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WILLIAM PATERSON UNIVERSITY STUDENT TO PERFORM AS SOLOIST FOR RARELY HEARD WORK FOR JAZZ SAXOPHONE AND STRING ORCHESTRA
--Concert on December 9 will feature Alex Chilowicz of Wayne in performance of Focus Suite, originally written for legendary saxophonist Stan Getz
--Score researched and restored by Chilowicz
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Alex Chilowicz of Wayne, a senior at William Paterson University, will perform as jazz saxophone soloist in a rare performance of “Focus Suite,” a piece for jazz saxophone and string orchestra, on Wednesday, December 9 at 8 p.m. in the Shea Center for Performing Arts on the University’s campus in Wayne. Admission is free.
Chilowicz will be joined by members of the Manhattan School of Music Jazz Philharmonic Orchestra, as well as William Paterson jazz students Arthur Vint of Tucson, Arizona on drums and Billy Test of Phillipsburg, Pennsylvania on piano, and faculty member Paul Meyers on guitar and Steve LaSpina on bass. Rich DeRosa, a William Paterson associate professor of music, will conduct.
“It’s very rare to hear this piece performed live,” says David Demsey, professor of music and Chilowicz’s adviser for the project. “He has done a great deal of detective work, and displayed tremendous scholarship and musicianship.”
A jazz performance major and a member of the University’s Honors College, Chilowicz researched the piece and will perform it as his thesis project for the honors track in music. The seven-movement piece was originally written by composer Eddie Sauter for the legendary saxophonist Stan Getz, and was recorded on an album of the same name in 1961. The piece is considered by many jazz historians as one of the rare instances in which jazz and classical elements were successfully combined to create an unusual musical style which jazz historian Gunther Schuller coined as “Third Stream.”
Chilowicz sought out the original score, which was housed in the Eddie Sauter Archive at the Yale University Library. The score was difficult to read, so Chilowicz spent several dozen hours listening to the original recording in order to accurately restore the handwritten music, which is scored for a string orchestra and rhythm section with an improvised saxophone solo. Funding for the project was provided by a grant from the Student Undergraduate Research Program at William Paterson.
In addition to “Focus Suite,” the concert will also include an original arrangement by Chilowicz for strings and rhythm section.
A 2006 graduate of Wayne Hill High School, Chilowicz is a Presidential Scholar and a member of the Dean’s List at William Paterson. He is slated to graduate in May 2010.
For additional information on the concert, contact Chilowicz at beebopalex@aol.com.
November 23, 2009
www.wpunj.edu
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