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Gershwin with a touch of jazz -- next at USM

Tim O’Dell broke on the jazz scene as an exciting new player. Of his album “Before My Life,” Less Prosser of Jazz Review wrote: "A young, new master of the saxophone has arrived, and his name is Tim O'Dell . . ‘Before My Life’ is what contemporary jazz is all about and is a showcase of perfect performances."

Jerry D'Souza, in All About Jazz, said: “O'Dell is an open, lyrical player who can unfurl a wide range of ideas at a dizzying pace…”

O’Dell will focus that excitement and lyricism in his new program, “Gershwin for Swingin'” – the next concert in the University of Southern Maine School of Music’s Spotlight Series. The concert will be held at 8 p.m. Friday, April 3, 2009, in Corthell Concert Hall on the USM Gorham campus. Tickets are $15 for the general public; $10 for seniors and USM employees; and $5 for students. Call the Music Box Office at 780-5555.

The concert is sponsored by WBRC Architects and Engineers.

“Gershwin for Swingin’” is a celebration of songs with music and/or lyrics written by George Gershwin (1898-1937) and his brother Ira Gershwin (1896-1983). In addition to O'Dell on alto saxophone, the performers include USM director of jazz studies, Chris Oberholtzer, trombone; plus guests Richard Nelson, guitar; Thomas Snow, piano; James Lyden, bass; and Eric Halvorson, drums.

O’Dell and company will perform many of the great songs in the Gershwin canon – some of which are versions made famous by jazz musicians, and some include their lyrics.

They will play tunes from this possible list: Chet Baker’s versions of “But Not For Me” and “Someone to Watch Over Me”; Sarah Vaughan’s version of “Embraceable You”; Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald’s “A Foggy Day”; Ella Fitzgerald’s “I've Got a Crush On You,” “Soon,” and They Can't Take That Away From Me”; Carmen McRae’s “I Can't Get Started” and “Nice Work If You Can Get It”; Billie Holiday’s “Let's Call the Whole Thing Off”; and Tony Bennett’s “Shall We Dance.”

ARTIST BIOS

Tim O’Dell holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Saxophone Performance and Pedagogy from the University of Iowa (1999), a Master of Music degree with Honors in Jazz Studies from the New England Conservatory of Music (1992) and a Bachelor of Music degree with Honors in Saxophone Performance with a Jazz Emphasis from the University of Iowa (1990). He moved to Maine in 2001 from the Chicago scene where he performed at such premier venues as the Jazz Showcase, the Chicago Cultural Center, and the Hot House with some of the city's finest musicians. He recently released his third album as a leader for Chicago's Southport record label.

As a Southport recording artist, O'Dell has received national acclaim and his recordings have been broadcast on radio stations around the world. His 2005 “Ancient Pines” CD, (featuring Tim’s composing and improvising with Chicago musicians Tatsu Aoki and Ryan Shultz) has been widely acclaimed critically, as was Tim’s 2001 Southport release, “Before My Life,” which features ten of O'Dell's diverse compositions for jazz sextet. In 1998, he was the saxophonist on the popular Southport CD, “Finally Elijah,” featuring vocalist Elijah Levi. In that year Tim also released “Live in Iowa City” with the Chicago-based Red Fire Ant Trio. Dr. O'Dell's latest Southport CD, “Dreams of Pangaea,” an entire album devoted to Tim’s large jazz ensemble compositions, was released in 2009.

An exceptionally versatile saxophonist with extensive training in both classical and jazz idioms, Tim has performed professionally in myriad genres - from symphony orchestras to Cuban bands to urban funk bands to classical chamber ensembles to (many) jazz bands - and has done so in New York, Miami, Boston, Chicago, throughout the Midwest and greater New England. O'Dell has had the pleasure of performing with many renowned musicians such as Danilo Perez, Tim Hagans, George Garzone, Cuong Vu, Louis Bellson, Wycliffe Gordon, David Berkman, John Carlson, Gunther Schuller, Mick Rossi, Willie Pickens, Muhal Richard Abrams, the Aardvark Jazz Orchestra, Bill McHenry, Tatsu Aoki, George Russell and The Temptations.

Dr. O’Dell is currently very active as a freelance saxophonist and composer performing and recording with many ensembles. An upcoming CD, “At War’s End,” features Tim's unique saxophone improvisations with the creative gifts of Chicago bassist Tatsu Aoki and Boston drummer Luther Gray. The Matt Langley/Tim O’Dell Quartet, a New England group that performs all original compositions by O’Dell and Langley, is soon to release their debut recording, “The Catalyst.” Tim also works with guitarist and composer Richard Nelson who recently released the album “Origin Story” featuring Tim on alto saxophone. Dr. Nelson and Dr. O'Dell are currently laying plans for STRATA - a New York large ensemble dedicated to performing their forthcoming compositions while featuring O'Dell and Nelson as performers.

A highly versatile, published composer, O'Dell’s many dozen compositions cover genres ranging from string quartets to commissions for trombone ensemble to jazz chamber music to contemporary big band. Dr. O'Dell has received more than $10,000 in arts grants by the Maine Arts Commission, Augustana College Research Foundation and Quad City Arts for his various projects. Tim has also commissioned and premiered many new works himself including Gunther Schuller's Sonata for Alto Saxophone and Piano, Bob Washut’s Online for big band (which Tim’s college students recorded on their 1999 CD Decoupage) and Andy Laster's Valori Plastici for alto saxophone, French horn and piano, which Tim premiered in New York City.

From 1993-2001 Dr. O'Dell was Director of Jazz Studies and Professor of Saxophone at Augustana College in Illinois. Prior to Augustana, O'Dell held graduate teaching assistantships at the New England Conservatory (Founder/Director of the Jazz Composer's Ensemble) and at the University of Iowa (Jazz Studies and Saxophone). In addition to his current duties at USM, Tim is in demand as a clinician and adjudicator and maintains a thriving saxophone and composition studio out of his home in Brunswick, Maine where he lives with his wife and two sons.

Dr. Chris Oberholtzer, an alumnus of the USM School of Music, is now Director of Jazz Studies at USM. He completed his Doctor of Arts degree in Trombone Performance / Pedagogy with a Secondary Emphasis in Jazz Pedagogy at the University of Northern Colorado, Greeley. Chris earned his Master of Music degree in Jazz Studies with a Cognate Field of Trombone Performance from Indiana University, Bloomington, and his Bachelor of Arts in Music Education at USM.

At USM, Chris leads a thriving program that is recognized as being one of the leading college jazz programs in New England. In addition to his USM teaching responsibilities, Chris also enjoys actively serving throughout the country as guest artist with and director and/or clinician for numerous high school jazz ensembles and combos, including All-State and Honors Festivals in Colorado, Florida, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New York and Vermont. Other major appearances include festivals such as the (Newport) JVC Jazz Festival, the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, and festivals at the University of Northern Colorado, Brevard College (North Carolina) and Utah State University.

Chris maintains a busy schedule as a professional freelance trombonist. He has performed, toured and recorded throughout the country and abroad with many groups in varying classical, jazz and commercial genres. His playing experience includes touring with the Artie Shaw Orchestra, the Guy Lombardo Orchestra, Ringling Brothers Circus, Toni Tenille, and Holland America cruise lines. Other performing credits include working with artists such as Tony Bennett, Claudio Roditi, Wayne Bergeron, the New York Voices, Conrad Herwig, Brian Lynch, Donald Harrison, Byron Stripling, Phil Wilson, Wycliff Gordon, Ronie Cuber, Frank Wess, Bob Mintzer, Harry Allen, Herb Pomeroy, Richie Cole, Dick Johnson, the Dorsey Brothers Orchestra, the Benny Goodman Orchestra, Aaron Neville, Roberta Flack, and the Temptations.

Serving as Musical Director of the Portland Jazz Orchestra, Chris is quite busy with the details of leading a regionally active big band. The Portland Jazz Orchestra is a contemporary big band staffed by jazz professionals, many of whom also are music educators, from the northern New England area. Playing music from the libraries of the Count Basie Orchestra, the Duke Ellington Orchestra and the Woody Herman Orchestra, the PJO also enjoys performing more contemporary big band literature from prominent writers such as Gordon Goodwin, Ton Kubis and Maria Schneider. In addition, the PJO focuses on performing original compositions and arrangements written by its own band members. Many of these compositions are published and are highly regarded on a national level. As a clinician for the United Musical Instrument/Selmer Corporation, Chris performs on Conn and Bach trombones.

Composer/guitarist Richard Nelson, Associate Professor of Music at the University of Maine at Augusta, has performed widely in the U.S. and abroad at such locations as the Concord and Boston Globe Jazz Festivals, New York’s Symphony Space and the South African Broadcasting Corporation Theater in Cape Town, South Africa. Musicians with whom he has performed include Slide Hampton, Sheila Jordan, Joe Henderson, John Handy, George Duke and David Baker, among many others. He has released two albums, “Origin Story” and “Figurations,” as a leader, and appears on many more with the Aardvark Jazz Orchestra and other ensembles. Active as both a jazz and concert music composer, Nelson has studied jazz composition in New York at the BMI Jazz Composers Workshop with Bob Brookmeyer and Manny Albam. His modern classical pieces have been performed by such groups as Speculum Musicae, ALEA III, and the Charleston Symphony Orchestra. A native of the San Francisco Bay Area, Nelson holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in composition from Columbia University.

Pianist, bandleader, composer, and educator Thomas Snow is one of New England's most versatile and sought-after musicians. A graduate of the New England Conservatory of Music (M.M. 2005) and the Berklee College of Music (B.M. 1991), Tom has studied piano and improvisation with Danilo Perez, Michael Cain, and Jerry Bergonzi.

Tom has played with many jazz luminaries including Harry Allen, Jeff Coffin, Dave Holland, Ken Peplowski, Greg Abate, Bruce Gertz, Larry Coryell, Nick Brignola, Phil Wilson, Mike Turk, Gray Sargent, John Lockwood, Dick Johnson, Herb Pomeroy, and Les DeMerle. He has recorded on the Telarc and Origin labels and has three CDs as a leader: “Northern Standard Time” (1997), “Christmas at Mast Cove” (2001), and “Some Other Time” (2007).

His career has included international tours, including travel in Australia and throughout the United States with noted Irish tenor John McNally, as well as long-term engagements at the Ritz Carlton Resort in Amelia Island, Florida, The Balsam's Grand Resort, Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, and the Mount Washington Grand Resort. In addition to maintaining a busy performing schedule throughout New England, Tom is also a Lecturer in Music at Bates College and a licensed sales agent for Waterglen Realty. He lives in Westbrook, Maine with his wife Michelle and sons Finneas and Elijah.

Bassist Jim Lyden, a Portland native, has been performing for over 35 years. He studied with both classical and jazz bassists, including John Lockwood and Dan Hall. Jim maintains a busy schedule working regularly with many great local musicians. Mr. Lyden has performed and recorded with Bobby Watson and Tiger Okoshi in the Mark Kleinhaut Trio; worked as a side-man with John LaPorta, Herb Pomeroy, Roswell Rudd, Frank Foster, and Jacki King. Free-lance work has brought Jim to Germany, Holland, and Hungary. He performs in local musical theater productions, and many ensembles with musical styles ranging from straight-ahead to free. http://jimlyden.com/

Drummer Eric Halvorson has performed throughout Europe and the Americas and is featured on numerous recordings. Because of his pop and jazz sensibilities he is in demand for a variety of gigs as well as performing for Broadway and Off-Broadway musicals. He has collaborated with such artists as jazz guitarist Dave Stryker, vibraphonist Joe Locke, R n' B legend Ben E. King, and Blues icon Pinetop Perkins to name a few. Festival appearances include the Montreal Jazz Festival, Kennedy Center Women In Jazz, Radio Classica (Chile), Festival de Jazz (Colombia), Bayreuther Jazz Festival (Germany), Kaunas Jazz Festival (Lithuania) and the Iowa City Jazz Festival. He has performed at New York City's top venues including Lincoln Center and Town Hall; and in jazz venues Blue Note, Smoke, and Birdland. He performed at the 2008 Kennedy Center Honors and will be touring with vocalist Ute Lemper in 2009. He has performed with pop artists at the NXNE Music Conference in Toronto, Canada; Emerging Artists & Talent in Music Conference in Las Vegas and the NEMO Music Festival in Boston. Eric holds a bachelor of music degree from the University of Iowa.

Those needing special accommodations to participate fully in this program,
contact Emmanuelle Chaulet at 780-5146.
Hearing impaired: call USM's telex / TDD number 780-5646

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