Mellon Jazz June Events to Include Ellis Marsalis at Hartwood and Orrin Evans Quintet at South Park
02 June 2004 - 2:25AM
PR Newswire (US)
Mellon Jazz June Events to Include Ellis Marsalis at Hartwood and
Orrin Evans Quintet at South Park -Concert by legendary performer
and jazz educator Marsalis to be preceded by Pitt/Mellon Jazz
scholarship presentation and performance by acclaimed student
musicians- PITTSBURGH, June 1 /PRNewswire/ -- Mellon Jazz welcomes
two gifted jazz pianists to Pittsburgh this summer, with keyboard
virtuoso Ellis Marsalis performing at 7:30 p.m. on Sunday, June 6
at Hartwood Acres, and rising star Orrin Evans appearing with his
Orrin Evans Quintet at 8 p.m. on Friday, June 25 at the South Park
Amphitheater. Free to the public, both concerts are part of the
Mellon Jazz-sponsored Summer Concert Series produced by the Special
Events Office of Allegheny County. In recognition of Ellis
Marsalis' stature as both a renowned performer and distinguished
jazz educator, his Hartwood Acres concert will be preceded by the
presentation of the 2004 Pitt/Mellon Jazz Scholarship, and a
performance by PAJ Three, a trio of young jazz musicians from
western Pennsylvania who have been featured at a Grammy Awards
event, the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, and the North
Sea Jazz Festival in the Netherlands. "Having Ellis Marsalis and
Orrin Evans in town will make June a dream month for jazz piano
fans," said Rose Gabbianelli, Mellon senior vice president and
director of corporate affairs. "Giving local audiences access to
both an established jazz master and a rising young star
demonstrates the quality and breadth of the County's Summer Concert
Series. We congratulate our partners in the County's Special Events
Office on a very strong program, and look forward to two terrific
concerts." One of New Orleans' premier jazz ambassadors, Ellis
Marsalis was born in 1934, and began formal music studies at Xavier
University's junior school of music at age 11. A clarinet major at
Dillard University, Marsalis graduated with a degree in music
education in 1955. Developing his pianist skills as a U.S. Marine
Corps musician, Marsalis performed as a leatherneck on radio and
television in southern California. After his military stint he
returned to New Orleans and with his wife Dolores Ferdinand started
a family that eventually grew to include six sons, two of whom,
Branford and Wynton, would become jazz masters in their own right.
Working toward a graduate degree at Loyola University, Marsalis
alternated between stage performances and the classroom, serving
for 12 years as music teacher at the New Orleans Center for
Creative Arts high school. He later accepted the position of
Commonwealth Professor at Virginia Commonwealth University in
Richmond, returning to New Orleans to become the first occupant of
the Coca Cola-endowed chair of jazz studies at the University of
New Orleans. Recipient of honorary doctorates from Dillard
University and Ball State University, Marsalis is a frequent
performer on national television, and has several recordings on the
CBS-Sony label. He currently is developing his own recording label
with his wife Dolores and son Jason. Saluted by the New York Times
as "a singular young pianist," Philadelphia native Orrin Evans was
raised in a musical household, where his mother was a classically
trained singer. Named best high school jazz musician of
Philadelphia in 1992 and a Bob Perkins Scholarship Award recipient
(a program created by Mellon Jazz Community Awardee Bob Perkins),
Evans studied under Charles Pettaway at Settlement Music School.
His formal studies enriched through guidance, support and
inspiration from a number of contemporary jazz artists, including
Trudy Pits, Tim Warfield, Kenny Barron, Ralph Peterson, Edgar
Bateman, Mickey Roker and Bobby Durham, Evans recorded his first CD
while still a teenager on his own Black Entertainment label. His
2002 recording entitled "Meant to Shine" on the Palmetto Records
label was named a Top 10 Jazz CD by the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Another recent title, "Dejavu" by the Orrin Evans Trio, was
released on his own label, IMANI Records. In addition to his live
and televised performances in the United States and Europe, Evans
also presents master classes, workshops and clinics, and teaches
privately. The three young jazz musicians opening the Ellis
Marsalis concert at Hartwood Acres have demonstrated to
sophisticated audiences at home and aboard that the jazz tradition
in western Pennsylvania is alive and well. Calling themselves PAJ
Three, Indiana Area Senior High School seniors Phil Kuehn, Angelo
Versace and Joe Saylor have compiled an impressive list of
performing credits, including an appearance with Wynton Marsalis
during his concert at the Benedum Center earlier this month. All
three are alumni of the Mellon Jazz Student Spectacular program,
and have already been accepted into prestigious collegiate jazz
programs. Kuehn will continue his bass studies at The Juilliard
School, pianist Versace will study at William Paterson University,
and drummer Saylor will enroll at The Manhattan School of Music.
ADDITIONAL JUNE MELLON JAZZ EVENTS IN PITTSBURGH Mellon Jazz at the
Three Rivers Arts Festival featuring Medeski, Martin and Wood
Saturday, June 12, 2004, 7:30 p.m. Point State Park, free to the
public Drummer William Hugh Martin, keyboardist John Medeski and
bassist Chris Wood bring their distinctive acoustic sound to
Pittsburgh fresh off a Blue Note tour that took the group to
prominent jazz venues in Japan, Paris and South America. Together
since 1991, the New York area musicians come to Pittsburgh just a
few weeks after their appearance at the Kimmel Center in
Philadelphia as part of the Kimmel Center presents Mellon Jazz
series. Mellon Jazz Presents Johnny Mathis with the Pittsburgh
Symphony Orchestra Friday, June 25 and Saturday, June 26, 2004, 8
p.m. Heinz Hall Program and ticket information: 412-392-4900, or
http://www.pittsburghsymphony.org/ . Mellon Jazz Society's Mellon
Jazz Sunday Series featuring The Dr. Tom Degregory Septet Sunday,
June 27, 7 p.m. The Rhythm House Cafe 3029 Washington Pike
Bridgeville, PA June's Mellon Jazz Sunday event marks the series'
debut at the new venue for the Pittsburgh Jazz Society's Sunday
night jazz parties, the Rhythm House Cafe in Bridgeville. The PJS
and Rhythm House Cafe owner Daryl Price are providing the same
enticements that have made the Society's Sunday night gigs the best
regularly scheduled jazz happenings in Pittsburgh: * Great live
jazz entertainment * P.J.S. Reception Table * Dinner for 2 giveaway
(for PJS members) * Discounts for all members * Free parking
Directions: I-79 to Bridgeville exit. Right on Washington Pike and
continue on for less than 1/2 mi.; Rhythm House is on the left.
Phone 412-221-5010. Mellon Jazz Presents the Duquesne University
Summer 2004 Instrumental Jazz Workshop Monday, June 28 through
Friday, July 2 Duquesne University Pittsburgh's premier summertime
jazz workshop, open to instrumental jazz enthusiasts from age 13 to
adult. Directed by Mike Tomaro, Duquesne's director of jazz
studies, the workshop provides opportunities for participants to
perform in large and small ensembles depending on skill level.
Large and small ensemble performances are featured at a final
concert at the end of the workshop. The workshop's evening concerts
begin at 5:30 p.m. in room 322 in the Mary Pappert School of Music,
and are free of charge and open to the public. * Monday, June 28:
Faculty Concert featuring Dr. John Wilson, Sean Jones, Jim Guerra,
Mike Tomaro, Joe Dallas, Ron Bickel, Joe Negri, Jeff Mangone,
Dwayne Dolphin, Lenny Rogers, and Roger Humphries * Thursday, July
1: Participant Concert: small ensembles * Friday, July 2:
Participant Concert: large ensembles DATASOURCE: Mellon Financial
Corporation CONTACT: Ron Sommer of Mellon Financial Corporation,
+1-412-236-0082, or Web site: http://www.mellon.com/
http://www.pittsburghsymphony.org/
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