Friday March 30, 2007
UNCW Guest Artist Jazz Festival: Jazz Workshop
Friday, Mar. 30 / Workshops: 1 pm - 5pm / Cultural Arts Building Rehearsal Room 1080
UNCW's Annual Guest Artist Jazz Festival returns March 30-31 with a line up of jazz workshops and special performances featuring Tom Davis (composer) and Jim Snidero (saxophone).
Complete Schedule of Events:
Jazz Clinics
Friday, March 30 & Saturday, March 31 / 1 -5 pm / Cultural Arts Building, Rm. 1080 / observation free and open to the public: Guest artists Tom Davis (composer) and Jim Snidero (saxophone) along with UNCW jazz faculty conduct clinics for UNCW music students.
Jazz Concerts
Friday, March 30 / 7:30 pm / Cultural Arts Building Recital Hall / $5 general admission / free to UNCW students with a valid ID: Featuring the UNCW Big Band with a new work by composer Tom Davis
Saturday, March 31 / 7:30 pm / Cultural Arts Building Recital Hall / $5 general admission (free for UNCW students): Featuring special guest artists, The Jim Sindero Quartet.
ABOUT THE GUEST ARTISTS
JIM SNIDERO (saxophone): Jim Snidero is considered to be one of the top alto saxophonists and authors in jazz today. A resident of New York City for over 20 years, he has made numerous recordings as a leader, and has performed and/or recorded with many important jazz artists. Snidero is on the faculty at the New School University, is an active jazz clinician for the Selmer Company, and author of the best selling 3 series of books entitled Jazz Conception, Easy and Intermediate Jazz Conception, published by Advance Music.
Jim Snidero's recordings have received critical acclaim by leading jazz critics. Several have received 4 stars in Downbeat Magazine, in which critics hailed Snidero as "a master musician" and "alto sax virtuoso". 'Strings'- which he both composed and arranged, was released on Milestone Records in March 2003, his first recording for a major label. Jazziz magazine called it "a masterful blend of composition, arranging and improvisation", while Swing Journal, Japan's #1 jazz magazine, stated "this is miraculously wonderful jazz... a masterpiece". Celebrated jazz critic and author Gary Giddens, featured on Ken Burns PBS Jazz Series, said Snidero has " a wonderfully aggressive broadsword of a sound, recalling Bird in its sheer jubilance" (Village Voice), while the New York Times called his solos "dazzling". His second recording on Milestone was entitled "Close up" , which features tenor great Eric Alexander.
As a side man, he has worked with some of the biggest names in both jazz and rock. He was in Frank Sinatra's orchestra for 4 years, including the recording "Duets Two". He was a member of the Downbeat poll winning Akiyoshi Jazz Orchestra for 20 years, and toured extensively with The Mingus Big Band. Other jazz credits include Jack Mcduff, Frank Wess, Tony Bennett, Eddie Palmiari, Maria Schneider, Conrad Herwig, Brian Lynch, Walt Weiskopf, Joe Magnarelli and many others. In the rock field he has performed with Sting, Billy Joel, Elton John, Ricky Martin, and others.
Jim Snidero also has a long and varied experience as both an educator and author. He attended the University of North Texas, and has been on the faculty of the New School University since 1996. He has given literally hundreds of jazz clinics on style and improvisation through out the US, Europe and Asia, many of which being sponsored by the Selmer Company. He is also sponsored by Rico reeds.
Snidero has authored two best selling jazz etude series, Jazz Conception (17 books) and Easy Jazz Conception (15 books). For both style and improvisation, they are used in high schools, universities and conservatories through out the world, including major programs such as Berklee College, Julliard Conservatory, U. of North Texas and New School University. They have been translated into both Japanese and German.
TOM DAVIS (composer): With music degrees from Ithaca College and The Eastman School of Music, Tom Davis has been an educator for 22 years at the high school level. He has studied trumpet with Herb Mueller and Vincent DiMartino and has studied jazz improvisation and/or composition with Bill Dobbins, Rayburn Wright, Ramon Ricker, John LaBarbera, Steve Brown, Samuel Adler, Robert Morris, and Dana Wilson. In addition to performing with a local jazz quintet, "Exit 41", Tom has performed with Tom Harrell, Bill Dobbins, and Slam Stewart and has composed for the New Orleans Brass Quintet, Jim Pugh, Sir Roland Hanna, and Wynton Marsalis.
His ensembles have hosted guest artists and clinicians Jim Pugh, Barry Harris, Tom Christiansen, Jeff Jarvis, Bob Thompson, John Fedchock, Dave Mancini, Dennis DiBlasio, Willy Thomas, David Glasser, and Jon Faddis. In 1996 the Canandaigua Academy Jazz Ensemble (under Davis' direction) was a finalist in the Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Ensemble Competition hosted by the Lincoln Center Jazz Ensemble and Wynton Marsalis.
Tom currently has over 60 jazz and concert band compositions published with Educational Programs Publications (EPP), Heritage Jazz Works (a division of Lorenz), Kendor Music, and Warner Brothers Publications, and has been commissioned by schools to write original compositions for their programs. The latest work - Island of Introspection -was written for the 2002-2003 New Trier High School Jazz Ensemble I, directed by Jim Warrick.
Tom has been active as a conductor and clinician, conducting All-County and Honors groups including the Connecticut Eastern Regional Junior High Jazz Ensemble. He is a clinician for Heritage Festivals (Salt Lake City, Utah) and has adjudicated festivals in New York City, New Jersey, and Orlando, Florida. Davis is currently the K-12 Music Supervisor of the Canandaigua City School District. His website www.tomdavismusic.com offers free exercises for high school and college jazz musicians.
A talented public school band director in Canandaigua, New York, Tom earned his undergraduate degree in music education from Ithaca College and his masters degree in Jazz and Contemporary Media from the Eastman School of Music. His prominent teachers include Rayburn Wright, Bill Dobbins, Manny Albam, Steve Brown, John LaBarbera, Ramon Ricker, and Vincent DiMartino.
Tom's writing credits include the New Orleans Brass Quintet, the Eastman Jazz Ensemble, Wynton Marsalis and Sir Roland Hanna. In 1985 he won the IAJE string and combo Composition Contests.
Photo of Jim Snidero
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