News Releases
News from Lane Community College, Eugene, Oregon
January 2, 2008
4TH ANNUAL OREGON JAZZ FESTIVAL AT LANE COMMUNITY COLLEGE - JANUARY 18 & 19
PRESENTED BY LANE JAZZ PROGRAM AND UO JAZZ STUDIES
Lane Community College and the UO School of Music Jazz Studies program will join forces once again for the fourth annual Oregon Jazz Festival, held January 18 and 19 at Lane Community College. During the day, Saturday, January 19th high school and middle school jazz groups will perform, receive feedback and attend clinics on jazz performance lead by OJF artist/clinicians throughout the day. Evening Jazz Concerts take place both Friday and Saturday evenings.
EVENING CONCERTS:
Friday, Jan. 18, 7:30 p.m. at Lane Community College Performance Hall, Bldg. 6:
The Lane Jazz Ensemble and the Oregon Jazz Ensemble will perform with festival clinicians David Glenn, trombone (Whitman College); Dan Gailey, saxophone (Kansas University); Dana Landry, piano (University Northern Colorado) and Luis Bonilla, New York trombonist (Temple University and The Manhattan School of Music). Tickets are $10 general admission, $7 for students and seniors, available at the door one hour before the concert.
Saturday Jan. 19, 7:30 p.m. at Lane Community College Performance Hall, Bldg. 6:
Headliner guest artist Luis Bonilla, trombone, performs with Randy Porter, piano; Dave Captein, bass; and Gary Hobbs, drums. Also featured will be two outstanding school groups selected from the Jazz Festival’s participants. Tickets are $18 general admission, $12 for students and seniors, available at the door one hour before the concert.
Approximately 100 tickets for the Saturday evening concert will go on sale to the general public on Thursday, January 10th. Unlimited tickets are available for Friday's evening concert. Call 463- 5202 for information.
Directors Steve Owen (UO) and Ron Bertucci (LANE) are excited about the development and growth of this collaborative event. The two schools merged their existing festivals in 2005, (the Lane Jazz Festival and the Oregon Jazz Celebration), as both programs share a common philosophy and educational goals.
“Nothing is more important to both programs than to continue offering students of all ages and skill levels a hands- on experience working with some of the world’s finest jazz artists and educators.” says Owen.
“We are very excited about the opportunities and exposure we are able to bring to young jazz musicians attending the Oregon Jazz Festival”. “By teaming up on this event Lane’s Music Department and the Jazz Studies Program at the UO School of Music are making a substantial contribution to jazz education in our region”, says Ron Bertucci.
“We’ve always shared the philosophy that our jazz festival should be educational and non- competitive. We are very proud of the Oregon Jazz Festival and the opportunities and atmosphere we’ve been able to create together."
The Oregon Jazz Festival takes place this year on the main campus of Lane Community College. The festival begins with a concert on Friday, January 18th featuring the Lane Jazz Ensemble and the Oregon Jazz Ensemble with OJF guest artists Dana Landry, piano (Univ. No. Colorado), Dave Glenn, trombone (Whitman College), Dan Gailey, tenor (Kansas Univ.) and special guest Luis Bonilla, New York trombonist and OJF featured artist. The concert begins at 7:30 in the Main Performance Hall at Lane. On Saturday, January 19th high school and middle school jazz groups will perform, receive feedback and attend clinics on jazz performance lead by OJF artist/clinicians throughout the day. Saturday evening’s concert features New York trombonist, Luis Bonilla with Randy Porter (piano), Dave Captein, (bass) and Gary Hobbs, (drums). Concert time is 7:30 p.m. and there is ample free parking off of Elden Shaffer drive (northeast lot) at LCC. The LCC Performance Hall provides a great setting for both evening concerts!
The 2008 Oregon Jazz Festival has drawn 32 middle school, high school groups from around the Northwest to perform and participate in clinics. Owen and Bertucci stress that this event is all about educational opportunities for jazz students and not a competition.
“We encourage musicians to take risks and take a vigorous approach to their study of jazz and music in general,” says Owen. “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.”
Ensemble Clinics: Each participating ensemble will perform and receive feedback from clinicians on Saturday, January. 19, from 8:00 a.m.- 5:00 p.m. at LCC. Each student ensemble is given forty minutes to perform for and receive instruction from a panel of clinicians. The public is invited to attend these sessions and a $5 festival pass is available in the LCC Performance Hall lobby, Bldg. 6, Saturday morning.
Instrumental Clinics/Master Classes: Clinics on specific instrument areas (saxophone, trumpet, trombone, drums, piano, bass, and guitar) lead by OJF artist/clinicians are offered beginning at 11:00 a.m. Saturday. Clinicians will instruct and encourage students on jazz performance techniques. These sessions also are open to the public, (included in $5 festival pass).
A complete schedule of events will be available by Thursday, January 10th: call 346- 3761 (UO) or 463- 5161 (LCC).
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| website: www.Trombonilla.com |
Luis Bonilla bio:
The Californian- Costa Rican trombonist, composer and arranger is a prominent force in the New York and international Jazz and Latin scenes. Initially, he arrived at the trombone almost by chance and certainly by good fortune: “Making lamps and ashtrays in junior high school was what he thought “Beginning Brass” was all about. You can only imagine Luis’ surprise when he had a trombone in his hands! Luis quickly discovered that he had a talent for playing the instrument and was energized by both the urge to improvise and by the desire to learn more about Jazz.
Undaunted, he continued his musical education and has since received a B.A. from Cal. State Los Angeles and a M.A. in Jazz Performance & Composition from the Manhattan School of Music. He is currently a faculty member at both Temple University and the Manhattan School of Music.
Sideman to such musical greats as McCoy Tyner, Dizzy Gillespie, Lester Bowie, Tom Harrell, Freddie Hubbard, Astrud Gilberto, Willie Colon and Toshiko Akeyoshi, has honed Luis’ trombone elocution. Studio dates with a long roster of players like Billy Childs. Gerry Mulligan, Tony Bennett, Marc Anthony, La India, Paquito d’Rivera and Mary J. Blige have sharpened his ear and stretched his range as a composer and arranger. Luis is currently a member of the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, the Mingus Big Band and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Afro Cuban Jazz Orchestra.
On his two recordings on Candid, !Escucha! (2000) and the earlier Pasos Gigantes (1998) Bonilla was consistently praised for his sophisticated use of tonal colors and the creative ways in which he combined Latin and Jazz idioms into a seamless and cohesive whole. Pasos Gigantes found its way onto the Jazziz top ten Latin Jazz Recording list of 1998.
Bonilla’s latest recording, Terminal Clarity (2007), is both an extension of and a departure from, his other projects as a leader. Perhaps more than any of his earlier recordings, this one draws inspiration from his mentor and friend Lester Bowie (Bonilla toured and recorded for many years with Bowie’s Brass Fantasy).
“My experience with Lester contributed hugely to my sensibilities as a performer and served as an apprenticeship for creating and leading my ensembles as well as performing with other artists.” Clearly the debt here is also a profoundly musical one. Terminal Clarity not only references Brass Fantasy, but also Bowie’s earlier work with the Art Ensemble of Chicago. Bonilla, especially in pieces like the title track, seeks to weave traditional Latin rhythms with more open musician structures, thus allowing plenty of space for the musicians to improvise freely.
Luis Bonilla says, “The fabric of my music reflects my natural inclination towards Latin rhythms meshed with rhythm and blues, free jazz, funk, rock and even the sounds of AM radio from the ‘70’s. Employing Jazz, with its improvisational protocols, as the foundation of my music maximizes the opportunities for individual and collective creativity and expression.”
Terminal Clarity represents the next major step forward for this innovative creative musician and composer.
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Sources: Ron Bertucci, Lane Community College: 463- 5644 bertuccir@lanecc.edu
Steve Owen, University of Oregon: sowen@uoregon.edu
Contact: Myrna Seifert (LCC) 463- 5161 seifertm@lanecc.edu
Scott Barkhurst (UO) 346- 2137 scottb@uoregon.edu
Public information officer: Joan Aschim, (541) 463-5591, aschimj@lanecc.edu
