Nice way to start the day by picking up the
New York Times and finding an article about the home-grown talent performing in this year's
New Haven Jazz Festival, set to take place on August 14 and 21st from 3 - 9 p.m. Among those playing are guitarist/composer
Joe Morris, percussionist
Robbie Ameen, trombonist
Steve Davis, the
Neighborhood Music School Youth Jazz Orchestra and Middletown-based composer/pianist
Noah Baerman. The author, Philip Lutz, talks with Morris, Ameen and Baerman (pictured left on Wesleyan's Crowell Concert Hall) and the reader discovers that Noah will be presenting his "
Know Thyself" project, complete with the 6 musicians who premiered the piece with him last year at Wesleyan. The ensemble includes the rhythm section from his Trio (bassist
Henry Lugo and drummer
Vinnie Sperazza), high school friends
Wayne Escoffery (saxophones) and
Amanda Monaco (guitar) as well as Wesleyan graduate
Chris Dingman (vibraphone) and Hall High School graduate
Erica von Kleinst (saxophone). They'll be playing August 14 at 4 p.m. on the New Haven Green. For more information, go to
www.jazzhaven.org. To read the article on-line, click
here.
Noah and his trio opened Art Farm's summer Shakespeare, last month at Middlesex Community College, as the pre-show musical act. They were really great, performing a set of sophisticated and inventive interpretations of Thelonious Monk tunes. The way that Sperazza coaxed so many beautiful timbres and tones out of a minimal drums set was amazing; listening to his ride cymbal alone was worth the price of admission.
ReplyDeleteOn vibes, Dingman was a phenomenal player a decade ago here at Wesleyan. Since I missed the septet's show with Noah's new compositions, I'm happy to have a chance to hear it soon. Thanks for posting this info, The Eye!