Jazz Weekend at HSU

Three Jazz Combos kick off the spring jazz weekend at the Fulkerson Recital Hall on Friday, April 18.

The fusion-oriented Wednesday Quartet performs “4 Ton Mantis" by Amon Tobin, a Montreal-based DJ and producer, and "3 Deuces" by the electric bassist and producer Marcus Miller.

Brian Jones on alto sax and guitar, Leo Echazábal on tenor sax, Rachel Hrdina on piano, Cullen Miller on bass and Gabriel Ben-Shalom on drums follow these new compositions with contemporary arrangements of two older jazz tunes: John Coltrane's "Lonnie's Lament" and Joe Zawinul's "Scotch and Water".

The Friday Trio has a unique drummerless instrumentation, with Clay Carey on tenor sax, Ali Chaudhary on guitar and Maia Wiitala on bass. They will perform Miles Davis's "So What", "Beatrice" by Sam Rivers and an original composition by Maia Wiitala.The Friday Quartet consists of Sky Miller on tenor sax, Joel Bettencourt on piano, Bobby Amirkhan on bass and Mike Munroe on drums. They will play Wayne Shorter's classic "Footprints, "Question and Answer" by Pat Metheny, and two originals: Amirkhan’s "Goodbye's Not Forever" and Bettencourt’s "Quick Trip, Long Jaunt."

On Saturday, April 19, the Jazz Orchestra takes the Fulkerson Recital Hall stage, in a concert that includes two renowned compositions from Latin America.

The first is “Libertango,” which Assistant Professor of Music and director of the Jazz Orchestra Dan Aldag describes as “probably the most famous piece by the great Argentinian composer and bandoneon playerAstor Piazzolla.” The bandoneon is an instrument related to the concertina and accordion, often associated with Argentine tangos. “Since there's no one in Humboldt County with a bandoneon,” Aldag said,”we're being joined by HSU alum Issa Stemler on accordion, the next best thing.”

Also on the program is the three-movement "Panama Suite" by the Panamanian pianist and composer Danilo Perez. “It combines the rhythms of traditional Panamanian music with the harmonies of contemporary jazz,” Aldag said. “This piece requires two extra percussionists (on bongos and conga) andthree vocalists.”

Jazz of a more conventional nature is represented by anew arrangement of a piece from the Miles Davis "Birth Of The Cool" album called "Israel" by John Carisi, and by "Alright, OK, You Win," a number recorded by the great singer, Joe Williams, with the Count Basie Orchestra. HSU Jazz Orchestra saxophonist Brian Jones will perform the vocal.

Performing Toshiko Akiyoshi's "I Ain't Gonna AskNo More," graduating senior Kearney Vander Sal will play the rarely featured bass trombone. Rounding out the evening will be a classic 1930 Duke Ellingtoncomposition, "Old Man Blues" and an improvised arrangement of "Freddie Freeloader" by Miles Davis.

Both the Jazz Combos performance on Friday and the Jazz Orchestra on Saturday will begin at 8 PM in the Fulkerson Recital Hall on the HSU campus in Arcata. Tickets for each concert are $7 general, $3 students/seniors from the HSU Ticket Office (826-3928) or at the door. Both are free to HSU students with ID.