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The
Trio Wag  Walter Szymanski, Alex Harding, Gary Wittner |
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Trumpeter Walter Szymanski, a native of Detroit,
has toured and recorded with such musical greats as the Four Tops,
Aretha Franklin, the Temptations, and his idol Dizzy Gillespie.
Also a prolific composer, he has served as composer in residence
for the Detroit Dance Collective, the Acoustic Arts Ensemble, and
the Detroit Concert Choir. He taught jazz trumpet, arranging, and
composition studies at Oakland University in Michigan. Now in New
York, he works as musical director and trumpet soloist with pianist
and songstress Jo Thompson, and is a popular studio and freelance
musician. Baritone saxophonist Alex Harding, a native
of Detroit, knew from the age of six that he wanted to be a musician.
While in high school he had the opportunity to play with Wynton
Marsalis and Donald Byrd. In 1997, he made his debut with the Sun
Ra All-star Project led by Marshall Allen. He has performed with
the Roy Hargrove Big Band and Aretha Franklin, and was instrumental
in the formation of the cooperative musical group NAM. Guitarist Gary Wittner, author, lecturer,
composer, arranger, and educator, is one of the foremost authorities
on the person and music of Thelonius Monk. Hearing Monk's music
in 1977 took Wittner, a blues guitarist, away from studying pre-veterinary
medicine to Boston's Berklee College of Music where he studied professional
music (guitar). He went on to Washington State for his MA in music.
He has been the director, arranger, and guitarist in numerous jazz
performances in New York, Boston, Colorado, and the Pacific Northwest.
WAG Trio Department Of State Tour Dates: August 3-September 3, 2001
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Slovenia.
Szymanski/Harding/Wittner Department Of State Tour Dates: August
3-September 3, 2001 Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Slovenia |
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Aaron Thurston Trio
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Organist Adam Scone is quickly being recognized since his move to New York City five years ago. He enjoys working with a variety of musical genres including jazz, funk, blues, and rock. Over the past five years Mr. Scone has toured overseas and recorded eight albums. He worked with such artists as Jimmy Cobb, Ben Dixon, Bubba Brooks, and Fred Thomas. Mr. Scone is currently working on his debut recording as a leader. Trumpeter Kevin Louis, a native of New Orleans, was inspired to pursue a career in music at age nine. Mr. Lewis graduated from Oberlin Conservatory of Music with a bachelor's degree in jazz performance and is currently pursuing his master's at Queens College in New York. His repertoire of music includes gospel, jazz, funk, rhythm and blues, merengue, and salsa. He studied such noted jazz musicians as Clyde Kerr Jr., Edward Jordan, Kenneth Davis, and Stacy Cole, among others. Drummer Aaron Thurston toured the Middle East, South
Asia, the Caribbean, and Central America as a 1999-2000 Jazz
Ambassador. He has performed throughout Boston, where he entertained
every Sunday for over two years at the famous Wally's Café,
the city's oldest jazz club. In 1998, Mr. Thurston moved to
New York City where he has led and accompanied numerous artists
on stage and in the studio. He currently still leads his group,
The Aaron Thurston Trio, throughout various venues in New
York City. Scone/Louis/Thurston Department Of State Tour
Dates: August 22-October 16, 2001 Zimbabwe, Botswana, Nambia,
Malawi, Uganda, Mozambique, Swaziland, South Africa, Mauritius,
and Madagascar. |
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Eric Byrd Trio
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Pianist Eric Byrd was born in 1970 and raised outside Philadelphia, where he grew up listening to his father's swing and be-bop records. He dedicated his piano playing to the Howard Burns Quartet since 1990 and has played on Ron Kearns' live release, and Thad Wilson Big Band's debut CD as well as one of his own trio recordings. Mr. Byrd's creative career is in its early stages of development. Percussionist Alphonso Melvin Young, was born in Hampton, Virginia in 1965. After attending Shenandoah University for his Bachelor 's degree in music education, Mr. Young received a full-tuition scholarship from the University of Miami, FL. for graduate school. Presently he has been performing with the Robert Larson Trio, Charles Brubeck Quartet, Larry Elder Trio, Yvette Spears Quartet, Nia Olabesi Quartet, Debbie Kirkland Group, Howard Burns Quartet, pianist William Knowles and the Eric Byrd Trio. His wide range of recent recordings include a PBS three part series Stealing Time, National Geographic The Secret Lives of Cats, and commercials for the National Institute of Health. The multi-ethnic
and diverse playing style of bassist Bhagwan Khalsa
is reflected in the various artists with whom he has worked:
David "Fathead" Newman, Kenny Drew, Jr., Buck Hill,
Sonny Fortune, John Hicks, Ronnie Wells, Oliver Lake, Gary
Thomas, Mark Schim, Arthur Blythe, Cecil Payne, Allison Miller,
and Elsworth Gibson. Currently, Khalsa works as a freelance
musician with top jazz, blues, contemporary and Latin musicians
in the Washington, D.C. area. Byrd/Young/Khalsa Department
Of State Tour Dates: September 7-October 15, 2001 Colombia,
Bolivia, Chile, Trinidad, Peru, Honduras. |
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Baum/Wessel/Harris Trio |
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Bassist and guitarist Jerome Harris brings a wonderfully warm, full sound to the music he plays. Mr. Harris received his Bachelor of Arts from Harvard University and later went on to receive his Bachelor of Music from the New England Conservatory of Music. His creative styles range from Sonny Rollins and Jack DeJohnette to Bill Frisell and Bobby Previte. His latest album by his group Stereophile includes six original works by Harris. Flutist and Composer Jamie Baum previously toured Central and South America as a 1999-2000 Jazz Ambassador. She has lived in New York for ten years, working as a leader and accompanist for many musicians, including Paul Motion, Randy Becker, Billy Hart, Mick Goodrich, George Russell, and many more. Ms. Baum has developed a powerful personal style from her many influences of jazz, blues, and Latin cultures. Aside from teaching improvisation, ear training, compositional techniques, and flute, she has developed two very successful workshops: "A Fear-free Approach to Improvisation for the Classically-Trained Musician" and "A Jazz Flute Survey/Retrospective." Guitarist Ken Wessel
has performed at major jazz festivals, concert halls and on radio
and television throughout 21 countries. He has toured and recorded
as a member of Ornette Coleman's Prime Time group since 1988. He
has also worked with Gloria Lynne, Arthur and Red Prysock, Steve
Turré, Pat Metheny, David Leibman, Lou Reed, Laurie Anderson,
and Johnny Hartmann. He performed Skies of America, Ornette Coleman's
seminal work for symphony orchestra and jazz ensemble, with the
Philharmonia of London and the New York Philharmonic conducted by
Kurt Masur. Wessel, who leads and composes for his own jazz quartet
and jazz trio, also is co-leads a trio with jazz tabla master Badal
Roy and bassist Stomu Takeishi, an ensemble that combines jazz with
North Indian music. As a teacher, Wessel is a member of the faculties
of Rutgers University and the Music Conservatory of Westchester,
and he has given clinics and master classes at numerous institutions,
including Yale University,Columbia University and the Manhattan
School of Music. Baum/Wessel/Harris Trio Department of State
Rescheduled Tour Dates from September 2001: March-April 2002 to
Thailand, Sri Lanka, Maldives and India; and September 15-21, 2002
to Bangledesh |
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Gillmore/Allen/Peterson
Trio |
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 Rescheduled from Thursday, September 21, 2001: Thursday, October 10, 2002, 6 p.m. Millennium Stage |
Bassist and composer Mark Peterson's first professional job as a musician was on a six-month Caribbean tour as bassist and chief musical director for the Americana Orchestra. During his tour, Mr. Peterson was influenced by the diverse music history of the Caribbean Islands. In 1999 he released his first recording as a leader, entitled The Blue Room. Currently, Mark is recording Alain N'Kossi Konda's first CD release and is working as a bassist for the Broadway musical, Miss Saigon. In 1984, David Gillmore moved to New City to attend New York University. Since then Mr. Gilmore has become one of the most sought after guitarists on the jazz scene. While attending school, he caught the attention of many fledging artists, including saxophonist Steve Coleman, with whom he joined to form the group 5 Elements, and later embarked on his first European tour. Mr. Gilmore is known for his versatility, unique rhythmic sensibilities, and for experimenting in such open-minded and creative projects as The M-Base Collective. Along with his strong desire for new exploration in music, Mr. Gilmore is an accomplished and inspiring teacher. He was honored in 1994 with an award from the 21st Annual International Association of Jazz Educators Convention for outstanding service to jazz education. Trumpeter and composer
Eddie Allen studied music theory in Wisconsin before moving
to New York to begin spreading his versatile approach to jazz. He
has performed and recorded with such jazz greats as Art Blakey,
Billy Harper, Dizzy Gillespie, Bobby Watson, Etta Jones, Houston
Person, Jon Faddis, Panama Francis, Henry Threadgill, and Joe Henderson.
He leads a quartet and quintet as well as a big band, which plays
his compositions and arrangements. Gilmore/Allen/Peterson Trio
Department Of State Rescheduled Tour Dates from September 2001:
September 10 - October 8, 2002 to Syria, Oman, Kuwait, Qatar, United
Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia |
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Mayhew/Miller/Wang
Trio |
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Tenor saxophonist Virginia Mayhew, also a composer and arranger, has been an active participant in the New York jazz scene for more than a dozen years. A native of San Francisco, where she worked in a variety of musical settings, from classical to jazz, from Earl Hines to Frank Zappa, Mayhew came to New York in 1987. She enrolled in the New School's jazz program and was awarded its Zoot Sims Memorial Scholarship. Mayhew has worked with such renowned artists as Toshiko Akiyoshi, Kenny Barron, Dena DeRose, Dottie Dodgion, Terry Gibbs, Larry Goldings, Slide Hampton, Brad Mehldau, Leon Parker, Norman Simmons, Lew Tabackin, Clark Terry, Joe Williams, among others. She appeared at the May 2000 Kennedy Center Mary Lou Williams Women In Jazz Festival as part of the Sharp Five Quintet. Drummer Allison Miller, now 25-years-old, began playing the drums at the age of ten. After graduating from West Virginia University with multiple honors, she began her career in New York City as a freelance musician. She has performed and recorded around the world with such artists as Natalie Merchant, Kevin Mahogany, Al Grey, Leon Parker, and the band Betty. The Los Angeles Times cited Miller, a Fall 2000 Jazz Ambassador to Africa, for her "superb drumming." Bass guitarist Gary Wang, while growing
up in the Boston and San Francisco areas, was more interested
in playing the guitar than the classical piano he studied
as a small child. As a young teenager, he became fascinated
by jazz. He was a member of the T.S. Monk band for five years,
and has worked and toured with artists such as Stanley Turrentine,
Don Braden, Howard Johnson, and Diana Reeves in the U.S.,
Canada, South America, Europe, the Middle East, and Japan.
Mayhew/Miller/Wang
Trio Department Of State Tour Dates: September 25-November
21, 2001 Belarus, Kyrgystan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan,
Georgia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Moldova, Ukraine |
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