Student jazz ensembles pay homage to the icons of jazz and break new ground with original progressive jazz compositions.
KING CUONG AND THE WHAM-BAM GRAND SLAM JAM BAND
Cuong Vu, advisor
Jazz Crimes...........................................................................................................Joshua Redman
Fee-Fi-Fo-Fun .......................................................................................................... Wayne Shorter
Wildflower .............................................................................................................. Wayne Shorter
Anthropology........................................................................................................... Charlie Parker
Lovely Day .................................................................................. Bill Withers (arr. Robert Glasper)
Peter Holmes, drums
Mariah Jones, bass
Gabe Judd, guitar
Noah Kapioski, piano
Mason Lim, trumpet
Sam Kartub, tenor saxophone
R-3-5 R-O-L-E
Marc Seales, advisor
Night Dreamer........................................................................................................ Wayne Shorter
E.S.P. ...................................................................................................................... Wayne Shorter
House of Jade......................................................................................................... Wayne Shorter
Liam Near, bass
Espen “Chip” Scheuer, tenor saxophone
Ori Levari, piano
Remy Morritt, drums
ETHEREAL IDEAL
Ted Poor, advisor
Perspicuity .......................................................................................................... Doug Hammond
Confirmation ................................................. Charlie Parker (arr. Gene Lake and Steve Coleman)
Lullaby Song .......................................................................................................... Schuyler Asplin
Lovely Day ........................................... Bill Withers (arr. Brendan McGovern and Jackson Mindt)
Figit Time............................................................................................................ Doug Hammond
Thomas Campbell, drums
Jackson Mindt, bass
Schuyler Asplin, trumpet
Brendan McGovern, saxophone
Peter Stoessel, guitar
Director Bios
Cuong Vu
Cuong Vu is widely recognized by jazz critics as a leader of a generation of innovative musicians. A truly unique musical voice, Cuong has lent his trumpet playing to a wide range of artists such as Pat Metheny, Laurie Anderson, and David Bowie.
As a youngster, Cuong's intense dedication and love for music led him to a full scholarship at the New England Conservatory of Music where he received his Bachelor of Music in Jazz studies with a distinction in performance. Transitioning from his studies in Boston, he moved to New York in 1994 and began his career actively leading various groups while touring extensively throughout the world. As a leader, Cuong has released eight recordings, each making critics’ lists of the 10 best recordings of their respective years and has received rave reviews from notable publications such as the New York Times, The New Yorker, Harper’s, the Guardian, BBC Music Magazine, JazzTimes and Downbeat. Each record displays how he has carved out a distinctive sonic territory as a trumpet player, blurring all stylistic borders while developing his own compositional aesthetic and sound world.
Awards and honors that Cuong has garnered include grants from the Royalty Research Foundation, the Donald E. Peterson Professorship, ArtistTrust, 4Culture, CityArts and the Colbert Award for Excellence. Cuong is currently associate professor and chair of Jazz Studies at the University of Washington and was awarded the University of Washington's prestigious Distinguished Teacher Award in his third year on faculty. In 2002 and 2006, Cuong was a recipient of the Grammy for Best Contemporary Jazz Album as a member of the Pat Metheny Group. He’s been recognized as one of the top 50 Jazz Artists in an article called “The New Masters” from the British magazine, “Classic CD” and in 2006 was named the Best International Jazz Artist by the Italian Jazz Critics’ Society. Amazon listed Vu’s “Come Play With Me” on their “The 100 Greatest Jazz Albums of All Time.”
Marc Seales
A noted pianist, composer and leading figure in the Northwest jazz scene, Marc Seales has shared stages with many of the great players of the last two decades. He has played with nearly every visiting jazz celebrity from Joe Henderson and Art Pepper to Benny Carter, Mark Murphy, and Bobby Hutcherson. With the late Don Lanphere he performed in such places as London, England; Kobe, Japan; The Hague in the Netherlands; and the North Sea Jazz Festival.
The musicians he admires most are Herbie Hancock, Charlie Parker, John Lewis, John Coltrane, Miles Davis, and Wynton Kelly, though he is quick to acknowledge that he owes the basically be-bop/post be-bop sound of his playing to his mentors, Don Lanphere and Floyd Standifer.
Critics have praised Seales variously for his "meaty piano solos," and "blues inflected, Hancock-inspired modernism." Winner of numerous Earshot awards (Instrumentalist of the Year in 1999 and Acoustic Jazz Group in 2000 and 2001; Jazz Hall of Fame, 2009), Seales is today promoting jazz awareness and molding young talents as a Professor of Music at the University of Washington, where he is a professor in the Jazz Studies Program. He teaches an array of courses, including History of Jazz, Jazz Piano, and Beginning and Advanced Improvisation, as well as leading various workshops and ensembles.
Greg Sinibaldi
Innovative saxophonist and composer Greg Sinibaldi has established himself as one of the Northwest’s most inventive musicians, embracing a diverse musical world. Whether he’s performing with his own groups, playing in metal bands, or composing new chamber music, he brings forth a characteristic and unique voice each time he performs. Inspired by a wide range of music and art, Greg has developed a unique improvisational language, developing a virtuosic and rich sonic palette.
Inspired by collaborations with many musical innovators Greg has worked and performed with Gunther Schuller, Jimmy Giuffre, Bill Frisell, Wayne Horvitz, Cuong Vu, Ted Poor, Robert Dick, Dave Douglas, Matt Moran, Rueben Radding, Jesse Canterbury and many others. He has toured with a wide range of bands and can be heard on numerous recordings, the most recent being Burn List. In collaboration with clarinetist Jesse Canterbury, his recent record Ascendant, was recorded in a 4-million gallon Cistern. He’s also played an integral role on many recordings including Frieze of Life’sNuclear Frog Pond, Uncle Pooch’s Oneirophrenia and Goat’s Special Agent.
Greg has been the recipient of grants and awards from the Puffin Foundation, Jack Straw Foundation, Centrum, 4Culture, Earshot Jazz and The City of Seattle. He has also been Artist in Residence at the Banff Center, the Atlantic Center for the Arts and Centrum. He studied at the New England Conservatory working with a wide range of artists, including George Garzone, Jimmy Guiffre, and Joe Maneri. While receiving a Masters degree from the University of Washington he studied with Richard Karpen.
Ted Poor
After graduating from the Eastman School of Music in 2003, drummer Ted Poor moved to New York City, where he has made a deep impression on the jazz and improvised music scene. Modern Drummer describes his playing as “adventurous, truly dynamic, and forward-thinking.” Jazz Review writes, “Ted has an uncanny ability to shape the music and a refreshingly unique, organic approach to playing the drums.” This unique approach has caught the ears of many of jazz’s most established musicians and quickly placed him amongst those drummers most in demand.
Ted has toured the world over and is a regular member of many bands, including those of Grammy award winning trumpeter Cuong Vu, guitarist Ben Monder, Bad Touch, and the Respect Sextet. Ted’s most recent project as a leader is called Mt. Varnum. Formed in August of 2011, Mt. Varnum reconciles a life-long love of deep swing with an equally earnest adoration of classic and indie rock. The band’s forthcoming debut release “Wounded Caroline” is a powerful and complete manifestation of that union.
As an in-demand sideman, Ted has appeared on dozens of recordings and has shared the stage with many world renowned artists such as Kurt Rosenwinkel, Bill Frisell, Mark Turner, Chris Potter, Kenny Werner, Maria Schneider, Aaron Parks and Ralph Alessi. As a guest soloist and educator, Poor has held residencies at, among others, the Eastman School of Music, Berklee College of Music, Cal Arts, Lawrence University, the University of Oregon, and the HR Big Band of Frankfurt. He is currently an Artist in Residence at the University of Washington in Seattle.