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| New Haven Jazz Festival: Jay Hoggard, Tina Fabrique, Ed Fast & More! One of the area's largest and longest-running outdoor jazz celebrations, the New Haven Jazz Festival, takes over the New Haven Green on Saturday, August 13, from 4:30 - 9:00 pm. With a rich history of bringing jazz lovers together to enjoy good company and world-class music, the 2011 event will return to the theme, All Great Jazz Is Local. Presenting some of Connecticut's established and emerging jazz musicians, the festival features vibraphone/marimba master Jay Hoggard's Africaribbean Vibes, vocalist Tina Fabrique and drummers Ed Fast, Jonathan Barber and Ryan Sands. Produced by Jazz Haven since 2008, the festival is free of charge. "Over the past 28 years, the New Haven Jazz Festival has proven why jazz is a tradition worth keeping alive, " said festival producer Doug Morrill. "This year will be no different, and I believe it will be our best festival to date. The Jazz Festival has done more than make music history, it has created countless family stories and become a yearly pilgrimage for music lovers throughout the East coast and beyond." 8:00 pm – JAY HOGGARD AFRICARIBBEAN VIBES Vibraphonist Jay Hoggard headlines the New Haven Jazz Festival with his Africaribbean Vibes, featuring saxophonist Dwight Andrews, pianists James Weidman, bassist Belden Bullock, drummer Pheeroan akLaff, guitarist Tony Lombardozzi, and percussionists Kwaaku Martin Obeng, Jarawa Brian Gray and Asher DeLerme. Hoggard's music has touched the hearts and souls of listeners around the world for 30 years. Born in Washington, D.C., he was raised in Mt. Vernon, NY in a religious family. At age 15, Jay began playing the vibraphone. "One night I had a dream that I was playing the vibes. I asked my father to rent me a set and from the first moment, I knew that this was what I was supposed to do." Jay majored in the World Music program at Wesleyan University and toured Europe and played at Carnegie Hall during his freshman year. In his junior year, he traveled to Tanzania to study East African xylophone music. After graduation in 1976, Jay returned to New York City where he was proclaimed "the most dazzling new vibraphonist in jazz" by Robert Palmer in the New York Times. Hoggard draws on traditional and contemporary musical vocabulary to develop new directions for the vibraphone, seamlessly blending jazz and gospel roots with African marimba rhythms. His performance repertoire represents the three B's of the jazz tradition (Blues, Bop, Ballads) with original innovations. "Solo from Two Sides, " released August 1, 2009 – the latest of his over 20 CDs as a leader and collaborator – is a beautiful program of 13 compositions performed by the composer on both vibraphone and marimba, by way of digital overdubbing. He has toured the globe to rave reviews, performing throughout the United States, Africa, Europe, South America, the Caribbean and Asia. He led a quintet on an extensive tour sponsored by the US government to North Africa, the Middle East and India. Jay Hoggard is an Adjunct Professor of Music at Wesleyan University where he has been the director of the Wesleyan Jazz Orchestra and has taught and mentored hundreds of students for 20 years. 7:00 pm – TINA FABRIQUE Tina Fabrique is no stranger to the Connecticut community and is very happy to be a part of the jazz scene as well. Most recently, she starred in the Long Wharf Theater's production of "Ella, " the award-winning musical theater production about the jazz legend Ella Fitzgerald. The Broadway veteran's career has featured first class acting, singing, song-writing, and recording in many musical genres, successfully creating work that has received rave reviews around the world. Fabrique has an extensive performing résumé and has made numerous television appearances. Fabrique sang the theme songs to "Reading Rainbow" and her CDs include the soundtrack for the documentary "Mad Hot Ballroom, " "Tina Fabrique Sings the Great Composers" and "He's Able." 5:45 pm – ED FAST AND CONGA-BOP Since 1995, drummer, vibist and composer Ed Fast has been involved in a variety of musical projects throughout Connecticut, New York and around the world. Most recently, he was the drummer on the national tour of "Chicago, " and performed with Chita Rivera on the national tour of "A Dancer's Life." In the Hartford area, Ed regularly performs with the Hartford Symphony Orchestra and at the Mohegan Sun Casino, including concerts with Aretha Franklin, Charo, Frank Sinatra, Jr., Paul Anka and Martin Short. Fast's band, Conga-Bop, combines the harmony and sensibilities of hard-bop with the rhythms of the Caribbean to produce an original and vibrant sound that falls in the genre of Latin jazz. He leads this octet through an exciting array of his own soulful originals as well as Latin jazz classics by legendary artists Cal Tjader, Tito Puente and Hilton Ruiz, among others. Enjoy the unique voice of Conga-Bop, a band with a Caribbean heart and hard-bop soul. 5:00 pm – JONATHAN BARBER QUARTET Born in Hartford, CT, Jonathan Barber began playing the drums at the early age of five after watching his father play. In his high school years, Barber played the drums in the Marching Band, Symphonic, Concert Band, Jazz Ensemble and Gospel Choir, and was awarded best solo in his division at the annual Berklee School of Music High School Competition. Later, Barber furthered his music studies at the University of Hartford and the Jackie McLean Institute of Jazz. Additionally, he has participated in music festivals in Toronto, Virginia Beach, Myrtle Beach and many other locations. Joining Jonathan at the New Haven Jazz Festival will be Jeremy Pelt on trumpet, Zaccai Curtis on piano and Stephen Porter on bass. 4:30 pm – RYAN SANDS QUARTET Ryan Sands has been surrounded by jazz greats his entire life, beginning when he studied jazz drums and percussion under Jesse Hameen II at the age of five. Sands later honed his skills under the direction of jazz legends Jimmy Heath, Tootie Heath and Dr. Billy Taylor as well as Winard Harper, Avery Sharpe, Thaddeus Expose, Jeff Fuller and Mike Assetta. He has performed with his brother, Christian Sands, at the Kennedy Center's Millennium Stage in Washington, DC, Clifford Brown Festival in Wilmington, DE, Orange Summer Festival and Allendale Youth Summit in Allendale, SC. He is currently enrolled as a student at the Manhattan School of Music Pre-college Program and can be heard on XM radio playing the tune "Brother to Brother, " which he recorded with Christian. Joining Ryan at the New Haven Jazz Festival are trumpeter Adam O'Farrill, bassist Daryl Johns and guitarist Gabe Schnider. JAZZ HAVEN Since its inception in 1996, Jazz Haven has promoted the culture of Jazz through unique collaborations with artists, organizations, schools and other groups. The skill and passion that its Board members have demonstrated for the culture of jazz encourages a growing network of organizations and programs that help promote jazz education as well as jazz as an art form. With its beginnings as a series of performances at Artspace, Jazz Haven incorporated programming -- always in collaboration with other organizations -- that have included master classes with visiting artists, concerts featuring internationally and locally known musicians, including the New Haven Jazz Festivals since 2008 on the New Haven Green, tributes to late jazz masters, benefits for not-for-profit organizations, consultation for programming and technical support of other organizations with similar missions, and education. Jazz Haven has organized and presented Jazz in the parks and other venues and presented educational programs in the New Haven Public Schools. Artists who perform at the New Haven Jazz Festivals also give workshops, master classes and performances for students at the Neighborhood Music School Summer Jazz Program. write your comments about the article :: © 2011 Jazz News :: home page |