"Me, Myself and Eye" curated by Michel Gentile started in 2015, is an innovative concert series of solo improvisers at 440 Gallery in Brooklyn. Each month a different musician performs solo surrounded by a new art installation in the gallery. The series has brought the visual art and music communities together.
about the artist:
MICHEL GENTILE
Flutist and composer Michel Gentile is an active member of the New York jazz scene. He received his Master of Music degree with distinction from the New England Conservatory of Music where he studied with Jimmy Giuffre, Dave Holland, Geri Allen, Mick Goodrick, and George Garzone. Michel has appeared on record with Ray Charles, Anthony Braxton, Dave Kikoski, Bobby Previte, Jane Ira Bloom, Michael Formanek, and Adam Rudolph. He has performed with Joe Lovano, Dave Liebman, Fred Hersch, Kurt Rosenwinkle, Joseph Jarman, Yusef Lateef, and many others. Michel has been a longtime member of WORKS, Go Organic Orchestra, Gentile-Romano and also leads his own groups.
He has been teaching for over 35 years and his teaching portfolio includes Queens College, New England Conservatory, Wellesley College, Brooklyn Conservatory of Music and Little Orchestra Society. Michel has taught privately, in the classroom, workshops and master classes. He takes special pride in his work in the public schools and with preschoolers with special needs at the Helen Keller School for the Visually Impaired.
Michel has studied composition with George Russell, John Heiss and Muhal Richard Abrams. He is especially proud to have studied with Donna Doyle. Michel has composed for everything from solo instruments to a quintet with flute and string quartet and a triple concerto for flute, piano and drums with chamber orchestra. He has composed for radio, television and film media. His compositions have been featured on "Seize the Moment" 1994, "Trapeze Contortionist" 2001 "Red Balloon" 2005, “Flesh and Steel" 2008 and "Rock, Paper, Scissors" 2011 by Gentile-Romano. His release with the collaborative ensemble WORKS was named one of the “best albums of 2013” by Downbeat. Downbeat also named him in the “Talent Deserving Wider Recognition” category.
Michel has worked extensively with dance, theater, and film, most notably with the remarkable ensemble" Strike Anywhere", and has been featured on national radio and television throughout North America and Europe.
Michel has been running the non-profit organization Connection Works with Rob Garcia and Daniel Kelly since 2017. Connection Works' acclaimed concert series, Wide Open Works, has presented an outstanding array of jazz musicians, including jazz legends Sheila Jordan, Dave Liebman, Joe Lovano, Billy Hart, John Abercrombie, Joseph Jarman and Cecil McBee and has consistently received New York Times critic's picks. He also curates a concert series of solo improvisers at 440 Gallery, Brooklyn since 2015.