Jazz at the Atheneum Series
2007 - 8 Atheneum Series Highlights - click HERE
2006 - 7 Atheneum Series Highlights - click HERE
2005 - 6 Atheneum Series Highlights - click HERE
2004 - 5 Atheneum Series Highlights - click HERE
2003 - 4 Atheneum Series Highlights - click HERE
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Presented by The Hartford Jazz Society at The Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art Aetna Theater - 600 Main Street - Hartford, CT Ticket Information Wadsworth Web Site - Directions/Parking Free Master Classes -Master Class DVDs - Aetna Theater Friday, April 3, 2009: 7 PM Russell Malone Quartet Video (Quartet) - Video (Solo) Opening Group: The Greater Hartford Academy Guitar Combo Master Class: Wadsworth Atheneum Aetna Theater Friday, 4/3/09 at 4:30 PM Russell Malone, guitar Martin Bejerano, piano Tassili Bond, bass Johnathan Blake, drums 
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Russell Malone: Russell first worked with master Jazz organist Jimmy Smith in 1988, and between 1990 and 1994 toured with Harry Connick, Jr. During the late nineties Malone toured internationally with Diana Krall, receiving critical acclaim in his role as Diana's right hand both in concert and on her recordings. Russell has also shared the stage with artists of the caliber of Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson, Claude Fiddler Williams, Bucky Pizzarelli, Jack McDuff, John Hicks, Clarence Carter, Little Anthony, Freddie Cole, Mulgrew Miller, Kenny Barron, Roy Hargrove, Cyrus Chestnut and Patti Austin. Malone was also a featured performer in Robert Altman's 1996 film "Kansas City." His first recordings as a leader were made for Columbia: Russell Malone (1992), Black Butterfly (1993) and Wholly Cats (1994). Later, he became exclusive with Impulse-Universal, for which he has recorded Sweet Georgia Peach (1998), Look Who's Here! (2000), and Heartstrings (2001.) He has also played a prominent role in Diana Krall's recordings, such as the Grammy-nominated All For You and Love Scenes. Russell Malone has recorded with countless artists, including Harry Connick Jr., Branford Marsalis, Benny Green, Kenny Barron, Don Braden and Etta Jones. Russell Malone's debut CD on the Maxjazz label entitled Playground was released in April 2004. This recording features Mr. Malone's working quartet. “Not only is his swing headlong, but his ideas also don’t stop coming.” -- The New York Times “Working before a sold-out crowd that was as attentive as it was enthusiastic, Malone was superb.” -- The Los Angeles Times “Malone always lends great measure of Georgia-bred Southern soul to whatever bandstand is fortunate enough to boast his skills.” -- Down Beat Magazine “The music…was undeniably swinging. Led by a guitarist with sure, commanding sound that mixed youthful exuberance with the kind of elegant bravado found in seasoned pros.” -- Billboard Magazine 
Joe Lovano Nonet Bio - Video (Nonet) - Discography Opening Group: UCONN Jazz Ensemble under the direction of Earl MacDonald Master Class: Wadsworth Atheneum Aetna Theater Friday, 5/8/09: 4:30 - 6:00 PM Joseph Lovano, tenor sax Ralph Lalama, tenor sax Steve Slagle, alto sax Gary Smulyan, baritone sax Barry Ries, trumpet Larry Farrell, trombone James Weidman, piano Cameron Brown, bass Steve Williams, drums 
About Joe Lovano:
You might think by glancing over the list of accolades garnered by saxophonist/composer Joe Lovano, that this renowned musician has found a tried-and-true formula for success, and that he has. Unlike lesser artists who will take what seems to work for them and keep coming back with more of the same, the secret to Lovano's success is his fearless ability to always challenge and push the conceptual and thematic choices he makes in a quest for new modes of artistic expression and new takes on what defines the jazz idiom. "It's fair to say that he's one of the greatest musicians in jazz history." -- Ben Ratliff, The New York Times "Lovano . . .fully justifies the growing view of him as an important, world-class jazz talent." -- Don Heckman, The Los Angeles Times "A master of his Promethean craft, the tenor saxophonist strikes a balance between passion and intellect as he ventures from the touchstone of lyricism to the outer limits of free expression." -- Steve Dollar, Atlanta Journal ". . . he is surely one of the most exciting, a sublimely confident
player with provocative musical ideas and the vigor to bring them crying
forth." ". . . a savior has been slowly materializing in the nineties -- the astonishing tenor saxophonist and composer Joe Lovano." -- Whitney Balliett, The New Yorker "No matter the mood or the tempo, Lovano delivered the kind of play that made one forget his prodigious technique and instead fall under the spell of his continually unfolding story line." -- Bill Kohlhaase, The Los Angeles Times"I don't know of anyone who combines those three things [spontaneity, inventiveness and imagination] at such a high level so consistently." -- Gunther Schuller, the Pulitzer Prize-winning composer and arranger "In the liner notes of “Tenor Legacy,” the 1994 album he made with Joshua Redman, he lists sixty or so saxophonists whom he has played with or studied, or both: among them are masters like Sonny Rollins and Dexter Gordon; old modernists like Steve Lacy, Phil Woods, Lee Konitz, Johnny Griffin, and Dewey Redman; and Young Turks like Redman, Branford Marsalis, and Jimmy Giuffre. Other models he has mentioned at one time or another include Charlie Parker, Sonny Stitt, Jackie McLean, John Coltrane, and Ornette Coleman. With so much in his hat, Lovano can move anywhere he wants in jazz with consummate ease. He can play tonally or atonally. He can play with a traditional rhythm section and with a “free” one. He can be as hard as Coltrane and as soft as Parker. He can play a capella solos and he can fit into tightly organized situations. He can play romantic ballads and he can improvise on themes by Charles Ives and William Grant Still. In the words of the composer and conductor Gunther Schuller, Lovano has a “sovereign command of his instrument(s).”" (pages 829-830) -- Collected Works: A Journal of Jazz, 1954-2001 by Whitney Balliett "Jazz musicians have to have the whole history of jazz at their fingertips, yet still be themselves in the music." -- Joe Lovano Tickets: HJS Members (purchased in advance): $25.00 HJS Members (purchased at the door): $30.00 General Public (purchased in advance): $30.00 General Public (purchased at the door): $35.00 All Students: $10.00 Obtain tickets in advance from: Hartford Jazz Society 116 Cottage Grove Road Bloomfield, CT 06002 Or call the HJS office at 860-242-6688 (Monday - Friday, 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.). Major credit cards accepted. A Cash Bar will operate from 6:00 PM - 10:00 PM in the Lobby, where there will be seating at tables. Directions, Map and Free Parking Directions
and Map From
New Haven and Points South: From
New York and Points West: From
Boston and Points East: From
Route 4 and Northwestern Connecticut: From
Route 2 and Southeastern Connecticut: Free
Parking: Free Master Classes The Hartford Jazz Society's Master Classes are sponsored by the National Endowment for The Arts, The Ensworth Charitable Foundation, The George and Grace Long Foundation, Aetna, the Commission on Culture and Tourism, the D'Addario Foundation for the Performing Arts, and the Greater Hartford Arts Council. Education is a vital component of (and reason for) this concert series. Accordingly, we have arranged for Russell Malone and Joe Lovano to conduct master classes for students on April 3 and May 8, respectively. Students who wish to participate in the classes are expected to bring their instruments. Russell Malone's master class will be held at the Wadsworth Atheneum Aetna Theater on Friday, April 3, 2009 at 4:30 PM. See above for directions and parking. Joe Lovano's master class will be held at the Wadsworth Atheneum Aetna Theater on Friday, May 8, 2009 from 4:30 - 6:00 PM. See above for directions and parking. Student participants will be seated closest to the instructor; observers will be seated behind them. If you are a student, or a teacher who wants to enroll one or more students, please register early so that we can assure sufficient preferred student seating. Register through the HJS office at 860-242-6688, or by e-mail to: hartjazzsocinc@aol.com and provide your name, address, phone number, e-mail address, school and grade. Observers are welcome if enough seats are available. "I was pretty young when I realized that music involves more than playing an instrument. It’s really about cohesiveness and sharing. All my life, I’ve felt obliged to try and teach anyone who would listen. I’ve always believed you don’t truly know something yourself until you can take it from your mind and put it in someone else’s". Milt Hinton, from his autobiography, Bass Lines "There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and it will be lost. The world will not have it. It is not your business to determine how good it is nor how valuable nor how it compares with other expressions. It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly, to keep the channel open." Martha Graham as quoted in Agnes de Mille. Martha: The Life and Work of Martha Graham. "The easiest instrument to learn is the one you want to play. The hardest instrument to learn is the one you don't want to play." -- James Moody, 1/26/07 "Sonny [Rollins] and I still practice. All the older guys – Benny Golson, all of us – we still practice. Because nobody knows all of the music, and nobody has a monopoly on it. That’s why we’re in this field of music, creative music, because it’s such a wide-open field - Ornette Coleman or anybody will tell you - it’s open to the sky." -- Jimmy Heath from an interview in “Like Sonny: The Story of Sonny Rollins and John Coltrane” - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KckpQYnrozQ Master Class DVDs The Hartford Jazz Society has secured the rights from most of the visiting artists to videotape their master classes -- solely for distribution to schools and solely for educational purposes. To view a list of the DVDs available, or to request one or more DVDs, please refer to the Use Agreement. Thank You to our Supporters! The Hartford Jazz Society would like to thank the following organizations whose financial support made this concert series and the master classes possible:
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