January 27, 2005
WILLIAM PATERSON UNIVERSITY PRESENTS SPRING
JAZZ ROOM SERIES
—Performers include Jean “Toots”
Thielemans and Joe Lovano
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Jean “Toots” Thielemans, the renowned
harmonica player, and Joe Lovano, the Grammy Award-winning saxophonist,
are among the jazz artists scheduled to perform during the spring
2005 Jazz Room Series at William Paterson University in Wayne.
The Sunday afternoon series, one of the most prestigious university-sponsored
jazz events in the country, will run from February 13 through April
17, 2005.
Concerts begin at 4 p.m. on Sundays in the Shea Center for Performing
Arts on campus. “Sittin In,” informal jazz talks with
the afternoon’s artists or other special guests, will be presented
prior to the concerts. The talks begin at 3 p.m. in Shea Center
101 and are free to all Jazz Room ticketholders. Each concert begins
with a performance by student ensemble composed of WPU jazz majors.
The series opens on February 13 with Onaje Allan Gumbs. A legendary
keyboardist, composer, arranger and producer, Gumbs has performed
alongside musicians including Lenny White, Buster Williams and Betty
Carter. He has been featured on National Public Radio’s “Piano
Jazz” with Marian McPartland.
Saxophonist Ray Santos joins Latin jazz great Chico Mendoza and
the William Paterson Latin Jazz Ensemble on February 20. Santos
has played, recorded, composed and arranged for frontline orchestras
throughout the Latin music industry. He has also collaborated with
artists such as the late Tito Puente, Eddie Palmieri and Linda Ronstadt.
On February 27, the Sal Mosca Trio will perform. Mosca, a renowned
pianist, has played on records including “Ezz-thetic”
with Miles Davis and Max Roach and collaborated with saxophonist
Lee Konitz and Warne Marsh. He has also performed solo concerts
at Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall.
The legendary guitarist and harmonica player Jean “Toots”
Thielemans and pianist Kenny Werner will perform on March 6. Thielemans
has performed and recorded with musical artists George Shearing,
Ella Fitzgerald, Natalie Cole and Paul Simon. His harmonica playing
has been featured on “Sesame Street” and in numerous
films. Werner, a renowned pianist, has performed solo concerts in
New York City and Europe. He has recorded several CD’s including
“Beauty Secrets,” which features duets with musicians
Joe Lovano and Betty Buckley.
On April 17, Grammy Award-winning saxophonist and former William
Paterson jazz faculty member Joe Lovano will perform as guest soloist
with the William Paterson Jazz Ensemble, directed by David Demsey,
coordinator of jazz studies at William Paterson. In addition to
touring and recording with musicians such as Woody Herman, Thad
Jones, Mel Lewis and John Scofield, he has also had numerous best-selling
solo projects including his recent ballad “I’m All for
You.” The big band collaboration includes music from Thad
Jones, James Williams, and Bob Brookmeyer, as well as several of
Lovano’s originals.
Admission prices are $12 standard and $9 for senior citizens. For
information, call the Shea Center for Performing Arts Box Office
at 973-720-2371. Funding for The Jazz Room at William Paterson University
has been made possible, in part, by the New Jersey State Council
on the Arts/Department of State.
Launched in 1978, 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.
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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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