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| Jack Wilkins & Harvie S at the Seligmann Center for the Arts Sugar Loaf (Chester), NY Jazz Guitarist Jack Wilkins & Bassist Harvie S - Sunday, November 17, 2013 @ 3:00pm at the Seligmann Center for the Arts Sugar Loaf (Chester), NY. Guitarist Jack Wilkins has been on the International jazz scene since the early 1970′s. His flawless technique and imaginative chordal approach have inspired collaborations with Chet Baker, Sarah Vaughan, Bob Brookmeyer, and Buddy Rich among many others. A native of Brooklyn, Jack began playing guitar at age thirteen. His mentors included Johnny Smith, Django Reinhardt, Charlie Christian, Wes Montgomery, Joe Pass, Bill Evans, Clifford Brown and Freddie Hubbard. A consummate accompanist, Wilkins has played and recorded with renowned singers Mel Torme, Ray Charles, Morgana King, Sarah Vaughan, Sammy Davis Jr, Tony Bennett, Manhattan Transfer, Nancy Marano, Chris Conner, Cassandra Wilson, and Jay Clayton. Wilkins was awarded an NEA grant in recognition of his work and contribution to the guitar. He has been widely and prominently profiled in such publications as Guitar Player, Just Jazz Guitar, Downbeat, 20th Century Guitar and Leonard Feather's Jazz Encyclopedia. Jack was invited to the Smithsonian Institution as part of the Blue Guitars exhibit, and appeared on the P.S. I. first live jazz Internet concert. He was also featured on the J.V.C. festival tributes to Johnny Smith, Tal Farlow, Herb Ellis, and Barney Kessel Wilkins teaches at The New School, Manhattan School of Music, NYU, and LIU. He was invited to judge the Monk Institute Guitar Competitions in Washington. He also conducts seminars on the "Great American Songbook", and guitar clinics, both in New York and abroad. His latest CD's, "Reunion", "Christmas Jazz Guitar" the DVD"s, "The Benedetto Players in Concert", "The Benedetto Players and Guild Jazz Masters", and "Jazz Guitar Workshop" are all currently available. A new CD is now available called "Until It's Time" on the Maxjazz label. Any jazz fan will tell you, Harvie S is one of the great bass players on the scene today. He's played with the best and he continues to challenge himself and his peers in new artistic directions. Moreover, Harvie is a bassist, producer, bandleader, composer and educator. Harvie S has performed with masters in jazz and Latin music including Stan Getz, Pat Metheny, Chet Baker, Dexter Gordon, Jim Hall, Michael Brecker, Gil Evans, Arturo O'Farrill, Lee Konitz, Mark Turner, James Moody, Al Cohn and Zoot Sims, Houston Person, Art Farmer, Toots Thielemans, Bob Mintzer, Joe Lovano, Dave Leibman, Vic Juris, Danilo Perez, Paquito D'Rivera, Ray Barretto, Ray Vega, David Valentin and countless others. He can be heard on over 400 hundred CDs as a sideman, 16 as a leader and another fifteen as a co-leader with such greats as James Brown, Chick Corea, Mike Stern, John Scofield, Michael Brecker, Tom Harrell, Mark Turner, Kenny Barron, Ingrid Jensen, Gene Jackson, Pat Martino, Dr. Billy Taylor, Grover Washington Jr., David Mathews, Virginia Mayhew and Tony Bennett. Over 100 Harvie S compositions have been recorded on CDs Records and Videos. Harvie S arrived in New York in 1973 and a short time later founded and co-led the now legendary Double Image Band that recorded for ECM and Enja Records and performed at major festivals throughout the world. He also was a member of the Steve Kuhn Quartet which also recorded 4 CDs on ECM and featured many of his compositions. After playing a short stint with Stan Getz in 1979 Harvie decided to make his first solo effort for Grammavision records. His first release was was the innovative "Underneath it All". Two more releases followed "Urban Earth" and "Smart Moves". Urban Earth was on the Radio Charts for 2 months and hit #2 in the nation. It also charted on Billboard Jazz. Smart moves was #10 on the charts and received rave reviews. Both CDs were picked as the best of the year. Ever-questing for new sounds and Harvie recorded "In a Different Light". This project included Mike Stern, John Scofield, Mick Goodrick, Leni Stern and Leon Parker (his very first recording). Gary Giddins chose this CD as one of the best of 1990 in the village Voice. Ever broadening his musical scope, Harvie started studying Afro-Cuban music in 1993 and has been on the Latin-Jazz scene. He has combined both idioms in a bold new music as evinced n his CDs "Havana Manana", "New Beginning", "Texas Rumba", and "Funky Cha". The music is best described as Jazz on the Latin side combining the melodic and harmonic sophistication of jazz and the extraordinary rhythmic intensity of Latin music. In 2009 High Note records release "Now Was the Time" with Kenny Barron which received rave reviews and was on the Jazz week charts for 12 weeks and peaked at #3. Harvie's CD with the legendary Sheila Jordan and Harvie S duo is a magical live performance released on High Note Records in 2012 called "Yesterdays". Jazz times included it in the best 100 recordings of 2012. In January 2013 "Witchcraft" was released on High Note Savant with Jazz again with Jazz Master Kenny Barron. It was #1 on Jazz Week national radio charts. This is a follow up to the previous 2009 duo recording with Kenny Barron "Now Was the Time" also on High Note/Savant Records. In addition to his performance career, Harvie is an active educator; he has held the jazz bass and ensemble instructor position at The Manhattan School of Music for both undergraduate and graduate divisions since 1984. He has been a guest lecturer at The Cologne Hochshule, International society of bassists, McGill University, Berklee College of Music, SUNY Purchase, royal conservatory in the Hague, William Patterson College, the Eisler School in Berlin, The International Association of Jazz Educators, The Eastman School of Music, The New School and numerous other colleges and universities worldwide. Harvie is a receipient of many major grants from the Fund for U.S. Artists, National Endowment for the Arts, New York State Council on the Arts, ASCAP, and Meet the Composer. In 2004 Harvie S was chosen to give lectures on Latin Jazz at The International Society of Bassists and the International Association of Jazz Educators. In 2006 Harvie's compostion "S" was a winner in International Song Writing competion . In the fall of 2003 Harvie S toured Southeast Asia for 6 weeks as a Jazz Ambassador; a very successful tour that garnered rave reviews and spread goodwill abroad. He has been a guest on NPRs "All Things Considered" and "Fresh Air." His career is documented in Leonard Feather's Encyclopedia of Jazz, the Grove Dictionary of Jazz and the All Music Guide. Harvie S has written the themes for the documentaries "The Trumpet Kings", "The Piano Legends" and "John Coltrane" and can been seen and heard on the music videos of Toots Thielemans, Pat Martino, Juan Carlos Formell, Sheila Jordan, Jay Clayton, Jane Ira Bloom and others. The duo project of Sheila Jordan and Harvie S 1981-1995 set the timeless standard in bass and voice performance. They recorded 7 CDs together. The Harvie S band has played festivals worldwide and in 2004 headlined at the Syracuse Jazz Festival and the Lake George Festival, the Delaware Water Gap Festival, Cape Cod Jazz Festival and Stamford Arts Center. Harvie has had featured articles in Downbeat, Jazziz, Cadence, Coda(Canada), Jazztimes, Swing Journal(Japan), Jazz Life, Jazz Forum(Poland), Jazz Hot(France), Hot House, the Music Paper, the New York Times, the New York Post, the Los Angeles Times, Jazz Podium, Jazz-it(Italy) and numerous others. write your comments about the article :: © 2013 Jazz News :: home page |