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February 8, 2005
JEAN “TOOTS” THIELEMANS AND KENNY
WERNER TO PERFORM IN THE JAZZ ROOM SERIES AT WILLIAM PATERSON UNIVERSITY
ON SUNDAY, MARCH 6 AT 4 P.M.
Renowned guitarist and harmonica player Jean “Toots”
Thielemans and acclaimed pianist Kenny Werner will appear at William
Paterson University in Wayne on Sunday, March 6 as part of the spring
2005 Jazz Room Series.
The concert will begin at 4 p.m. in the Shea Center for Performing
Arts on the campus in Wayne. Tickets are available in advance or
on the day of the performance at $12 standard and $9 for senior
citizens, non-William Paterson students and William Paterson faculty,
staff and alumni. William Paterson students may attend free of charge.
Prior to the concert, Thielemans and Werner will be the guests for
“Sittin In,” an informal discussion about jazz, at 3
p.m. in room 101 of Shea Center. Admission is free to all Jazz Room
ticketholders.
Originally from Brussels, Belgium, Thielemans began playing the
accordion at the age of three and started playing the harmonica
as a hobby. He won his first guitar on a bet and was nicknamed “Toots”
after musicians Toots Mondello and Toots Camarata. Thielemans was
a member of Charlie Parker’s All Stars in Philadelphia and
the George Shearing Quintet.
In 1950, he accompanied jazz great Benny Goodman on a European concert
tour and has worked with musicians including George Shearing, Ella
Fitzgerald, Natalie Cole, Paul Simon and Billy Joel. Thielemans
also created a unique sound on his composition “Bluesette”
when he combined whistling and guitar playing in unison. His harmonica
playing has been featured on “Sesame Street” as well
as numerous film scores such as “Midnight Cowboy,” “The
Getaway” and “Sugarland Express.”
Werner was born in Brooklyn, New York and attended the Manhattan
School of Music. For six years, he taught in the jazz department
at the New School University in New York City. Werner has performed
in solo concerts in New York City and Europe and has recorded several
CDs including “Beauty Secrets,” which features duets
with musicians Joe Lovano and Betty Buckley.
Now in its 27th year of exciting performances, The Jazz Room is
one of the largest and most prestigious college-sponsored jazz events
in the country. Performers include renowned professionals who encompass
the complete spectrum of jazz, from practitioners of traditional
jazz to avant-garde to bebop to swing to Afro-Latin jazz as well
as William Paterson’s own student ensembles. The series has
won numerous grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and
the New Jersey State Council on the Arts for its innovative programming.
For more information, call Shea Center for Performing Arts Box Office
at 973-720-2371.
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Note to editors and reporters: High-resolution,
downloadable photographs are available at http://ww2.wpunj.edu/publicityphotos/Jazz/JazzRoomSpring05/
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