The Summer Solstice Jazz Festival will boast an outstanding lineup of national, regional and local jazz musicians, June 18-20, 2010. Learn more about the eclectic ensemble of performers that will grace this year’s festival stage:
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Neil Gordon Guitarist-composer Neil Gordon leads his trio through an innovative mix of swing and Latin styles, with a dash of rhythm and blues thrown in for good measure. The group features original songwriting, unique arrangements of pop favorites, and fresh takes on the best material from the jazz songbook. They recently released their first CD, “It Takes Three.”
Neil studied in Washington, D.C. with Paul Bollenback of the Joey Defrancesco Trio before moving back to Michigan in 1997. He has performed at festivals and venues throughout Michigan, including the Detroit International Jazz Festival, the Birmingham Jazz Festival and the Detroit Institute for the Arts, and has led jazz jam session sessions in the Lansing area.
The trio aincludes Ed Fedewa on bass and Larry Ochiltree and drums. Ed is an Instructor of Jazz Bass at Central Michigan University and the principal bassist for the Lansing Symphony Orchestra. He has performed with many great jazz artists including Nicholas Payton, Bob Berg, and Adam Nussbaum. Larry is a professional jazz percussionist and an adjunct professor at Kellogg Community College. He has performed with Maynard Ferguson, Tony Bennett, Phil Woods, and Hendrick Meurkuns. ……………………………………………………………. Diego Rivera Quartet (www.diegoriverajazz.com/home.html) Diego Rivera has been called, “A vital, new voice on the saxophone.” In 1999 Rivera toured nationally with the Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra for their Big Band ’99 U.S. tour. Rivera has also toured with internationally renowned bassist Rodney Whitaker, former member of the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra. In 2002 Rivera accepted a position as instructor of Jazz Saxophone and Improvisation at Michigan State University. His commitment to the education of young jazz musicians resulted in his appointment as Associate Conductor of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra’s Civic Jazz Ensembles. As the Harper’s house band in East Lansing, MI for almost three years the Diego Rivera Quartet was able to develop their sound, which has won them critical acclaim. They have been recognized as one of the “best local jazz acts” in the Lansing area by the Lansing State Journal.
An avid composer and arranger, Rivera has written arrangements for a number of events and concerts, most notably for Jazz at Lincoln Center’s “Motor City Jazz” concert, a tribute to the music and musicians of Detroit. Rivera, Derrick Gardner (professor of Jazz Trumpet at Michigan State University) and MSU Jazz Band I, under the direction of Rodney Whitaker performed Rivera’s arrangement of Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On” suite in 2006 at Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola in New York City. Rivera’s arrangements can also be heard on The Carl Allen-Rodney Whitaker Project’s two releases on Mack Avenue Records entitled, “Get Ready” (2007) and “Work To Do” (2009).
Rivera currently performs in the area with his own group, The Diego Rivera Quartet, and is a member of the Professors of Jazz at MSU under the direction of Rodney Whitaker, Director of Jazz Studies at Michigan State University.
Rivera has performed at The Detroit Jazz Festival, The Festival International de Jazz de Montreal, Vancouver Jazz Festival, The Art Tatum Toledo Jazz Festival and has been performer/clinician at the Idlewild Jazz Festival in Idlewild, MI. Rivera has also performed with Jon Hendricks, Clark Terry, Ellis Marsalis, Jon Faddis, Jimmy Cobb, Sophie Milman, The Lincoln Center Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra, The Gerald Wilson Big Band and Christian McBride.
……………………………………………………………. Hot Club of Detroit (www.hotclubofdetroit.com)
More than seven decades after the innovations of the Quintette du Hot Club de France, featuring guitar virtuoso Django Reinhardt, combos called Hot Clubs carry on the gypsy jazz sound around the globe—in Tokyo, San Francisco, Seattle, Sweden, Norway, Austria and many other locales. None, however, offers a fresher take on the tradition than does the Hot Club of Detroit, led by fast-fingered Reinhardt disciple Evan Perri.
Hot Club of Detroit has headlined nearly every jazz festival, club and concert hall in Southeast Michigan as well as various venues throughout the Midwest. Highlighted performances have included the Detroit International Jazz Festival, the Max Fisher Music Box (Orchestra Hall, Detroit MI), Night Town (Cleveland, OH), Green Mill (Chicago, IL) and the Madison Gypsy Jazz Festival (Madison, WI).
Unlike the instrumentation of original Paris-based quintet comprising Reinhardt, violinist Stephane Grappelli, two rhythm guitarists and a bassist, the current Hot Club of Detroit consists of guitarist Perri, accordionist Julien Labro, soprano and tenor saxophonist Carl Cafagna, rhythm guitarist Paul Brady and bassist Shannon Wade.
The fibrous accordion tones of Labro, a native of Marseilles, France, links the Detroit quintet to the French musette style from which gypsy jazz partially sprung, while Cafagna’s robust saxophone work introduces bop and post-bop elements to gypsy jazz. The son of a professional jazz guitarist, Perri was born in Detroit on June 12, 1979, and raised in nearby Grosse Pointe, Michigan. He began studying piano at age four and was giving classical recitals by the time he was five. When he was 17, his dad gave him a guitar.
Perri, who now plays a small oval-hole Del Arte acoustic guitar, formed the Hot Club of Detroit in 2003 while attending Wayne State University in Detroit. The group took first place in the 2004 Detroit International Jazz Festival competition and won the 2006 Detroit Music Awards as Outstanding Traditional Jazz Group. In 2007, the band swept the Detroit Music Awards, winning in the Outstanding Traditional Jazz Artist, Best Independent Label Recording, Outstanding National Small Independent Label Recording and Outstanding Video on a Limited Budget categories; Perri himself was named Best Jazz Instrumentalist.
.……………………………………………………………. Los Gatos (www.losgatosmusic.com)
Los Gatos, a Latin jazz quintet, was assembled by drummer and bandleader Pete Siers in 1997. The concept of a small group combined with traditional Afro-Cuban rhythms has positioned Los Gatos as a consistent crowd pleaser at performance venues and festivals throughout the state. Regularly performing at Ann Arbor’s Firefly Club on Thursday nights, the band has made a name for itself on the local Michigan jazz scene with its get-up-and-dance sound. In addition to keeping busy with live concerts, educational concerts, percussion clinics, Afro Cuban percussion workshops, salsa lessons and salsa dance parties, the group has produced two CDs: “Cats Got Your Tongue?” and “Insight.”
Born in Saginaw in 1961, Siers has built an exceptional career around his love of music. He began studying piano at the age of six and moved his focus to the drums after hearing the Army Big Band at a young age. Siers earned a degree in music education from Aquinas College in Grand Rapids, where he studied under the direction Dr. Bruce Early and Rupert Kettle. As a member of the Aquinas College Jazz Ensemble, Siers was honored with several awards for outstanding soloist and outstanding rhythm section player. In 1984 Siers joined the John Shea Trio and in 1988 he moved to Ann Arbor to work with acclaimed pianist Eddie Russ. Pete’s affiliation with Russ paved the way to performances and recordings with many of the great Detroit area jazz musicians. Among the many musicians he has collaborated with, perhaps one of Siers’ most memorable was with the great Russell Malone. Siers recorded “Black Butterfly” with Malone on Columbia Records and played a number of jazz festivals across the world with the jazz guitarist, including JVC, Newport, Sunfest, the Playboy Festival, The North Sea Jazz Fest in Holland and the Istanbul Festival in Turkey.
In addition to Siers, Los Gatos features the musical talent of Gary Kocher, Kurt Krahnke, Brian Di Blassio and Al Di Blassio.
……………………………………………………………. The Sunny Wilkinson Quartet (www.sunnywilkinson.com) One of the most inventive and flexible singers of her generation, Sunny Wilkinson is a mischievous vocal stylist who loves to toy with rhythm and tonal color. Her wide-range, marvelous intonation, effortless agility and passion for what she sings make her a one-of-a-kind artist.
Sunny’s most recent CD is a duo project featuring pianist Tom Garvin entitled “A Gentle Time – When Sunny Meets Tom.” On the Chase Music Group label, this disc is an intimate excursion through the art of the duo, highlighting Sunny and Tom’s 30-year musical relationship. Her big-band CD on Chartmaker Jazz is called “Sunny Wilkinson High Wire.” It is a bold project of arresting big-band selections that celebrates Sunny’s soaring, swooping vocals in a lush setting of challenging and well-executed musical arrangements.
In September 1992, Sunny recorded a live version of the Thelonius Monk/Cootie Williams standard, Round Midnight, with full orchestra, for Honda of Japan. This national television-ad campaign for the Honda Prelude was released as a single CD by Hibrite Records of Japan.
Her performance credits are impressive, having sung with The Count Basie Band, Rob McConnell and the Boss Brass, Mark Murphy, Milt Hinton, Kenny Wheeler, Clark Terry, Bill Watrous, Curtis Fuller and Edgar Winter, among others. A busy travel schedule has her doing clinics and performances at universities, jazz festivals and jazz clubs across the United States.
Sunny is the past chairperson for The International Association of Jazz Educators Women’s Caucus. In 1996, she started a pilot program in Michigan for the mentoring of young-women jazz musicians, called Sisters in Jazz, which was implemented on an international level through The International Association of Jazz Educators (IAJE). She is the Past President of the Michigan chapter of IAJE. Sunny is assistant professor of jazz voice at Michigan State University.
……………………………………………………………. Ursula Walker & Buddy Budson Trio (www.ursulaandbuddy.net) Buddy Budson has been playing jazz piano around the Detroit area for the past 48 years, beginning at local clubs at the age of 15. In 1973, Buddy joined drummer Buddy Rich’s big band, toured England, Australia and the United States, and recorded an album with the band. Soon after, Buddy toured with both guitarist Earl Klugh and the Motown group, The Four Tops. He has also backed well-known performers including Henry Mancini, Mel Torme, Sammy Davis, Jr., Marlena Shaw, Charles McPherson and Steve Turre. When the Fox Television Network debuted in the late 80’s Buddy composed and arranged the theme song and much of the transitional music for the sitcom, Duet. He has also composed vocal and instrumental arrangements for big band and orchestra. Buddy is married to noted Detroit vocalist, Ursula Walker, and together they perform at clubs and concerts throughout the Detroit metro area. Buddy leads his own sextet, which performs at clubs and concerts and has recorded a CD entitled “On With Their Heads”. Buddy is the recipient of a Metro Times Jazz Award and the Detroit Metro Area Musicians and Entertainers Association Teddy Harris, Jr. Legendary Award.
Ursula Walker has been a mainstay of the Detroit music world for 54 years, beginning at the age of 11 on Detroit television and radio. While pursuing her career in her hometown, she gained national recognition for her outstanding talents as a unique stylist of ballads, standards and jazz.
In the 60s, 70s, and 80s Ursula fielded many offers to tour nationally – with Stan Kenton, the Harry James Band, Count Basie and Tony Bennett. Over the years she has performed at countless clubs, concerts and festivals, frequently at the Detroit International Jazz Festival. She has opened for many well-known performers, including Dizzy Gillespie, Oscar Peterson and Tania Maria.
Ursula has been the recipient of numerous honors and awards, among them a Clio Award for best vocal performance of a commercial jingle; election to the Metro Times Jazz Hall of Fame; the Midwest Arts Legends of Jazz Hall of Fame Award; the MCA Outstanding Musicians Award; the Detroit Metro Area Musicians and Entertainers Association Teddy Harris, Jr. Legendary Award; and the 2007 Southern Christian Leadership Conference Aretha Franklin Award for outstanding achievement in the Performing Arts.
……………………………………………………………. Sean Dobbins Trio Sean Dobbins got his start as sought-after Detroit area jazz sideman at a young age when he would regularly play with Blue Note artist Louis Smith. Though still young by jazz standards, Dobbins has amassed an impressive list of playing companions. He has performed/toured/recorded with James Moody, Johnny Basset, Benny Golson, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Frank Morgan, Joey DeFrancesco, George Cables, James "Blood" Ulmer, Marcus Belgrave, Larry Willis, Rodney Whittaker, Claude Black, Johnny O'Neal, Paul Keller, Tad Weed, Kurt Krahnke, Jon Hendricks, David "Fathead" Newman, Donald Walden, Cyrus Chesnut, Barry Harris, David Baker, Randy Johnston, Marion Hayden, Mose Allison and a host of other great musicians.
Sean's sound can best be described as hard-driving, solid rhythm with refreshing melodic sensibility. Some of Sean's influences include Art Blakey, Jeff Hamilton, Jeff "Tain" Watts, Ed Thigpen, Sonny Payne and also Detroit area greats Gerald Cleaver and the one and only Elvin Jones.
Sean is no stranger to local or national headlines; he frequently plays at venues such as the Firefly Club (Ann Arbor), Baker's Keyboard Lounge (Detroit), the Music Hall Jazz Cafe (Detroit), Murphy's Place (Toledo) and Buddy Guy's (Chicago) . His recent recordings include "Odyssey" (PKO Records), "Revealing" (Reparation Records), and "Christmas Songs for Jazz Lovers" (PKO Records), and Blue Horizons featuring Sean and his quintet, the Modern Jazz Messengers.
……………………………………………………………. Somi – this year’s headliner (www.somimusic.com)
When Somi was growing up, her mother told her that the rain, ever unpredictable, could be as much a blessing as a challenge. The blessings might come before the rain, or they could come after—it’s all in the timing, she said. That notion has stayed with the charismatic singer and songwriter all her life and now provides a metaphorical focus for her third album, “If The Rains Come First.” The album, which is out now on the ObliqSound label, is a stunning collection of self-penned story-based songs.
“If the Rains Come First” builds upon elements that first surfaced on Somi’s two previous recordings: the electric soul-jazz of 2003’s English-language Eternal Motive (SanaaHouse) and the acoustic, culture-merging elegance of 2007’s multilingual Red Soil in My Eyes (World Village/Harmonia Mundi). As The Boston Globe recently put it, Somi’s new album “glistens with the sheen of an almost impossibly perfect cosmopolitanism, but that shouldn’t be held against her." Singing in English and three East African languages, Somi’s vocal delivery is subtle yet the power she exerts is enormous.
A true multicultural woman, Somi was born in Illinois to immigrants from Rwanda and Uganda, then spent her early childhood in Zambia. The African cultural legacy, always crucial to her sound, is as vital as ever in her current music, which Somi likes to call New African Soul.
As her career has taken off, Somi’s talents have been called upon for collaborations and live performances with such greats as John Legend, Cassandra Wilson, Mos Def and Paul Simon. Most recently, internationally renowned Israeli singer-songwriter Idan Raichel featured her vocals on his latest album “Within My Walls” (Cumbancha), on the track “Maisha,” which Somi also co-wrote. In addition to her own works, Somi also aims to bring other important cultural gems to light, and has founded a non-profit arts organization, New Africa Live, committed to producing multidisciplinary events that celebrate contemporary African artists.
……………………………………………………………. Ritmo
(www.orquestaritmo.com)
The current mission of RITMO is to introduce, educate, and entertain the American public in the electrifying genre of Latin music. The latest version of RITMO currently consists of 11 players from Lansing, Grand Rapids and Flint.
The band has performed all over the Midwest for many years and have opened for a number of national and international acts, including Salsa great Oscar D’Leon, recording artists Los Lobos and most recently The Bangles at the Common Ground Festival in Lansing, Mich. The band has also garnered a number of accolades including a special tribute from the Michigan Legislature.
The current members are Mike Eyia Sr.,director, guitar, lead vocals, percussion and arranger; Paul Lesinski, piano; Carl Poposki, trombone/ arranger; Brandon Tesh, saxophone, flute; Russ McMartin, lead trumpet; Mike Sailors, 2nd trumpet; Rob Mulligan, congas and percussion; Carmelo Sanchez, Latin percussion and vocals; Tim Thelen, timbales; Terry Newman, bass; Oscar Gonzales, vocals and latin percussion.
……………………………………………………………. Joe Lovano – this year’s headliner (www.joelovano.com)
In addition to the two-day festival, international jazz legend Joe Lovano will bring the exciting jazz-infused weekend to a close on Sunday, with a special, highly anticipated indoor stage performance at the Wharton Center for Performing Arts. Ranked on the JazzTimes top 2009 recordings with Folk Art, jazz icon Joe Lovano brings his dynamic and applauded Us Five quintet featuring pianist James Weideman, drummers Otis Brown III and Franciso Mela and bassist Peter Slavov. Spend a refreshing afternoon with sensational jazz and enjoy a delightful pre-concert brunch, all for only $40. Concert-only tickets just $20.