The Bard College Music Program Presents Jazz Concert, “The Art of the Solo,” on March 31

ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, N.Y.— The Bard College Music Program presents a jazz concert on Wednesday, March 31. “The Art of the Solo,” coordinated by Thurman Barker and featuring members of the Bard music faculty, will be performed at 7:30 p.m. in Olin Auditorium. Admission is free. No reservations are required.

The program features Barker performing “Kalingalinga” on drums, marimba, and percussion; classical guitarist Gregory Dinger performing Choros No.1 by Heitor Villa-Lobos, Valse Venezolano No. 3 (“Natalia”) by Antonio Lauro, and Milonga by Jorge Cardoso; Marka Gustavsson playing “Azure” by John Halle on viola; tenor Rufus Müller singing “Apres un Reve” by Gabriel Fauré and “Nacht und Traume” by Franz Schubert; and pianist/composer Matthew Shipp performing selections from his album 4d. 

“ ‘Kalingalinga’ is one of my original compositions,” says Thurman. “It is recorded on my debut album entitled Voyage, The piece came to me after I did a state department tour of west Africa back in ’79. We visited six countries and spent a week in each one. Our mission was to perform one concert for the American Embassy, one concert for the president of the country, and one concert 50 miles out into the rural country for the villagers. Traveling through different villages and listening to the sounds that came out of them is what inspired me to write the piece.”

About the Artists:

Thurman Barker is an American jazz drummer. Barker’s first professional experience was at age 16 with Mighty Joe Young. Barker studied at the American Conservatory of Music under Harold Jones and at Roosevelt University under Edward Parimba. He served as an accompanist for Billy Eckstine, Bette Midler, and Marvin Gaye, and was house percussionist at the Schubert Theater in Chicago in the 1960s. In 1968 he joined Joseph Jarman’s first ensemble, and soon after became a member of the AACM in its early days. He also played in the late 1960s and 1970s with Muhal Richard Abrams, Pheeroan akLaff, Anthony Braxton, Billy Bang, Henry Threadgill, and Kalaparusha Maurice McIntyre. He recorded and toured again with Braxton in 1978-80 and with Sam Rivers, and in 1987 he played marimba with Cecil Taylor. In the 1990s, Barker concentrated more on composition. His 1994 work Dialogue was premiered at Merkin Hall in New York. He composed Expansions (1999) and Time Factor (2000) for the Woodstock Chamber Orchestra. Since 1993 he has been an associate professor of music at Bard College.

Rufus Müller was born in Kent, England, and was a choral scholar at New College, Oxford. He is at present studying in New York with Thomas LoMonaco. In 1985 he won first prize in the English Song Award in Brighton, and in 1999 he was a prize winner in the Oratorio Society of New York Singing Competition. He is assistant professor of music at Bard College.

Gregory Dinger is a graduate of the New England Conservatory of Music. He is an active recitalist and chamber musician in the Hudson Valley, and is a member of several ensembles (all of whom he arranges for as well), including the Arabesque Trio, Catskill Mountain Renaissance Consort, and Ars Choralis (he was principal arranger of the orchestral music for its critically acclaimed “Music in Desperate Times” concerts). He teaches music and guitar at SUNY Ulster, SUNY New Paltz, Bard College, Barcone’s Music Center, and at his home studio. He is president of the Woodstock Chamber Orchestra, and for 20 years was the host of WDST’s classical music show Sunrise Concert.

As violist of the award-winning Colorado Quartet, Marka Gustavsson has been invited for several seasons to the Bard Music Festival, has performed numerous Haydn quartets for the Mostly Mozart Festival at Lincoln Center, has presented all the Schubert quartets at Newport, and has toured Bartok and Beethoven cycles nationally and internationally. In 2008, the Colorado Quartet released Beethoven’s late quartets on the Parnassus label, commemorating their 25th anniversary season. This recording received glowing reviews in Fanfare, and the American Record Guide. Gustavsson has appeared as guest artist of the Lincoln Center Chamber Music Society’s “Meet the Music” series, and has been featured on Robert Sherman’s WQXR’s Young Artist’s Showcase, as well as the ABC Sports documentary Passion to Play. Pursuing her interest in new music, Gustavsson has worked with composers Martin Bresnick, George Tsontakis, John Hall, Joan Tower, and Richard Wernick. She currently serves on the faculties of Bard College and Soundfest.

Matthew Shipp started piano at 5 years old and fell in love with jazz at the age of 12. After moving to New York in 1984 he quickly became one of the leading lights in the New York jazz scene. He was a sideman in the David S. Ware quartet and also for Roscoe Mitchell’s Note Factory before making the decision to concentrate on his own music. Shipp possesses a unique style on his instrument that is all his own and he’s one of the few in jazz that can say so. Shipp has been curator and director of the label’s Thirsty Ear “Blue Series” and has also recorded for them. In this collection of recordings he has generated a body of work that is far reaching and many faceted.

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March 16, 2010

This event was last updated on 03-17-2010

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