporary jazz scene.

Seven Shades of Violet (Rebiralost) is made possible through the Musical Grant Program, which is administered by InterMusic SF, and supported by the Clarence E. Heller Charitable Foundation, and the Hewlett Foundation; and was supported by New Music USA’s Creator Development Fund in 2022- 23.

Band Members

Michael Echaniz – Piano, Keyboards
Jeff Denson – Acoustic/Electric Basses, Voice
Dillon Vado – Drum Set

Artist Bios

Michael Echaniz is one of the brightest musicians, composers, and artists emerging from the West Coast. A pianist since five, Michael has studied music at California Jazz Conservatory (B.M.), and CalArts (MFA). Michael is an avid performer, playing and recording alongside internationally renowned artists and pillars of the Bay Area music scene such as Jeff Denson, Romain Pilon, Wu Man, Gerald Cleaver, Paul McCandless, Scott Amendola, Erik Jekabson’s Electric Squeezebox Orchestra, Dillon Vado, Alan Hall, Steve Lugerner, and Friction Quartet in venues such as Piedmont Piano Company, Black Cat, the Art Boutiki, Yoshi’s, and Carnegie Hall’s Stern Auditorium, as well as Umbria, Montreux, Fillmore, and Portola Vineyards jazz festivals. Michael has won numerous awards, mostly recently, Honorable Mentions in the 2023 Unsigned Only and 2022 International Songwriting Competition, a New Music Workshop at the 2022 International Jazz Composers’ Symposium (ISJAC), and the prestigious 2021 ASCAP Herb Alpert Young Jazz Composers Award. On September 8th, 2023, Michael released Seven Shades of Violet (Rebiralost), an ambitious, virtuosic, symmetrical concept album of original compositions and arrangements on Ridgeway Records, supported by InterMusic SF’s 2020 Musical Grant Program and New Music USA’s Creator Development Fund in 2022-23. The debut has received wide critical acclaim, including a coveted 4-star review in Downbeat Magazine. Michael’s forward-thinking original music embraces rhythmic complexity, haunting melodicism, fluidity between improvisation and through-composition, influence from disparate styles of classical, world, and pop music, and deep emotional connection. Learn more at michaelechaniz.com

Jeff Denson is an award-winning bassist, vocalist, and composer who has released 16 albums as a leader or co-leader and toured extensively throughout the US, Canada, and Europe with both his own groups and others at some of the world’s most prestigious venues and festivals such as the Village Vanguard, Birdland, The Kennedy Center, JVC Jazz Festival Paris, Montreal Jazz Festival, Berlin Jazz Festival, and SFJazz, among many others. Jeff has worked with some of jazz’s finest artists such as Brian Blade, Joe Lovano, Chris Potter, Mike Stern, Charles McPherson, Billy Childs, Jane Ira Bloom, Craig Handy, Ingird Jensen, Dave Douglas, Walter Smith III, Kendrick Scott, Rachel Z, Omar Hakim, Gerald Cleaver, Anat Cohen, Warren Wolf, Leo Genovese, Etienne Charles, Edward Simon, Paul McCandless, Cuong Vu, Ralph Alessi, Dan Weiss, Lionel Loueke, Paul Hanson, Romain Pilon, Mimi Fox, and many others, and had an ongoing relationship with the legendary Lee Konitz for over a decade until his passing in 2020. Jeff’s work has been reviewed in many of the world’s leading periodicals including The New York Times, Washington Post, San Francisco Chronicle, along with many more international periodicals, and has been ranked in the DownBeat Rising Star Critic’s Poll 13 times in the Bass, Electric Bass and Male Vocalist categories, and was the First Place Winner of the 69th Annual DownBeat Magazine Rising Star Critic’s Poll for “Electric Bass” in 2021. Jeff is the Founder and President of Ridgeway Arts, Inc., a 501c3 arts nonprofit organization and the Dean of Instruction at the CJC. Learn more at jeffdenson.com

Dillon Vado is a drummer and vibraphonist who plays music that is an honest representation of a broad range of influences. Dillon is known for making music that is dynamic and complex but memorable and relatable. As comfortable laying down Brazilian grooves on drum set as he is improvising with poets and dancers on vibraphone, Dillon can be found playing vibes with many of his own projects including The Table Trio, and Heart Matter with Amy D. and drumming/composing for Never Weather, who released their debut album, Blissonance, on Ridgeway Records in 2020.

As a sideman, Dillon can be found performing with skilled vocalists like Christelle Durandy, Danielle Wertz and Amy Dabalos, Brazilian music with Marcos Silva, the Oakland Samba Revue and Sandy Cressman, and many other projects including The Electric Squeezebox Orchestra, Silvestre Martinez and his Bad Hombres, The Michael Echaniz trio and the Marcus Shelby Jazz Orchestra.

Proof of vaccination is no longer required for Covid-19. Masking is optional and masks are available upon request. The California Jazz Conservatory kindly requests that anyone feeling unwell refrain from attending in-person events of any kind.