New music from South End jazzman Arni Cheatham

Against the backdrop of his own photography, Arni Cheatham celebrated the release of his latest CD, "Telacoustic", at the Piano Factory Gallery, 793 Tremont Street, on Sunday afternoon, April 2. Approximately 40 people joined Cheatham and his band: trombonist Bill Lowe, pianist Kevin Harris, bassist Timo Shanko and drummer David Moore, nibbling on wine, cheese and fruit while the band showcased tunes from Cheatham's new release, a 7-song collection of standards and originals.

Among the photographs behind the band was Cheatham's own portrait of longtime friend and collaborator Lowe. Among the guests cheering Cheatham on were Pauline Bilsky and Harry King, president and vice-chairman of the board of JazzBoston. Three weeks later, Cheatham was back in the gallery, joining the Kurtis Rivers Quartet on a few songs at a Jazz Week concert sponsored by Jazz Boston, the first of Cheatham's three Jazz Week gigs. At 72, the esteemed saxman and photographer is on a roll.

Cheatham has made his home in the Piano Factory since its earliest days in the mid-1970s as an artist live-work space. A Chicago native who moved to Boston to study at Berklee College of Music, Cheatham not only made Boston his home but became an integral and active member of the Boston free-jazz scene, forming a band called Thing in the 1970s and becoming a founding member of the Jazz Coalition, a musician-advocacy group that preceded JazzBoston.

Cheatham's wide-ranging contributions to the group: from writing grant proposals to organizing music-education programs and concerts at hospitals, homeless shelters and other institutions, helped earn him a Jazz Hero award, bestowed by JazzBoston and the Jazz Journalists Association in 2013. Now in his early 70s, Cheatham is far from slowing down: he is a member of the Aardvark Orchestra and the Makanda Project, he continues to photograph birds, nature and human subjects and he and Lowe run JazzBoston's Riffs and Raps, an interactive music education program for audiences from toddlers to seniors.

Last summer, his bird photographs were exhibited at the Hammond Residential real estate offices at 505 Tremont Street and he also presented a series of free, monthly music appreciation workshops through the summer.

"Telacoustic" was recorded with three different musician lineups including Lowe, Moore and Shanko. The disc includes imaginative spins on familiar titles such as "My Romance" and "Cry Me a River" as well as Cheatham's own compositions, all woven together by Cheatham's rich, full saxophone, the voice of his triumphs, his struggles and his passion.

On April 23, Cheatham helped saxophonist Rivers and his quartet usher in Jazz Week at the Piano Factory, taking a few solos with Rivers's quartet and playing harmonies alongside his friend. The 4:00 PM show featured Rivers originals such as "Into the Shadows" as well as favorites "On Green Dolphin Street" and Stevie Wonder's "Isn't She Lovely". The band played surrounded by Izzy Vanhall's bold, vividly colored canvases of futuristic-looking human forms.

As Jazz Week continues, Cheatham will perform in the City Council chamber at Boston City Hall on Wednesday, April 26 at 11:00 AM at All Jazzed Up, a free concert to celebrate International Jazz Day. On Saturday, April 29 at 8:00 PM, Cheatham will perform with the Aardvark Orchestra in Democratic Vistas?, a free concert at the MIT Kresge Auditorium in Cambridge.

For further details about Jazz Week events, please visit https://jazzboston.org/jazz-calendar/