The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Litchfield Jazz Camp’s Faculty All Stars to perform July 27
TORRINGTON » The Torrington Historical Society will host a jazz concert and fundraiser with the Litchfield Jazz Camp Faculty All Stars on the grounds of the Hotchkiss-Fyler House Museum on Saturday, July 29, from 7-9 p.m.
This ensemble of wellknown jazz artists, including Mario Pavone, bass; Peter McEachern, trombone; Dave Ballou, trumpet and Mike Sarin, drums, will also include special guest Oscar Noriega, saxophone. Noriega has just won the rising star category in the 2017 Down Beat critics poll. Oscar Noriega is also on Mario Pavone’s recent CD “Vertical” along with Dave Ballou, Peter McEachern and Mike Sarin.
The concert will feature music from Mario Pavone’s recent CD Vertical on Clean Feed Records and Peter McEachern’s upcoming CD Double Helix. The concert will be held in the garden of the Hotchkiss-Fyler House Museum 192 Main St.
Tickets are $20 and can be purchased in advance at the Torrington Historical Society, 192 Main Street or online at www.torringtonhistoricalsociety.org
In the event of inclement weather, the concert will move indoors to the Carriage House gallery behind the Hotchkiss-Fyler House Museum. Although outdoor seating will be available, concert attendees are encouraged to bring a comfortable lawn chair and a picnic basket.
The jazz performed will be rhythmic, forward leaning and exciting. The musicians have shared the stage with many of the important figures of the jazz idiom in their long careers and this is an opportunity to hear these players performing some new compositions as well as some of their previous work.
Bassist/composer Mario Pavone has collaborated with both legendary innovators and today’s most respected young musicians to consistently define the cutting edge of jazz for the past 40 years. He has anchored the trios of Paul Bley (1968-72), Bill Dixon (1980s), and the late Thomas Chapin (1990-97), and coled a variety of notable ensembles with Anthony Braxton, Wadada Leo Smith, and Marty Ehrlich. Unlike most artists whose careers span five decades, his most recent recordings are his most widely acclaimed, appearing on best-of-the-year lists from Slate.com, AllAboutJazz.com, All AboutJazz-New York, Coda, the Village Voice , and the New York Times among others.
Trumpeter/composer Dave Ballou has released nine internationally recognized CD’s as a leader or co-leader. He has performed or recorded with ensembles led by Rabih Abou-Kahlil, Steely Dan, Michael Formanek, Woody Herman, Andrew Hill, John Hollenbeck’s Large Ensemble, Sheila Jordan, Oliver Lake, Dave Liebman, Joe Lovano, Dewey Redman, and Maria Schneider. Ballou has performed Bach’s Brandenberg Concerto #2 with the Bella Musica Orchestra of New York, Larry Austin’s Improvisations with the Boston Modern Orchestra Project, and Gunther Schuller’s Journey into Jazz with the Spokane Symphony and Boston Modern Orchestra Project.
Since moving to New York in 1989, Mike Sarin’s unique style and approach to the drum set has been highly sought after by NYC and European musicians looking to expand the definitions of jazz and improvised music. He has contributed to recordings of Thomas Chapin, Frank Carlberg, Anthony Coleman, Mark Dresser, Marty Ehrlich, Mark Helias, Denman Maroney, Simon Nabatov, Mario Pavone, Ned Rothenberg, and Fred Wesley--recordings found on numerous music critics’ Top Ten CD year-end lists. Sarin performs all over the world — in major and minor festivals. He is currently on staff of the Count Basie Theatre Performing Arts Academy and is a member of the teaching faculty of the New York Jazz Workshop.
Peter McEachern, has toured and recorded three CDs for Polygram with Blues legend Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown; has worked and recorded with minimalist composer Lamonte Young, and is featured on several important CDs: “Insomnia” with the Thomas Chapin Trio on Knitting Factory Works and “Song for Septet” with the Mario Pavone Septet on the New World Countercurrents label. Peter has been a teaching artist at the Litchfield Jazz Camp since 1998. He has released 3 CD’s in the past year “No Chordtet” featuring Dave Santoro, George Sovak and Hamir Atwal, ”Shockwave” featuring the late Thomas Chapin, Steve Johns, Mario Pavone and Jamie Finegan, and No Chordet’s 2nd CD “Subconscious Love” on Truth Revolution Records.
Multi-instrumentalist and composer, Oscar Noriega has lived in Brooklyn since 1992. He has worked with Lee Konitz, Anthony Braxton, Gerry Hemingway, Dewey Redman and Paul Motion. He is currently performing with Tim Berne’s Snakeoil, Endangered Blood (Chris Speed, Jim Black, Trevor Dunn) and is co-leader of the Mexico-inspired Banda De Los Muertos. He plays alto saxophone, clarinet, bass clarinet and drums.
The Litchfield Jazz Festival will be held at the Goshen Fairgrounds Aug. 5-6. For tickets and information, go to https://litchfieldjazzfest.com or call 860-361-6285.