Juilliard Jazz All-Stars to tour Korea and Japan, July 23 - August 17, 2008
Performers include drummer Carl Allen, tenor saxophonist Ron Blake, trumpeter Dominick Farinacci, pianists Mayuko Katakura and Adam Birnbaum, and bassist Yasushi Nakamura
 |
Enlarge Photo
The Juilliard Jazz All-Stars will perform music from the jazz standard repertoire, as well as original compositions by members of the group and also some new arrangements of familiar works. In February 2008, the Juilliard Jazz All-Stars recorded their first CD, Standards, for M&I Jazz Records (Japan). The CD was released in Japan on July 11, 2008.
Juilliard Jazz Artistic Director Carl Allen, has been touring Japan for more than 20 years and has been working with record producer Makoto Kimata of M&I Jazz Records, who recently recorded CDs of several Juilliard Jazz alumni. Mr. Allen remarked, “I discussed my desire to bring a Juilliard Jazz group to Asia and wanted to make sure there would be an educational component to the tour. We’ve included clinics and master classes in addition to the performances. Mr. Kimata from M&I Jazz Records and Mr. Hideto Okuda, President of Blue Sky Entertainment, arranged the three-week tour for us. We’re very excited about interacting with fellow jazz musicians and fans in both countries, and we look forward to having a continuing presence in Asia.”
Juilliard Jazz All-Stars, Korea and Japan Summer 2008 Tour
July 23 Depart from NYC/JFK for Seoul, Korea
July 25 and 26 Performances and workshops in Seoul, Korea at Yonsei University and Myongii College
July 28 – 30 Shizuoka Jazz Workshop in Japan
August 1 - 3 Syouwa Music University Jazz Workshop
August 4 - 9 Performances at Motion Blue (Club) Yokohama
August 12, 13 Imperial Hotel Two-Day World Jazz Festival in Tokyo
August 15, 16 Imperial Hotel Two-Day World Jazz Festival in Osaka
August 17 Return to NYC/JFK
Juilliard Jazz All Stars - Artists' Bios
With more than 150 recordings to his credit, the gifted Milwaukee-born, New York-based drummer, sideman, bandleader, entrepreneur, and educator, Carl Allen’s profound and propulsive percolations provided soulful and syncopated support for nearly three decades. Mr. Allen grew up on gospel, R&B, and funk, but later turned to jazz after hearing an LP by the legendary saxophonist Benny Carter. His first hometown gigs were with sax greats Sonny Stitt and Red Holloway at the young age of 16 years old. Mr. Allen studied at the University of Wisconsin at Green Bay from 1979 to 1981, and transferred to William Paterson College in New Jersey, where he graduated in 1983 with a bachelor’s degree in jazz studies and performance. He joined trumpeter Freddie Hubbard a year before his graduation, served as his musical director for eight years, and recorded several disks with the trumpeter including Double Take and Life Flight.
Mr. Allen has performed with Benny Golson, Jennifer Holliday, J.J. Johnson, Rickie Lee Jones, Sammy Davis Jr., Branford Marsalis, Kenny Garrett, Lena Horne, Ruth Brown, Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Bobby Hutcherson, Mike Stern, Nellie McKay, Terence Blanchard, Phil Woods, Benny Green, Cyrus Chestnut, Joe Henderson, Billy Childs and many others. In 2001, Mr. Allen toured with the first acoustic version of The Brecker Brothers - Michael and Randy Brecker. His phenomenal sideman discography also includes Jackie McLean (Dynasty), Donald Harrison (Indian Blues, Nouveau Swing), Donald Byrd (A City Called Heaven), and Art Farmer (The Company I Keep). Piccadilly Square (Timeless) was Mr. Allen’s first CD as a leader, released in 1989, followed by The Dark Side of Dewey (Evidence), The Pursuer (Atlantic), Testimonial (Atlantic), and Get Ready, his 2007 Mack Avenue gospel/Motown accented debut release with co-leader, bassist Rodney Whitaker.
An accomplished businessman, Mr. Allen co-founded Big Apple Productions in 1988 with saxophonist Vincent Herring, produced several recordings for several Japanese labels with future stars Roy Hargrove, Cyrus Chestnut and Nicholas Payton, and created The Art of Elvin, a tribute band dedicated to his two drum influences. He also produced recordings for pianist Eric Reed, Dewey Redman. Pharoah Sanders, Freddie Hubbard and guitarist Lage Lund, the winner of the 2005 Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition and many others, totaling nearly 70 credits as a producer. Currently Mr. Allen is the co-leader of The Allen-Whitaker Project with bassist Rodney Whitaker. He also leads his exceptional quintet, Carl Allen & New Spirit. A talented educator, he has served on the jazz faculty at Julliard since 2001 as coordinator of small ensembles and drum instructor and became Juilliard Jazz Artistic Director in February 2008.
Adam Birnbaum is emerging as one of the top young voices in jazz piano. After receiving his Artist’s Diploma from Juilliard as a member of the inaugural class in Jazz Studies in 2003, he went on to win the American Jazz Piano Competition in May 2004 to become the American Pianists Association’s Cole Porter fellow in Jazz. An active performer, Mr. Birnbaum has performed at the Indianapolis Jazz Festival, Kennedy Center Jazz Club, Tanglewood Jazz Festival, Festival Dei Due Mondi in Spoleto, Italy, Viva Musica Festival in Bratislava, as well as at jazz clubs such as the Village Vanguard, the Blue Note, Birdland, and Dizzy’s Club. He has performed and recorded with Carl Allen, Wycliffe Gordon, Rodney Green, Dennis Irwin, Victor Lewis, Wynton Marsalis, George Mraz, Lewis Nash, Greg Osby, and Peter Washington. Mr. Birnbaum holds a B.A. in computer science from Boston College, where he graduated from the honors program. He is a regular member of saxophonist/composer Greg Osby’s ensemble, performing throughout the U.S. and recently participated in the recording of Mr. Osby’s latest record to be released in fall 2008.
Saxophonist Ron Blake, a native of the Virgin Islands, was only eight when he began studying the guitar, and at the age of ten, started playing the saxophone. He graduated from the Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan before moving to the Chicago area and attending Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois in the 1980s. In 1990, he moved to Florida to teach at the University of South Florida. In 1992, he moved to New York City, where he spent five years in Roy Hargrove’s quintet, and seven years in Art Farmer’s group. By the early 2000s, he was leading his own quartet, which included pianist Shedrick Mitchell, bassist Reuben Rogers, and drummer Greg Hutchinson. Mr. Blake’s first album as a leader, Up Front & Personal, was released on the Tahmun label in 2000. His latest release on Mack Avenue is Shayari and features Mr. Blake in trio settings in collaboration with pianist/producer Michael Cain and special guests Regina Carter, Jack DeJohnette, Gilmar Gomes, and Christian McBride. He has performed at major jazz festivals and clubs internationally and has shared the stage with such jazz greats as Stanley Turrentine, Bobby Hutcherson, Roy Haynes, and Ray Brown. Mr. Blake has made over 40 jazz recordings with his contemporaries, as well as legendary artists Benny Golson, Jimmy Smith, Dianne Reeves, Shirley Horn, Abbey Lincoln, Betty Carter, Arthur Taylor, and Art Farmer.
Trumpeter Dominick Farinacci is a recent graduate from the Juilliard Jazz Program and has already recorded six records for the Japanese label, M&I Jazz Records. These recordings garnered Mr. Farinucci the “International New Star” Award from Swing Journal magazine (Japan) in 2003, an honor that has been previously awarded to Christian McBride and Diana Krall, among others. He has toured throughout Japan and has performed in the U.S. with such luminaries as Tony Bennett, Ira Sullivan, Joey DeFrancesco, and Jason Miles. He has performed with Wynton Marsalis (one of his mentors) and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra as a featured student in a Louis Armstrong tribute, which was broadcast on PBS’ Live From Lincoln Center. Mr. Farinacci is currently performing with his own group and as a sideman throughout the U.S. and on several international tours.
Born in Sendai, Japan, Mayuko Katakura started playing piano at the age of 5. She began playing jazz at age 18 and studied at Senzoku Gakuen Junior College Jazz Program. In 2002, she came to the U.S. to study jazz at Berklee College of Music. She has performed in Boston at Ryles Jazz Club and Wally’s Café and in New York at the Blue Note and has also appeared on Sirious Satellite Radio. She appeared at the 2004 Litchfield Jazz Festival as a pianist in the Dave Santoro Group. In the fall of 2004, Ms. Katakura moved to New York and has appeared in concert with such artists as Dave Santoro, Dick Oatts, Jerry Bergonzi, and many others. She began her studies at Juilliard in 2005, where she studied with Kenny Barron. She has toured as a member of the Juilliard Jazz Orchestra and Small Ensembles with Victor Goines and Carl Allen in the U.S. and Japan. Through several Juilliard concerts, she has had the opportunity to perform with Wynton Marsalis, Eddie Henderson, Donald Harrison, Sean Jones, Joe Temperley, and Hank Jones. In May 2006, Ms. Katakura won the grand prize at the Mary Lou Williams Women in Jazz Piano Competition. She was also selected as a semi-finalist in the Thelonious Monk Jazz Piano Competition in 2006.
Bassist and composer Yasushi Nakamura was born in Tokyo and grew up in Seattle. His musical training began at age 11 with clarinet and tenor saxophone studies. He began playing electric bass at the age of 14, but a year later, decided to learn both upright and electric bass. He graduated from Newport High School in 2000 and went on to study jazz at Berklee College of Music in 2003. In 2004, he got accepted to Juilliard on a full scholarship. He graduated from Juilliard with an Artist Diploma in 2006. Mr. Nakamura has performed at the North Sea Jazz Festival, Carnegie Hall, the Monterey Jazz Festival, Jazz Aspen Snowmass, the Ravinia Jazz Festival, and Betty Carter’s Jazz Ahead at the Kennedy Center. He has performed with Carl Allen, Darren Barrett, Wycliffe Gordon, Benny Golson, Barbara Lea, Jon Hendricks, Hank Jones, Wynton Marsalis, among others. He is currently based in New York and performing and recording all over the world.
About Juilliard Jazz
The 2008-09 season will mark the 8th anniversary of Juilliard Jazz. Juilliard offers an undergraduate jazz degree, awarding a bachelor of music degree to those completing its four-year curriculum; a two-year master of music degree program designed for advanced performers who want to maximize their professional opportunities, onstage, and in the academic world; and an advanced pre-professional curriculum leading to an Artist Diploma, offered through the Juilliard Institute for Jazz Studies -- a collaboration between Juilliard and Jazz at Lincoln Center. All Juilliard Jazz curricula offer equal opportunities for student performance and specially tailored studio coursework. Juilliard Jazz ensembles frequently tour, throughout the school year and during school breaks. In 2006-07, the Juilliard Jazz Orchestra and Juilliard Jazz Ensembles traveled to Doha, Qatar, the Sheldon Concert Hall in St. Louis, Missouri, the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, and performed at the IAJE conference. In summer 2007, they traveled to Snow College in Utah, the Costa Rica International Jazz Festival, the Vitoria Jazz Festival (Vitoria, Spain), the Craftsbury Festival in Vermont, and the Detroit Jazz and Heritage Festival. In the 2007-08 season, the Juilliard Jazz Orchestra toured Aiken, South Carolina, and Juilliard Jazz Ensembles traveled to St. Louis, Missouri.
Printer Friendly