News Releases
News from
Lane Community College, Eugene, Oregon
Public information officer: Joan Aschim, (541) 463-5591, aschimj@lanecc.edu
Contacts: Myrna Seifert, LCC, (541) 463-5161 seifertm@lanecc.edu; Lauren Larson (LCC student), (541) 463-5644 larson.lauren@gmail.com; Corey Lanini (UO student), (541) 914-0731 clanini@uoregon.edu
Sources: Steve Owen, UO, (541) 346-2137, sowen@uoregon.edu; Ron Bertucci, LCC, (541) 463-5644, bertuccir@lanecc.edu
For release December 30, 2005
Jazz festival features guest artists from New York City, Portland and Eugene
EUGENE - The Second annual Oregon Jazz Festival on Saturday, January 21. 2006, will draw more than 30 middle school, high school and college jazz ensembles from Oregon and Washington to participate in the all-day festival at the University of Oregon Beall Hall and the Lane Community College Performing Arts Building 6 on the LCC main campus. The festival includes Jazz Quintet Concert featuring guest artists, from New York City, Portland and Eugene. This concert, at 7:30 p.m. in the LCC Performance Hall has limited tickets available to the public: $18 adults, $12 students. Tickets may be ordered through the LCC Ticket Office at 463-5202.
Steve Owen (UO) and Ron Bertucci (LCC), producers of the festival, joined forces for the first time last year to produce a very successful first Oregon Jazz Festival with over 25 participating schools and a sold-out evening concert. This year they expect a 15-20 percent increase in school participation. "Our mission is to bring students, jazz educators, performing artists, and jazz enthusiasts together in one place, to learn from each other and enrich each other's experience and enjoyment of jazz," says Owen.
Bertucci emphasizes that this festival is not a competition. "We stress that this is an educational event, not a competition and encourage musicians to take risks and take a vigorous approach to their study of jazz and music in general."
Participating ensembles will perform and receive feedback from clinicians on Saturday, Jan. 21, from 8 a.m. - 4 p.m. at both the UO and LCC. Each student ensemble is given 45 minutes to perform for and receive instruction from a panel of clinicians. Clinics on specific instrument areas (saxophone, trumpet, trombone, drums, piano, bass, and guitar) are offered throughout Saturday at both sites, featuring the various jazz educators/artists who will instruct, inspire, and encourage students on jazz performance techniques.
Clinicians include Dan Gailey (UK), Dana Landry (UNC), Dave Glenn (Whitman), Vern Seilert (U.W. ), Gary Hobbs from Vancouver WN, and including from Eugene, Glenn Griffith, Mike Denny, and Roger Woods. The public is welcome to attend the day-time clinics for a $5 day pass purchased at the festival sites.
The 7:30 p.m. Saturday evening Jazz Quintet Concert features headliner guest artists Dick Oatts on saxophone; and John Mosca on trombone. Both are on the music faculty at the Manhattan School of Music and perform with the Village Vanguard Orchestra. Other guest artists on the evening program include, from Portland, Gary Hobbs, drums, Phil Baker, bass and George Goebel, piano. Two outstanding school groups selected from the Jazz Festival's participants will open for the concert.
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GUEST ARTIST BIOS:
Dick Oatts
Faculty Member: Manhattan School of Music, New York City
Jazz - Saxophone
(212) 749-2802 (extension 7770)
Saxophonist Dick Oatts began his professional career in Minneapolis/St. Paul in 1972 and in 1977 moved to New York City and joined the Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra. For 30 years, Mr. Oatts has appeared at college jazz festivals as a soloist and clinician throughout the United States, Europe, Asia, Canada, South America, and the Middle East. He has taught at New York University and is currently on the jazz faculty at Manhattan School of Music and the Amsterdam Conservatory.
Oatts' big band and group experience include the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, Carnegie Hall Jazz Band, Mel Lewis, Lester Bowie, Joe Lovano, Sam Jones-Tom Harrell, Paquito D'Rivera, Tito Puente, and Gunther Schuller. Mr. Oatts has also been featured with the Stockholm Jazz Orchestra, Danish Radio Big Band, Rome Radio Jazz Band, Berlin RIAS Big Band, and the UMO Jazz Orchestra in Helsinki.
He has accompanied vocalists such as Joe Williams, Sara Vaughn, Ella Fitzgerald, Nneena Freelon, Mel Tormé, and Brazilian artist Milton Nascimento. He has recorded solos for pop artists such as Luther Vandross, James Taylor, and Everything But The Girl. Mr. Oatts has recorded three CDs under his own name with pianist and co-leader, Garry Dial, for the DMP label. He has a CD out on RED Records with bassist Dave Santoro, entitled MERU.
Oatts is now a SteepleChase recording artist and has five CDs released as a leader including All Of Three, Standard Issue (volumes 1 and 2), Simone's Dance, and South Paw.
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John Mosca
Faculty Member: Manhattan School of Music, New York City
Jazz - Trombone
(212) 749-2802 (extension 7756)
moscabop@netscape.net
John Mosca (trombone) has been on the Manhattan School of Music faculty since 1997 and prior to that in Alberta, Canada on the faculty of the Banff Centre School of Fine Arts. Mosca currently performs with the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra in New York. In 1992 Mosca received a Performance Grant from National Endowment for the Arts. He has recorded six albums as a leader and is a National Clinician for Yamaha Musical Instruments.
Performance and recordings include Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers, the Rolling Stones, Talking Heads, Patti Labelle, Tony Bennett, McCoy Tyner, Dave Holland, Eddie Palmieri, Robin Eubanks and Mental Images, Robin Eubanks Quartet/Quintet, Barbra Streisand Orchestra, Orchestras of Dream Girls, Tap Dance Kid, Black and Blue, and Grease.
Film & TV appearances include the Cotton Club, Grammy Awards TV Specials, Saturday Night Live and a guest spot on The Tonight Show.
He has been involved in master classes & seminars at the New England Conservatory, the Berklee College of Music, Jackson State University, University of North Texas, Georgia Southwestern University, University of the Arts in Philadelphia, Duke University and at the International Trombone Association.
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