Ryan Blotnick / Jeremy Viner / Scott Colberg / Devin Gray at Sassafrass Cafe – Bar Harbor, ME

Maine meets Berlin and NYC in this band of global jazz musicians with Maine roots. Local guitarist Ryan Blotnick (Soulbenders, Katherine Perkins) went to Berlin last spring to play with two Mainers who now live overseas. Jeremy Viner and Devin Gray are both visiting for the summer so they have formed a mini-residency with NYC bassist Scott Colberg (Calexico, Margaret Glasby) and possible special guests to compose and rehearse their own brand-new collective compositions.Jeremy Viner (b. 1986, Ellsworth, ME) is a Berlin-based multi-instrumentalist, improviser, composer, and educator involved in a wide array of musical idioms. In 2023, after nearly 20 years in New York City, Viner moved to Berlin and continues to play an active role in both the New York and European experimental music scenes. His latest project is the collaborative trio SIFTERS, with Kate Gentile and Marc Ducret. As a saxophonist and clarinetist, Viner has performed internationally with ensembles led by John Hollenbeck, Steve Lehman, Tyshawn Sorey, Anna Webber, Kate Gentile, Rafiq Bhatia, and many others. Viner is a member of the genre-bending tenor saxophone quartet Battle Trance and the chamber minimalist ensemble Bing & Ruth, two of his longest-running musical collaborations. Jeremy Viner is a Vandoren Artist.
Guitarist Ryan Blotnick has been called “a vital contemporary voice” by Time Out New York, “engagingly pensive” by the New York Times, “an authentic, compelling player” by Cadence Magazine. His music is soulful, melodic, and a bit quirky. His studies in New York with ’60s era masters like Gene Bertoncini, Harold Mabern, Yusef Lateef, Billy Taylor and Andrew Cyrille gave him a deep respect for the depth and breadth of jazz, and sparked a desire to contribute to its evolution. In Copenhagen, he attended the Rhythmic Music Conservatory, where young players like Jakob Anderskov, Jakob Bro and Kresten Osgood were trying to disrupt the city’s cozy museum-jazz night clubs with vibrant and original sounds. His interest in contemporary jazz has led him to work with musical thought-leaders like Michael Blake, Mat Maneri, Thomas Morgan and 2024 Pulitzer Prize-winning composer and multi-instrumentalist Tyshawn Sorey. He now lives on Mount Desert Island in Maine, where he writes music for film, teaches at College of the Atlantic, and plays in a soul band. He hikes in Acadia National Park every day and occasionally leaves the island for groceries.
Devin Gray (Portland Maine, USA)‬‭

Is a distinguished drummer, composer, bandleader and producer‬‭ known for his innovative contributions to contemporary jazz. Since relocating to New York City in‬‭ 2006, Gray has become a prominent figure in the jazz community, collaborating with esteemed‬‭ musicians such as David Liebman, Gary Thomas, Tony Malaby, and Kris Davis. He currently‬‭ divides his time between Brooklyn and Berlin, engaging with diverse musical scenes.‬‭

Gray’s discography as a leader showcases his versatility and commitment to pushing musical‬‭ boundaries. His debut album, “Dirigo Rataplan” (2012), featured notable artists Ellery Eskelin,‬ ‭Dave Ballou, and Michael Formanek, and was praised for its complex and intimate compositions.‬‭ He continued this trajectory with “RelativE ResonancE” (2015), collaborating with Chris Speed,‬‭ Kris Davis, and Chris Tordini, further establishing his reputation as a forward-thinking composer.‬Scott Colberg is one of New York’s most versatile bassists, touring with national acts like Margaret Glasby and Calexico, while maintaining a weekly residency at The Richardson with many of Brooklyn’s finest musicians from the jazz and avant-garde scene, such as Qasim Naqvi, Michael Blake, Adam Levy. He also played on Ryan Blotnick’s 2016 album Kush.