Monroe NY News

Eastman School of Music’s slate of jazz concerts for Spring 2023 will feature multiple celebrated guest artists alongside incredible student talent, with Eastman’s world-class jazz faculty at the helm.

Included in this semester’s roster of guests is Eastman alumni Larry Aberman ‘86E, drums, performing with the Eastman Jazz Lab Band on March 1 at 7:30 p.m. in Kilbourn Hall. Aberman is a Grammy Award-winning drummer whose career has taken him from the stage of David Geffen Hall (née Avery Fisher Hall) in New York City to the recording studios of Memphis to 16 years with Cirque du Soleil in Las Vegas. As a student at Eastman, Aberman studied percussion with the incomparable John H. Beck and was the drummer in the Eastman Jazz Ensemble, with whom he won “Best Jazz Soloist” awards from Downbeat Magazine.

Later in the season, the Jazz Lab Band will also welcome to the stage trumpeter Jeremy Pelt on April 26 at 7:30 p.m. in Kilbourn Hall. Pelt is considered one of the preeminent young trumpeters within the world of jazz and will be in residence at Eastman for three days, starting Monday, April 24. Pelt’s recordings and performances have earned him critical acclaim, both nationally and internationally, and he was voted “Rising Star” on the trumpet five years in a row by Downbeat Magazine. Pelt’s visit is supported by an Eastman Departmental Diversity Initiative (EDDI) grant from the George Walker Center for Equity and Inclusion in Music. Associate Professor of Jazz Studies & Contemporary Media and drummer, Rich Thompson, shares, “The Jazz Lab Band and I are excited to welcome guest artists from both the west coast and the east coast to play with us in Kilbourn Hall! Don’t miss the swinging Las Vegas drummer, Larry Aberman, or the fantastic trumpet artistry of Jeremy Pelt this spring.” 

Christine Jensen, saxophonist and Assistant Professor of Jazz Studies & Contemporary Media, welcomes her sister Ingrid Jensen, trumpet, to the stage in the final jazz performance of the season. On May 1, the Eastman Jazz and New Jazz Ensembles will perform in at 7:30 p.m. in Kilbourn Hall alongside the Jensen sisters. “I am delighted to share music with Eastman Jazz that my sister and I have been collaborating on! Our program will feature original compositions by both of us, as well as some classic and contemporary works for jazz orchestra,” says Christine. Ingrid has been hailed as one of the most gifted trumpeters of her generation. After graduating from Berklee College of Music in 1989, she went on to record three highly acclaimed CDs for the ENJA record label, quickly becoming one of the most in-demand trumpet players on the global jazz scene –– a reputation that has followed her throughout her career.

From the award-winning Eastman Jazz Ensemble to ensembles ranging from intimate chamber groups to big bands, Eastman jazz has been synonymous with exciting performances, fresh new music and arrangements, and outstanding student performers for decades. Unless otherwise noted, all concerts listed below are free and open to the public.

Wednesday, March 1: Eastman Jazz Lab Band/Jazz Workshop Ensemble

Kilbourn Hall, 7:30 p.m.

Rich Thompson, director

Larry Aberman ‘86E, drums, guest artist

Friday, March 3: Eastman Studio Orchestra

Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre, 7:30 p.m.

Dave Rivello, director

This concert marks Dave Rivello’s first time conducting the Eastman Studio Orchestra, making him the fourth conductor in the ensemble’s 53-year history. The program features compositions by Rivello himself, along with works by Emmy-winner Jeff Beal and Eastman students and alumni.

Wednesday, March 29: Saxology®

Hatch Recital Hall, 9:00 p.m.

Charles Pillow, director

Monday, April 3: Eastman Chamber Jazz

Kilbourn Hall, 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, April 8: Eastman Presents | Kilbourn Concert Series: John Scofield

Kilbourn Hall, 7:30 p.m. (ticketed)

Aside from being one of the principal innovators of modern jazz guitar, John Scofield is a creative artist of an even rarer sort: a stylistic chameleon who has forged a consistent, rock-solid aesthetic identity. A triple Grammy Award–winning artist with more than 40 recordings to his credit, Scofield has expressed himself in the vernacular of bebop, blues, jazz-funk, organ jazz, acoustic chamber jazz, electronically tinged groove music, jam band style, and orchestral ensembles with ease and enthusiasm. To purchase tickets, visit EastmanTheatre.org or call (585) 274-3000. 

Monday, April 10: Grunow Colloquium with Regina Carter

Hatch Recital Hall, 1:00 p.m.

Regina Carter, guest speaker

The Grunow Colloquium, an intersection of scholarship, musicianship, and music teaching and learning, provides the community opportunities to engage and interact meaningfully and musically. For this particular series, Regina Carter, an American jazz violinist, is being invited to Eastman to give a presentation to the ESM and Rochester community on Monday, April 10, 2023, in Hatch Recital Hall. (Please note that this event does not include a performance by Carter.)

Wednesday, April 26: Eastman Jazz Lab Band

Kilbourn Hall, 7:30 p.m.

Rich Thompson, director

Jeremy Pelt, trumpet, guest artist 

Monday, May 1: Eastman Jazz Ensemble/New Jazz Ensemble

Kilbourn Hall, 7:30 p.m.

Christine Jensen, director (Jazz), Dave Rivello, director (New Jazz)

Ingrid Jensen, trumpet, guest artist

View our Concerts and Events Calendar for more information about these performances and other Eastman events.

Media only: Lauren Sageer, Assistant Director of Public Relations and Digital Content, 

(585) 451-8492, lsageer@esm.rochester.edu

About Larry Aberman:

Larry Aberman ‘86E is a drummer, percussionist, Grammy award-winner, and proud graduate of the Eastman School of Music. He recently moved to Nashville, TN to join its vibrant recording and performance community after sixteen years in Las Vegas as an original cast member of Cirque du Soleil’s acclaimed production Zumanity. Most recently he has been touring and recording with trumpeter BIjon Watson’s group The Jazz Collective.

Larry’s performing and recording highlights include the artists Joe Sample, Lalah Hathaway, Nile Rodgers, Jimmie and Stevie Ray Vaughan, David Lee Roth, Ric Ocasek, Jeff Beal, Foreigner, Wynton Marsalis, The New York Philharmonic (soloist), Lionel Richie, Daniel Lanois, Lionel Hampton, Ben Harper, Travis Tritt, and Aaron Neville.

He holds a Master of Music degree in performance and education from the University of Nevada Las Vegas where he is presently an adjunct professor of drum set. He regularly writes on topics surrounding music, drums and percussion, and his writings have been featured in Modern Drummer magazine, Zildjian’s “Score” magazine and Drum Workshop’s “Edge” magazine.

He is a proud longtime endorser of Drum Workshop drums and hardware, Zildjian cymbals and sticks and Remo drum heads and percussion. And makes a special thanks to Thomas Bridge for his generous support of this concert.

About Jeremy Pelt:

Jeremy Pelt has become one of the preeminent young trumpeters within the world of jazz. Forging a bond with the Mingus Big Band very early on, as his career progressed, Pelt built upon these relationships and many others which eventually lead to collaborations with some of the genre’s greatest masters. These projects include performances and recordings with Cliff Barbaro, Keter Betts, Bobby “Blue” Bland, Ravi Coltrane, Frank Foster, Winard Harper, Jimmy Heath, Vincent Herring, John Hicks, Charli Persip, Ralph Peterson, Lonnie Plaxico, Bobby Short, Cedar Walton, Frank Wess, Nancy Wilson and The Skatalites, to name a few. Steven Loewy of Cadence wrote, “[Pelt] maintains a consistent forward momentum…while he transmits a modern-day sense of urgency with his songs.”

Pelt frequently performs alongside such notable ensembles as the Roy Hargrove Big Band, The Village Vanguard Orchestra and the Duke Ellington Big Band, and is a member of the Lewis Nash Septet and The Cannonball Adderley Legacy Band featuring Louis Hayes. As a leader, Pelt has recorded ten albums and has toured globally with his various ensembles, appearing at many major jazz festivals and concert venues.

Pelt’s recordings and performances have earned him critical acclaim, both nationally and internationally. He has been featured in the Wall Street Journal by legendary jazz writer and producer, Nat Hentoff, and was voted Rising Star on the trumpet, five years in a row by Downbeat Magazine and the Jazz Journalist Association. Pelt is currently touring throughout the United States and Europe in support of his latest release, “Soundtrack.”

 About Ingrid Jensen:

Born in Vancouver, Canada, trumpet, composer, and bandleader Ingrid Jensen has been hailed as one of the most gifted musicians of her generation. A graduate from Berklee in 1989, she immediately went on to record for the ENJA label, soon becoming one of the most in-demand players on the global jazz scene. She received the prestigious 2019 Jazz Journalists Trumpeter-of-the-Year Award and is consistently listed in the top 5 critics polls in Downbeat for jazz trumpet.

“Ingrid plays trumpet with all the brilliance and fire of a true virtuoso, following the spirit of the muse as she creates…warm, sensitive and totally honest…” -Marian McPartland

After teaching at Bruckner Conservatory in Austria, Ingrid settled in New York City where she played with the jazz orchestras of DIVA, Maria Schneider, and Darcy James Argue. She often performs with the Grammy-winning Teri-Lyne Carrington and has appeared as featured soloist on both of the Christine Jensen Jazz Orchestra Juno award winning albums. She has performed and recorded with a multi-generational cast of jazz legends, from Esperanza Spaulding to Clark Terry, Art Farmer and Dr. Billy Taylor to Sarah McLachlin and Corrine Bailey Rae. She is a key member of supergroup Artemis, signed to Blue Note Records. She is currently Dean and Artistic Director of the Jazz Arts Department at Manhattan School of Music.

About Eastman School of Music:

The Eastman School of Music was founded in 1921 by industrialist and philanthropist George Eastman (1854-1932), founder of Eastman Kodak Company. It was the first professional school of the University of Rochester. Mr. Eastman’s dream was that his school would provide a broad education in the liberal arts as well as superb musical training.

More than 900 students are enrolled in the Collegiate Division of the Eastman School of Music—about 500 undergraduates and 400 graduate students. They come from almost every state, and approximately 23 percent are from other countries. They are taught by a faculty comprised of more than 130 highly regarded performers, composers, conductors, scholars, and educators. They are Pulitzer Prize winners, Grammy winners, Emmy winners, Guggenheim fellows, ASCAP Award recipients, published authors, recording artists, and acclaimed musicians who have performed in the world’s greatest concert halls. Each year, Eastman’s students, faculty members, and guest artists present more than 900 concerts to the Rochester community. Additionally, more than 1,700 members of the Rochester community, from young children through senior citizens, are enrolled in the Eastman Community Music School. 

About the University of Rochester:

The University of Rochester  is one of the nation’s leading private research universities, one of only 62-member institutions in the Association of American Universities. Located in Rochester, N.Y., the University gives undergraduates exceptional opportunities for interdisciplinary study and close collaboration with faculty through its unique cluster-based curriculum. Its College, School of Arts and Sciences, and Hajim School of Engineering and Applied Sciences are complemented by the Eastman School of Music, Simon School of Business, Warner School of Education, Laboratory for Laser Energetics, School of Medicine and Dentistry, School of Nursing, Eastman Institute for Oral Health, and the Memorial Art Gallery.

Original source can be found here.