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| New Works by Tim Hagans and Ayn Inserto Honoring Frank Foster For the 11th year, the ASCAP/IAJE Commissions program has commissioned two new jazz works in honor of one of the genre's major figures. This year, the new compositions have been commissioned to honor the life and work of composer, saxophonist and bandleader, Frank Foster. The new works will receive their premiere performances at the 2008 IAJE Conference in Toronto in January. The commissioned composers are Tim Hagans in the Established Category, and Ayn Inserto in the Emerging Category. The ASCAP/IAJE Commissions program awards two cash prizes -- the first to an established jazz composer of international prominence, the other to an emerging jazz composer under the age of 35. The commissioned works must be written for ensembles of more than four and less than eighteen players. Prior programs have celebrated the Louis Armstrong Centennial, Count Basie, Benny Carter, Ornette Coleman, the Duke Ellington Centennial, Dizzy Gillespie, Quincy Jones, Marian McPartland, Billy Strayhorn and Dr. Billy Taylor. Composer and jazz trumpeter Tim Hagans is one of the most innovative trumpeters of our generation. He performed with the orchestras of Stan Kenton and Woody Herman before moving to Europe in 1977, where he lived in Malm, Sweden, a hotbed of the European jazz scene. While there, he performed and recorded with Thad Jones, Ernie Wilkins, Dexter Gordon, Ed Thigpen, Kenny Drew, Danish Radio Big Band, White Orange and Swedish Radio Jazz Group. After returning to the U.S., he taught at the University of Cincinnati and Berklee College of Music before moving to New York in 1987. That year, he received a composition grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. Hagans has performed and recorded with Bob Belden, Joe Lovano, Blue Note All-Stars, Gary Peacock, Bob Mintzer, Marc Copland and Maria Schneider as well as with his own ensembles. The Norrbotten Chamber Orchestra and Norrbotten Big Band in Sweden, the NDR Big Band in Germany and the UMO Jazz Orchestra in Finland have commissioned his Big Band compositions. He has recorded several Blue Note albums as a leader, and received Grammy-nominations in the Best Contemporary Jazz Album category for Animation/Imagination and Re: Animation in 2000 and 2001, respectively. His music can also be heard in Runar Enberg's documentary film Under the Almond Tree, Christer Engberg's play The Hostage, and as a featured soloiston the soundtrack to The Score (2001), with music by Howard Shore. Hagans is also the subject of an hour-long documentary, Boogaloo Road, for Swedish TV. Groundbreaking composer Ayn Inserto is emerging as one of the preeminent voices of her generation. She received her Masters of Music degree in Jazz Composition from the New England Conservatory in May 2001. She is a winner of the 2003/04 and 2005/06 ASCAP Young Jazz Composer Awards and has received various honors, which include the Concord Pavilion Associates Marian McPartland Award, the Pacific Coast Jazz Festival Most Outstanding small jazz ensemble, and the 1999 Best Original Composition award at the Billy Higgins Jazz Festival. She currently studies jazz composition with Bob Brookmeyer as his protege. Her music has been performed at the Berklee Performance Center, 1999 IAJE Convention, California State University of Hayward Jazz Festivals, Reno Jazz Festival, Billy Higgins Jazz Festival, New England Conservatory of Music, Montreux Jazz Festival, the Umbria Jazz Festival, the Zeitgesit Gallery/Lily Pad, McGill University, and most recently at Jazz at Lincoln Center Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola. Inserto has been commissioned by Foxboro High School, Harvard Jazz Band, Marin Catholic High School and Fairfield High School, and recently by George Garzone to arrange is music featuring him as a soloist with jazz orchestra. She currently resides in Boston, is an assistant professor at Berklee College of Music and teaches privately in Massachusetts. She recently released her first album, Clairvoyance, featuring Bob Brookmeyer and George Garzone. Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, ASCAP member Frank Foster is one of those rare triple threats: he's a saxophonist with a big, broad, rangy sound and approach; he's a composer and arranger of both tunes and long-form works; and he's a skilled leader of bands both large and small. As a saxophonist fluent on tenor, soprano and alto, he has been a welcome addition on bandstands and recording studios of vast variety. As a composer and arranger his efforts have run the gamut, from writing such jazz standards as “Shiny Stockings” and “Simone,” to his “Lake Placid Suite,” commissioned by the 1980 Winter Olympics. As a bandleader he has led everything from quartets to big bands, all with great aplomb and abundant skill. write your comments about the article :: © 2007 Jazz News :: home page |