About

Ember is a Brooklyn-based jazz trio featuring Caleb Wheeler Curtis (stritch, sopranino saxophone, trumpet), Noah Garabedian (double bass, synth), and Vinnie Sperrazza (drums). The group functions as a true collective, with each member contributing original compositions and shaping the music equally through improvisation and deep listening.

Ember’s sound draws on a wide range of influences, from modern jazz and free improvisation to rhythm and blues. Their performances are spontaneous, often blurring the line between composition and improvisation. Critics have noted their cohesion and adventurousness: Winnipeg Free Press called their music “a winner that has depth and surprises galore,” while Dark Blue Notes placed them in the lineage of iconic trios like Ellington’s Money Jungle and Bill Evans’ Vanguard trio.

The trio has collaborated with a range of artists including Orrin Evans, Steven Bernstein, Sara Caswell, and Leo Genovese, and performed in featured sets with Evans and Bernstein at Dizzy’s Club in New York City. In 2023, Ember was named a finalist for the DCJazzPrix.

National tours have taken Ember across the U.S., with performances on the West Coast (Seattle, Portland, Berkeley), Southwest (Phoenix, Tucson, Austin), Midwest (Chicago, Milwaukee, Cleveland, Columbus, Ann Arbor, Detroit, Pittsburgh), and throughout the Northeast—including NYC, Utica, Tannersville, Amherst, Buffalo, and Rochester.

The New York Times praised the group for their “feeling of momentum… sounding neither in a hurry nor willing to be held back in any way,” and Nettavisen described them as “an extraordinary collective cohort… where the trust between them… shines through as the most important foundation.”

Their latest release, "August in March" is available everywhere via Imani Records.