Arts in Action
   Today is February 9, 2010

Sunday January 30, 2005

POSTPONED! Marcus Roberts Trio, with UNCW Jazz Ensembles The Marcus Roberts Trio concert scheduled this evening at UNCW’s Kenan Auditorium has been postponed to 7 p.m. tomorrow evening (Sunday) due to icy travel conditions in Atlanta. •Ticket holders may present their same tickets to tomorrow evening’s performance. •Tickets to this concert may be exchanged for tickets to any other Arts in Action event this season. •Ticket refunds will be honored, or you can convert your tickets into a tax-deductible donation in support of the series. For ticket arrangements, contact the Kenan Box Office at 962.3500. We apologize for any inconvenience created by this postponement. For additional information you may call the Information Center at 962.3841. ******* Marcus Roberts Trio opens a creative window between the past and future of American jazz on Saturday, January 29 at 8:00 p.m. in UNCW's Kenan Auditorium. The trio, featuring Roberts on piano, Roland Guerin on bass, and Jason Marsalis on drums, will pay tribute to North Carolina jazz greats John Coltrane, Dizzy Gillespie and Thelonious Monk in a program that retains the substance of their work but also finds new musical challenges for the present. This is the fifth event of UNCW’s seven-part Arts in Action Performance Series, and will feature UNCW Jazz Ensembles. “North Carolina has such a great lineage when it comes to jazz, having produced the likes of Coltrane, Gillespie and Monk as well as vocalist Nina Simone, drummer Max Roach, pianist Dr. Billy Taylor, and, Wilmington’s own, bassist Percy Heath,” said Shannon Hooker, Assistant Director for Programs and Marketing, University Union. “It’s wonderful to have the high-caliber musicians of Marcus Roberts Trio introduce that legacy to our students, many of whom may never have experienced this kind of music in a live setting before.” Roberts is one of the most versatile and creative jazz artists of his generation. Although known for his command of early American piano styles, what he does best is synthesize the entire history of American piano music to create a modern cultural statement through jazz improvisation. The trio’s style evolved from the lineage of the great jazz trios of Nat Cole and Errol Garner. Although the piano has traditionally been the central focus of such trios, Roberts prefers to have all musicians in the group share equally in shaping the direction of the music. The trio’s repertoire is wonderfully varied, ranging from beautiful ballads and classic American standards to lively and engaging modern original compositions. First exposed to music in a church in Jacksonville, Fla., where his mother was a gospel singer, Roberts began teaching himself to play piano a few years after losing his sight at age five. At 21, Roberts joined Wynton Marsalis’ band and toured and recorded with the trumpeter for the next six years. He has since recorded fourteen albums as a leader, including four with the Marcus Roberts Trio. In 1998 he received what he considers to be the most gratifying of his many awards, the Helen Keller Award for Personal Achievement. He also served as the jazz Artist in Residence for the 2002 Olympic Games. Bassist, composer and arranger Guerin dazzles audiences worldwide with his slap bass technique. He has been leader on four recordings of his own and appeared on over 45 albums worldwide with artists that include Roberts, Ellis Marsalis and Mark Whitfield. Selected by Jazz Review for its “Fantasy Jazz Band,” Guerin joined the trio in 1995. Marsalis is the youngest son of pianist Ellis Marsalis, the father of one of America’s most musical families. He began playing drums at age three and joined Marcus Roberts Trio when he was seventeen in 1994. He has been instrumental to the development of the trio’s unique philosophy and style, adding fresh approaches to syncopation and texture. Marcus Roberts Trio will hold an open rehearsal/discussion at 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, January 25 in Kenan Auditorium. The rehearsal will feature UNCW Jazz Ensembles, and the public is free to observe. (www.marcusroberts.com) BOX OFFICE AND TICKET INFORMATION Tickets are $6 for university and area students, $14 for UNCW faculty/staff and senior citizens, and $18 for all others. Arts in Action Choose-Your-Own Season subscriptions may be purchased at a savings of up to 10% off ticket prices until January 29, 2005. For tickets, call Kenan Auditorium Box Office at 910.962.3500 or 800.732.3643 outside the Wilmington area. Box office hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday.