UMaine Chamber Jazz Ensemble Concert Nov. 6
Contact: Karel Lidral, 581-1256; George Manlove, 581-3756
ORONO — The University of Maine Chamber Jazz Ensemble will perform Tuesday, Nov. 6, in the Leonard and Renee Minsky Recital Hall, Class of 1944 Hall, beginning at 7:30 p.m.
The Chamber Jazz Ensemble, new as of the fall of 2006, is a small group of several soloists or small ensembles who perform with piano accompaniment. The ensemble also is a major component of the new minor in jazz studies at UMaine. This semester’s group consists of 10 musicians, representing a variety of instruments.
The organization’s major emphases are on the development of skills in the art of jazz improvisation, and the other salient aspects of jazz-swing feeling. Instrumentalists at all ability levels and all academic majors are invited to participate in the Chamber Jazz Ensemble.
In a chamber jazz ensemble, the piano replaces the standard jazz rhythm section, which usually consists of piano, bass and drums, in the same spirit that orchestral reductions for the piano are used by recitalists in the classical realm, says associate music professor Karel Lidral, advisor for the new minor in jazz studies and the minor in music at UMaine.
Tickets are $6, and students with a MaineCard are admitted free.
In addition to the Nov. 6 concert, the ensemble is scheduled to perform Dec. 5 in the Bear’s Den of the Memorial Union, from 1-2 p.m. That event is free and open to the public.
The program will include great jazz standards and originals, including “Bye Bye Blackbird” (Ray Henderson), “Doxy” (Sonny Rollins), “Edward Lee” (Harold Mabern, Jr.), “The Jody Grind” (Horace Silver), “Killer Joe” (Benny Golson), “St. Thomas” (Sonny Rollins), “Sir John” (Blue Mitchell), “Take the ‘A’ Train” (Billy Strayhorn), “Tenor Madness” (Sonny Rollins) and “Work Song” (Nat Adderley).
Musicians include: John Brabant, alto saxophone, of Bangor; Gary Craig, alto saxophone, Oakland; Angel Crowley, piano, Clinton; Ray Delear, alto saxophone, East Corinth; Richard Dort, clarinet, Plymouth; Danielle Gadway, alto saxophone, Fairfield; Josh Gastonguay, electric bass, Sanford; Anna-Marlies Hunter, clarinet, Eastport; Kevin Judkins, guitar, Mount Vernon; and Nathaniel Kellogg, ‘cello, Orono.
For additional information, call the Maine Center for the Arts Box Office at 581-1755 or visit the School of Performing Arts website (www.umaine.edu/spa).