2023 Mission Hill Arts Festival: Lee Fish

LEE FISH – Modern Jazz

“Lee Fish is one of my favorites — inventive, tasteful, and exciting — a creative force to watch for on the instrument” – Terri Lyne Carrington

Acclaimed Boston-born drummer and composer Lee Fish has been part of the thriving Brooklyn music scene since 2018. A fixture at Wally’s Cafe during his student tenure at Berklee — playing with such distinctive leaders as Jason Palmer, Esperanza Spalding, Nadia Washington, and Evgeny Lebedev — Lee became a highly sought collaborator in Boston, who’s now flexing his breadth as a leader in New York City.

In the studio and on the bandstand, Fish has enjoyed artistic associations with a range of icons, including Danilo Perez, Warren Wolf, Gary Burton, Julian Lage, John Ellis, David Gilmore and Ryan Scott, among others. Fish’s artistry allows energy to inform his choices on the bandstand. His aesthetic reflects joyful confrontation. He seeks to challenge traditional constructs, mingle genres, and push the music in soulful new directions, always inviting the listener along for the ride. According to DownBeat’s critic Matthew Kessel, Fish’s “funky rhythms bring to mind a New Orleans snare player.”

The centerpiece of Lee’s expression is groove. At once thoughtful and unpredictable, he plays with a vitality as pervasive as the heartbeat that pulses from one moment to the next. His dynamic sensitivity serves the music wherever it wants to go. And his familial connection to harmony influences textural intentions and experimentation.
About “Sound of a Starr” in Fish’s own words”
“Sounds of a Starr” has been a way for me to pay tribute to and continue the legacy of the prolific Lori Starr. This project is an experience that transcends the music and allows me to dive deeper into the spirit of the most inspiring woman I’ve ever known. Generosity, kindness, passion, warmth, love, and life are just a few of the words that come to mind when thinking of Lori Starr, and her music encompasses all of these elements without question. In addition to arranging many of her diverse compositions for various instrumentations, I’ve also composed some pieces with her influence as a guiding force. Although she is no longer physically with us, I am certain that her energetic spirit and passion will live on through the music and bring joy for years to come.”

VISUAL ARTIST:
NANCY AHMADIFAR

– Photography Exhibit –

For Nancy Ahmadifar, photography heightens the awareness of her surroundings while offering a mode of self-expression. What started as a hobby four years ago, photography quickly became a passion that could be applied wherever she happened to be—her backyard garden, her Mission Hill neighborhood and its environs, or far-off vacation destinations. In her words: “When my photographs resonate with the viewer or inspire others to pursue their own artistic aspirations, I derive great satisfaction.”