A WORLD OF PIANO - JAZZ PIANO SERIES
Friday, February 23, 7:30PM - Alexis Marcelo
Saturday, February 24, 7:30PM - Kris Davis
Sunday, February 25, 4:00PM - Rob Schwimmer
TICKETS AVAILABLE HERE ON A SLIDING SCALE* $15-$35/CONCERT
COME TO ONE CONCERT OR ALL THREE!
Join us for the Valley’s popular jazz piano series! In 1995, the Northampton Center for the Arts asked long-time Connecticut River Valley jazz producer Glenn Siegel to produce a solo piano series, and A World of Piano was born. Throughout its history, the A World of Piano has sought to present a wide variety of approaches to the instrument. The series resumed in 2003 and continued until 2013, when NCFA lost its former space on South St.
Now firmly re-established at 33 Hawley, the Northampton Center for the Arts and Pioneer Valley Jazz Shares have resurrected A World of Piano. On February 23-25, 2024, the series continues with performances by pianists Alexis Marcelo, Kris Davis, and Rob Schwimmer. Come to one concert or all three!
* Jazz Shares members may attend these concerts as part of their membership. Tickets are available to the general public on a sliding scale. Tickets purchased on the upper end of the scale help support NCFA’s ongoing commitment to accessibility and sliding scale models.
More about the artists here:
Friday 2/23 at 7:30pm: New York City pianist Alexis Marcelo believes in the power of music as a positive and uplifting force, and is always looking to communicate those intimate parts of the soul through music. Alexis has been blessed to receive an extensive musical education at the Harlem School of the Arts. He went on to The University of Massachusetts at Amherst where he studied African-American Music/Jazz Piano Performance as well as composition with world-renowned saxophonist Dr. Yusef Lateef. He has performed at the North Sea Jazz Festival, Etnafest in Italy, Alice Tully Hall and more. Alexis is featured on recordings with Yusef Lateef, Adam Rudolph, Mike Pride, and Malcolm Mooney, and is currently developing his premiere album to be released next year.
Saturday, 2/24 at 7:30pm: Pianist-composer Kris Davis’ project Diatom Ribbons was a breakthrough record incorporating elements of hip hop, rock, and groove, and featured drummer and NEA Jazz Master Terri Lyne Carrington, DJ Val Jeanty, and bassist Trevor Dunn. Davis and Carrington recently won a Grammy for Best Instrumental Jazz Album for Carrington’s album New Standards, Vol 1. Davis was also a recipient of the 2021 “Doris Duke Artist Award in Jazz." To date, Davis has released 18 recordings as leader. Davis works as a collaborator and side person with artists such as John Zorn, Craig Taborn, Tyshawn Sorey, Eric Revis, Michael Formanek, Tony Malaby, Ingrid Laubrock, Julian Lage, Mary Halvorson, and Tom Rainey. Davis is the Associate Program Director of Creative Development for the Institute of Jazz and Gender Justice at Berklee College of Music.
Sunday, 2/25 at 4:00pm: Composer-pianist, thereminist, vocalist, and Haken Continuum player Rob Schwimmer has performed and recorded throughout the world. Praised by The New York Times for his "virtuosity, magic, and humor," Rob released his long awaited second solo CD "Heart Of Hearing” in 2018. He is known for his work as a solo artist and as a founding member of the highly acclaimed Polygraph Lounge duo with multi-instrumentalist Mark Stewart. Rob's first solo CD "Beyond The Sky" was hailed as "extraordinary" in Gramophone, "shaping up to be the finest solo piano CD of the year" in The NYC Jazz Record, and The New York Times praised his "machine-gun speed and clarity." Rob has been a featured ondioline/keyboards/theremin soloist with Gotye's Ondioline Orchestra, and he also did arrangements for Gotye's upcoming release. Rob is a leading player of the Haken Continuum fingerboard, and the theremin soloist for Ethan Iverson's "Pepperland," a full length dance piece for The Mark Morris Dance Group. Recent recording sessions on Haken Continuum include Paul Simon, Esperanza Spalding, and Trey Anastasio.