The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
21 YEARS AND COUNTING
Annual weekend of concerts celebrates up-and-coming, seasoned artists
GOSHEN >> The Litchfield Jazz Festival celebrates 21 years, Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 6-7 at the Goshen Fairgrounds. This year’s lineup promises a plenty of music — the new, the traditional and the eclectic music in the world of jazz.
The themed program, Generations Of Jazz, pairs young starsin-the-making who came out of the festival’s teaching arm, Litchfield Jazz Camp, with many iconic players.
This year the festival sports a new look with its Sunday kickoff, Scat & Scramble, a jazz brunch with a New Orleans flair in food and music.
The festival lineup includes Andrew Hadro with Tony Malaby and Mario Pavone; Richie Barshay with Jimmy Greene; Albert Rivera with Paul Bollenback; Nicole Zuraitis with Dave Stryker; Daryl Johns with Orrin Evans and Steve Johns; Big Bass Blowout with Avery Sharpe and Matt Wilson; the Litchfield Jazz Orchestra with Don Braden; Emmet Cohen with Jimmy Heath; and Curtis Brothers with Donald Harrison.
Baritone sax player Andrew Hadro has performed around the US and Europe with the Duke Ellington Orchestra, James Moody, the Bjorkestra, Tony Malaby, Chico Hamilton, and Junior Mance, among many others. He is active in the New York music scene and involved in several projects including performances with his own groups. He is a director of the Litchfield Jazz Camp, maintains an active private lesson studio, and works as a Product Specialist for Vandoren. He is also currently the curator of JazzBariSax.com, a website dedicated to the baritone saxophone. www.andrewhadro.com
In his two decades as an integral member of the thriving improvised music community of New York City, saxophonist and composer Tony Malaby has emerged as a wholly unique and singular voice. Malaby was recently named one of Downbeat’s “80 Coolest Things in Jazz”. www.tonymalaby.net
Mario Pavone is celebrating 50 years in music and his 76th birthday this year, and the LPA has dedicated the 2016 Litchfield Jazz Festival to him. Pavone began playing bass in the early sixties and got his first big break in 1964 with pianist Paul Bley. His recording catalogue includes most recently the critically acclaimed Arc Trio and Street Songs. He is a recipient of a 2012 Chamber Music America New Works Grant. He has served as a board member for Litchfield Performing Arts for a dozen years, and performed on the Litchfield Jazz Festival on many occasions. He has served on the faculty of Litchfield Jazz Camp since 1998.Mario was chosen to perform as a mentor in this year’s Jazz Festival by LJC faculty member, Andrew Hadro. They will grace the mainstage along with Tony Malaby Aug. 6 at noon.
Percussionist Richie Barshay, noted for his work with the Herbie Hancock Quartet, has established himself as a prominent musical voice of his generation. On tour and recordings his diverse résumé includes Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, Esperanza Spalding, The Klezmatics, Fred Hersch, Kenny Werner, Lee Konitz, Natalie Merchant, David Krakauer, Fred Wesley, Claudia Acuña, Bobby McFerrin and Pete Seeger among others. Since 2004, he has led outreach projects as an American Musical Envoy with the U.S. State Department in Asia, Africa, South America, and Europe. Now based in New York City, Richie began playing Jazz and Afro-Caribbean music during his youth and has expanded his focus to Indian rhythmic concepts and tabla, inspiring his 2007 recording debut Homework on Ayva Records.
Jimmy Greene’s debut recording for Mack Avenue, Beautiful Life, is a celebration of the life of his 6-year-old daughter, Ana Márquez-Greene, whose life was tragically taken, along with 19 other children and 6 educators, on December 14, 2012 at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown. The album garnered two Grammy® nominations: one for Best Jazz Instrumental Album and the other for Best Arrangement, Instruments and Vocals for Greene’s arrangement of his composition “When I Come Home,” featuring vocalist Javier Colon. www.jimmygreene.com
Albert Rivera’s musical journey began at the prestigious Laguardia High School in New York City and continued during the summers at the Litchfield Jazz Camp where he was a scholarship student throughout his teens. After taking his degree at New School University Jazz and Contemporary music conservatory, he began a career in music that sees him today, a seasoned performer, educator and producer at 32. Albert has garnered awards and has a successful career both as a sideman and a leader. He won the ASCAP Young Jazz Composer Award in 2009 and the 2012 Chamber Music American Residency Grant. www.albertriverajazz.com
The Litchfield Jazz Festival Summer Music School installed Paul Bollenback as artist-in-residence. He also is a featured artist on the bill of the Summer Guitar & Bass Workshop offered by Duquesne University. The guitarist has performed on numerous television programs, among them Entertainment Tonight, The Tonight Show, The Today Show, Joan Rivers, and Good Morning America. He has shared the stage with a long list of musical artists, including Charlie Byrd, Arturo Sandoval, Herb Ellis, Stanley Turrentine, Spyro Gyra’s Scott Ambush, and Della Reese. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/paul-bollenback-mn0000746344/biography Nicole Zuraitis joined forces with fellow Litchfield Jazz Camp faculty member Carmen Staaf on the mainstage of the 2014 Litchfield Jazz Festival, and continues consistently performing with the great Livingston Taylor, Tom Chapin and Melanie Safka. She has been a main stage act as both a leader and sideman at the New Orleans Jazz Fest, Stan Rogers Folk Fest in Canada, Port Fer-ry Festival in Australia, the Jacobs Ladder Festival in Israel, the Litchfield Jazz Festival, the New England Jazz and Blues Fest, the Chautauqua Music Festival and Bonnaroo in Nashville. http:// www.nicolezuraitis.com/
Dave Stryker’s new CD “Messin’ with Mister T”, is a celebration of the man he worked with for over a decade — Stanley Turrentine, “Mister T” — with ten of the greatest tenor sax players on the scene today. It went to #1 on JazzWeek Radio and stayed in the Top 50 for 20 weeks and has received great reviews including 4 1/2 stars in Downbeat magazine. Dave’s last CD “Eight Track” was #9 for 2014 on the Jazz Week Radio Charts where it stayed for 20 weeks topping off at #3 for 3 weeks. Downbeat magazine picked it as one of the Top CD’s of 2014, ran a feature article in the June 2014 issue on Dave, and voted him into the 2014 Downbeat Critics and Readers Poll for the 7th time. www.davestryker.com
Daryl Johns was born in the Bronx and began playing bass at age seven with encouragement from his father, drummer Steve Johns, and his mother, saxophonist Debbie Keefe. Johns has studied with Chip Jackson and Dave Santoro. He has attended the Jazz in July program, the Vermont Jazz Center, and the Litchfield Jazz Camp. Johns sits in regularly around the New York area with musicians including Joe Lovano, Dave Liebman, and Randy Brecker. He also performs throughout New York and New Jersey with a trio of his peers. Johns was featured on a Fox television segment called “12-YearOld Jazz Prodigy.” https:// jazzleadsheets.com/artists/ daryl-johns-bass.html
Through 25 albums as a leader and co-leader, including his neo-soul/acid jazz ensemble Luv Park and the bracing collective trio Tarbaby, Orrin Evans has always followed a vigorously individual path. The Evolution of Oneself is no exception, with Evans setting a pace that brings out fiery, gut-churning playing from both McBride and Riggins – two of modern jazz’s most renowned and distinctive voices in their own rights.
w w w.orrinevansmusic. com
For over three decades, drummer Steve Johns has been a major presence on the jazz scene, collaborating with many of the music’s most renowned practitioners. In addition to his extensive credits as a player, he has long been active as an educator. While with the Billy Taylor Trio, he took part in over a hundred lecture/demonstrations throughout the U.S., and has regularly served on the faculty for educational programs at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, Long Island University, Montclair State University, the Litchfield Jazz Camp, the Vermont Jazz Center, and Jazz House Kids. Steve and Debbie co-direct the JCC Thurnauer TeenTown Jazz Program in Tenafly, NJ, which has featured such guests as Larry Coryell, Bernie Williams, and Jimmy Owens. www.stevejohnsjazz.com
In an age of ephemeral pop stars and flavor-of-themonth trends, bassist and composer Avery Sharpe is a reminder of the lasting value of steadfast dedication and personal integrity. As the title of one of his tunes asserts, “Always Expect the Best of Yourself.” averysharpe.com
New York based drummer and Grammy nominee Matt Wilson is one of today’s most celebrated jazz artists. He is universally recognized for his musical and melodic drumming style as well as being a gifted composer, bandleader, producer, and teaching artist. Matt’s positive energy, sense of humor and ability to explore a broad range of musical settings keeps him in constant demand. In addition, Wilson’s dedication to jazz has helped establish him as a beloved world ambassador for the music, on and off the bandstand. www.mattwilsonjazz.com
For over 30 years, Don Braden has toured the world leading his own ensembles on saxophone and flute, as a special guest, and as a sideman with Jazz greats Betty Carter, Wynton Marsalis, Freddie Hubbard, Tony Williams, Roy Haynes, and many others. He has composed music for ensembles ranging from duo to full symphonic orchestra, in many styles, for recordings (including 19 CDs as a leader and over 80 as a sideman), film, and the television networks NIckelodeon and CBS. Braden is a leading arranger of contemporary standards, and has built a solid collection of newer American songs into his Jazz repertoire. He is also a world renowned educator, having spent over two decades giving master classes at countless schools and universities, and running first class educational programs such as the Litchfield Jazz Camp, NJPAC’s Wells Fargo Jazz For Teens, and most recently, the Harvard University Monday Jazz Band. www.donbraden.com
Emmet Cohen is leader of the “Emmet Cohen Trio,” and pianist and music director for jazz vocalist and television personality Lea DeLaria. A member of both the “Ali Jackson Trio” and the “Christian McBride Special Trio,” he has also appeared regularly with Kurt Elling, Billy Hart, Jimmy Heath, Brian Lynch, and Herlin Riley. His recordings include the “Masters Legacy Series featuring Jimmy Cobb” (2017), “New Directions” (2016), with Herlin Riley; “Questioned Answer” (2014), co-produced with Bryan Lynch; “Infinity” (2013), featuring his Italian Trio; and his acclaimed debut CD “In the Element” (2011), with bassist Joe Sanders and drummer Rodney Green. emmetcohen.com
Jimmy Heath has long been recognized as a brilliant instrumentalist and a magnificent composer and arranger. Jimmy is the middle brother of the legendary Heath Brothers (Percy Heath/bass and Tootie Heath/drums), and is the father of Mtume. He has performed with nearly all the jazz greats of the last 50 years, from Howard McGhee, Dizzy Gillespie, and Miles Davis to Wynton Marsalis. One of Heath’s earliest big bands (1947-1948) in Philadelphia included John Coltrane, Benny Golson, Specs Wright, Cal Massey, Johnny Coles, Ray Bryant, and Nelson Boyd. Charlie Parker and Max Roach sat in on one occasion. www. jimmyheath.com
The Curtis Brothers, Luques (bass) and Zaccai (piano) follow in the rich family tradition of jazz. The music has often been the beneficiary of sibling bonds. Look no further than the Adderley brothers (Cannonball & Nat), the Heath Brothers (Percy, Jimmy, and Albert (Tootie), the Brecker Brothers, or more recently the Roney brothers (Wallace & Antoine), the Parrott sisters (Nicki and Lisa), and the Jensen sisters (Christine & Ingrid). Jazz music has frequently been the family tie that binds. And as with the Curtis Brothers those are also siblings that recorded and performed together. Based on the brilliance of Completion of Proof, clearly Luques and Zaccai Curtis have joined that auspicious tradition. http://truthrevolutionrecords.com/artists/curtisbrothers
Donald Harrison was born in New Orleans in 1960 and grew up in a home environment saturated with the city’s traditional brass bands, afro-new Orleans culture, modern jazz, R&B, funk, classical, world and dance music. Harrison created “Nouveau Swing,” a style off jazz that merges it with modern dance music like R&B, Hip-Hop, Soul and Rock. Over twenty years ago, he also combined jazz with Afro-New Orleans traditional music on his critically acclaimed and influential albums “Indian Blues” in 1991 and “Spirits of Congo Square” in 2000. www.donaldharrison.com
On Sunday, Aug. 7, the Yale Jazz Messengers are the featured act on Second Stage at 1:30 p.m. The group is a quartet of undergraduates and recent graduates of Yale University who came together because of their common love for jazz and their lack of opportunity to explore their musical passions within their own school. Dismayed by the absence of a formal jazz program at Yale, these four musicians became leaders of the Yale Undergraduate Jazz Collective, a student run organization that creates a space for jazz performance and appreciation on campus. Throughout the year the YUJC runs a biweekly concert series, hosts jam sessions and masterclasses for students, and lobbies for a jazz curriculum within the university. The group also puts on the Jazz Festival at Yale each spring.
Litchfield Jazz Festival, having heard of challenges facing these avid jazz fans and knowing musicians are never happier than when they are playing, invited the Yale Jazz Messengers to perform. Vita Muir, the festival’s founder and director was keen to boost the spirits of these young musicians, hence the invitation. “Ordinarily, slots on our Second Stage are reserved for students of Litchfield Jazz Camp. But this was a special situation and needed addressing in a creative way.”
For tickets and information visit call 86-361-6285 or visit www.litchfieldjazzfest.com.