|
contents | jazz | |||||||||||||
| Mark O'Connor's Hot Swing The State Theatre in New Brunswick, NJ presents Mark O'Connor's Hot Swing on Saturday, October 29, 2005. Fiddling phenom, Mark O’Connor, and friends pay tribute to his great friend and mentor, the legendary French jazz master, Stephane Grappelli. In June 2001, Mark O'Connor released Hot Swing!, a tribute to French jazz artist, Stephane Grappelli. This performance of Hot Swing features Jon Burr on bass, Bryan Sutton on guitar, Howard Alden on guitar, and vocalist, Roberta Gambarini. Violinist/fiddler extraordinaire Mark O’Connor was influenced by Texas fiddler Benny Thomasson and Grappelli, along with other musical styles and genres. Today O’Connor’s work, a blend of styles and moods including swing, Texas style, jazz, classical, bluegrass, and newgrass, can be heard on nearly 30 recordings. His 1997 album, Liberty!, features arrangements of traditional American music and expansive original orchestral works. Midnight on the Water, a live recording of his solo recital, was regarded by many as a definitive career work firmly solidifying his place as one of America's premier music artists. In 2002, O’Connor received worldwide recognition as a leading proponent of a new American musical idiom with his chamber ensemble, the Appalachia Waltz Trio, featuring cellist Natalie Haas and violist Carol Cook. The trio performed repertoire that O'Connor created for his recording projects Appalachia Waltz and the 2001 Grammy Award-winning album Appalachian Journey. In recent years, word of his considerable composing talent has spread, and O'Connor's pieces are being embraced by a variety of performers. Dance troupes, including the New York City Ballet, have discovered O'Connor's expressive American style. In August 2000, O'Connor premiered his composition, Double Concerto for Two Violins, with Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg and the Chicago Symphony, conducted by Christoph Eschenbach. Mark O’Connor has performed at the White House, the Presidential Inauguration Celebration, and the ceremonies of Atlanta's Centennial Olympic Games, for which he composed Olympic Reel. He is often featured on major network TV shows highlighting his talent for the public. His talent is revealed in solo performances on both The Patriot and Gods and Generals soundtracks and, with more than 150 performances, his Fiddle Concerto No. 1 has become the most-performed modern violin concerto. O’Connor has received numerous commissioning grants, as well as contributed much of his time to various music organizations and schools. He founded the internationally recognized Mark O’Connor Fiddle Camp and Strings Conference. Bassist Jon Burr has toured and recorded with many great jazz masters, including Stan Getz, Chet Baker, Horace Silver, Hank Jones, Art Farmer, Stephane Grappelli, and Buddy Rich. Burr formed his own quartet in 1991, specializing in his own compositions and later went on to record two albums, In My Own Words and 3 For All. He has been featured in various Broadway performances as bass chair including Me and My Girl, Grand Hotel, and Gypsy. Recently, he was a featured guest with the New York Pops Orchestra. Grammy Award-winning guitarist Bryan Sutton is best known for his accomplishments in bluegrass music. Sutton was awarded “Guitarist of the Year” by the International Bluegrass Music Association in 2000, 2003, and 2004. Also on guitar, Howard Alden joins Mark O’Connor’s Hot Swing. Alden has been a leader, co-leader, and versatile sideman as a Concord Jazz recording artist since the late 1980s. He was voted “Best Emerging Talent-Guitar” in the JazzTimes critics’ poll and voted “Talent Deserving Wider Recognition in the Downbeat critics’ poll. Rounding off this talented bunch of musicians is vocalist Roberta Gambarini. Gambarini worked as a jazz singer touring Italy before joining the ensemble, performing in numerous national jazz festivals. Gambarini’s smooth voice earned her numerous “Best Jazz Artist” awards by the Nashville media and three critically acclaimed recordings on her own label. write your comments about the article :: © 2005 Jazz News :: home page |