Here are some select clippings from the past week showing the variety of hits/mentions identifying musicians and scholars as Eastman School of Music alumni, faculty or students. Note: Some links may have expired.)
Jazz may be the least popular music genre, but the Rochester jazz festival rocks
(Democrat and Chronicle 06/17/2018)
So how do we explain it? First, I suspect Rochester is way ahead of the national curve, thanks to the area’s rich jazz tradition that has given birth to several notable jazz musicians, from the Mangione and LaBarbera brothers to world-class drummer Steve Gadd, vibraphonist Joe Locke and guitarist Chet Catallo.
Add to that the great impact of the Eastman School of Music, one of the top two or three music (and jazz) college institutions in the world. Thanks to Eastman, our area can also lay claim to bassists Ron Carter and Jeff Campbell, guitarist Bob Sneider, pianists Bill Dobbins and Harold Danko, drummer Rich Thompson, and many more. (Also reported by Newstral.com)
VC WEB BLOG | Violist Masumi Per Rostad – ‘Inside the Viola’s Cornerstone Solo Repertoire …
(The Violin Channel 06/15/2018)
With the 2018 Primrose International Viola Competition currently underway at the Colburn School in Los Angeles, VC recently caught up with Eastman School of Music Viola Professor, Masumi Per Rostad
(City Newspaper 06/13, 2018)
In 2016, when he was inducted into the Rochester Music Hall of Fame, … Locke also studied theory and composition at the prep department at the Eastman School of Music. …
Musician Bios: Thursday, June 28
(City Newspaper 06/13, 2018)
Quinn Lawrence Band (Straight-ahead jazz) Maybe you’ve caught him at an after-hours jam session, playing hard-bop saxophone with the best of them. And then the next night you think your eyes and ears must be deceiving you when you find him blasting away with equal chops on the trumpet. Eastman School of Music graduate Quinn Lawrence is that rare musician who can hold his own on those instruments and more. (RN)
Jazz Goes to the Movies with Mark Watters (Movie music) He wrote the scores for movies like “All Dogs Go to Heaven 2” and “Doug’s First Movie” and television series like “Paradise” and “The Little Mermaid,” and that’s just a fraction of Grammy-winning composer Mark Watters’s career. Let’s just say the man knows the music of films and how to take them into the territory of jazz. (RN) markwatters.com
Musician Bios: Wednesday, June 27
(City Newspaper 06/13, 2018)
Harold Danko (Straight-ahead jazz) Before joining the jazz faculty at the Eastman School of Music, where he is now professor emeritus, pianist Harold Danko toured extensively as a sideman with greats like Chet Baker, Gerry Mulligan and Lee Konitz, and was a featured performer in the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra. A formidable composer, his tune “Tidal Breeze” has been recorded by Baker, Konitz, and others. (RN)
Musician Bios, Tuesday, June 26
(City Newspaper 06/13, 2018)
Gary Versace Trio (Straight-ahead jazz) After moving to New York in 2002, organist, pianist, and accordionist Gary Versace became the keyboardist of choice for greats like John Scofield, John Abercrombie, and Lee Konitz. Now on the faculty of the Eastman School of Music, Versace has played on Grammy-winning recordings by the Maria Schneider Orchestra. The late piano icon Marian McPartland called Versace “endlessly inventive.” (RN)
Musician Bios: Monday, June 25
(City Newspaper 06/13/2018)
Nathan Kay Quintet (Straight-ahead jazz) Once you hear the sound of trumpeter Nathan Kay, you will not be surprised to learn that he won this year’s National Trumpet Competition (jazz category). When Kay and his excellent quintet — Lex Korten on piano; Rowan Wolf, saxophone; Mikailo Kasha, bass; and Stephen Morris, drums — launch into one of his tunes, you’ll be equally impressed with his compositional skills. Kay emerged from The Eastman School of Music ready to make his mark on the jazz scene. (RN)
Musician Bios: Sunday, June 24
(City Newspaper 06/13/2018)
Bill Dobbins (Straight-ahead jazz) Many jazz fans think of Bill Dobbins as the consummate big band director. He not only conducts the Eastman Jazz Ensemble and Eastman Studio Orchestra, European jazz aficionados remember him as the long-time conductor of the WDR Big Band and Metropole Orchestra. But Dobbins is also an excellent pianist who has played with Clark Terry, Phil Woods, and Peter Erskine. (RN)
Jam Sessions with Bob Sneider (Straight-ahead jazz) Visiting musicians who play at the XRIJF stay at the Hyatt Regency Rochester Hotel, and when they finish their final sets, they are sometimes so wound up they need to blow off steam at the nightly jam session, this year held at The Street Craft Kitchen & Bar. Guitarist extraordinaire Bob Sneider, who has toured with Chuck Mangione and played with a Who’s Who of jazz greats, gets things started at 10:30 p.m. Past jammers have included Wynton Marsalis, George Benson, and Eric Alexander. (RN)
Triocity (Straight-ahead jazz) Multi-reedist Charles Pillow has lent his talents to Frank Sinatra, Paul Simon, Bruce Springsteen, and many others. Drummer Rich Thompson has played with Clark Terry, Marian McPartland, and Dizzy Gillespie. And bassist Jeff Campbell has shared the stage with McPartland, Gene Bertoncini, Rich Perry, and others. Together, these three Eastman School of Music faculty members are Triocity. (RN)
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