Saturday, December 21, 2019, 7:30 pm

Seasonal Bird; A very Charlie Parker holiday

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To Purchase Tickets Now, Click Here or phone 845-679-6900.

 

 

Award-winning and vibrant young jazz saxophonist Alexa Tarantino gathers a quintet of today’s top women in jazz to bring you Seasonal Bird. This premiere night of music highlights the iconic bebop recordings and repertoire of the holiday season in anticipation of Charlie ‘Yardbird’ Parker’s 100th anniversary in the upcoming new year.

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The Catskill Jazz Factory and Woodstock Playhouse celebrate the season with this holiday-infused ode to the masters of bebop, honoring the legendary Parker as well as other bebop greats like Ella Fitzgerald, Dexter Gordon, Dizzy Gillespie and others along the way.

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Joining Alexa Tarantino will be:

 

Alita Moses, vocals

Nadje Noordhuis, trumpet

Liya Grigoryan, piano

Noriko Ueda, bass 

Allison Miller, drums 

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Tickets: $40-$55; with $15 for children; a handling fee is attached to each final ticket price

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Length of program: 7:30 - 9:00 PM

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About the Artists:

Alexa Tarantino is a vibrant, young jazz saxophonist, woodwind doubler, composer, and educator. Alexa’s “exquisite soloing that is fresh, inspired, and original” (Paul Rauch, All About Jazz) establishes her individual voice which shines through as a dynamic performer and educator. Alexa performs and tours regularly as a leader and sidewoman in a wide variety of ensembles and genres. Ensembles she has worked with include Wynton Marsalis & The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society, Cécile McLorin Salvant's OGRESSE, Arturo O’Farrill & The Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra, Sherrie Maricle & the DIVA Jazz Orchestra, LSAT (quintet co-led with baritone saxophonist Lauren Sevian), and the Alexa Tarantino Quartet (Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola, Jazz Standard, Birdland Theater). Alexa is an artist on the Posi-Tone Records label. Her debut leader album is on Posi-Tone and titled Winds Of Change. The band is a quartet featuring Nick Finzer, Christian Sands, Joe Martin, and Rudy Royston. Tarantino is currently on faculty for Jazz at Lincoln Center's Youth Programs and previously served as Jazz Saxophone Instructor at Hobart and William Smith Colleges. She holds degrees from the Eastman School of Music and is currently pursuing her Master’s Degree at The Juilliard School. Tarantino continues to visit several colleges, high schools, and summer jazz programs across the globe as a guest clinician, including the Rockport Jazz Workshop (MA), of which she is Founder and Director. 

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Described as "one of the most compelling voices to emerge on her instrument in recent years" (Dan Bilawksy, All about Jazz), Australian-born based trumpeter/composer Nadje Noordhuis possesses one of the most unforgettably lyrical voices in modern music. Her deeply-felt, clarion tone and evocative compositional gift meld classical rigor, jazz expression, and world music accents into a sound that is distinctively her own.

 

Noordhuis was one of ten semi-finalists in the 2007 Thelonious Monk International Jazz Trumpet Competition and was selected as a Carnegie Hall Young Artist in 2012. Based in New York since 2003, she is a member of the multiple Grammy-winning Maria Schneider Orchestra, Grammy-nominated Darcy James Argue's Secret Society, and the Grammy-nominated Anat Cohen Tentet. She has three albums of original compositions on her record label, Little Mystery Records.

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Alita Moses is a young, rising star establishing herself as virtuosic vocalist, songwriter, and entertainer in many styles and settings. She has graced the stage with Al Jarreau at the Montreux Jazz Festival, backed pop sensations such as Shawn Mendes and Vic Mensa, recorded with members of the Christian McBride Big Band, and was most recently featured on Grammy-winning trumpeter Nabate Isles’ newest album. In the midst of all this, she maintains a career as a front woman for a myriad of bands varying in styles such as Lohai (an electronic soul duo), Hudson Horns (a collaborative brass band), and her own self-titled project reminiscent of Emily King and Lianne La Havas. 

 

Born and raised in Connecticut, Alita experienced many facets of the performing arts thanks to her parents, both successful vocalists in their own right, and the incredibly artistic community of West Hartford. From there, she continued her studies at the Univeristy of the Arts, graduating with a BM in Jazz Vocal Performance and making herself known in the Philly music scene.

 

As of late, Alita is based in New York City, performing locally and internationally at legendary venues, clubs, and music halls. Whether on the stage or in the studio she brings a natural warmth to each performance and astounds audiences with grace, soul, and a musical maturity beyond her years.

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Liya Grigoryan is an Armenia- born pianist that has started her music career at the of 5 age at the Kim Nazaretov Jazz School (Rostov-on-Don, Russia). At 6 she was actively participating in music competitions and performing at major music festivals in Russia and Europe. Liya won her first award when she was 7 in 1998 at the International Jazz Competition for young jazz musicians in Saint Petersburg. 

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At the of 9, Liya took part at the Len- expo (Russia) contest, where she won the main prize, which is a brandnew piano, that allowed her to continue her music studies. She was part of young jazz collective that was touring in as part a of cultural exchange in Germany, France, and Scotland, performing at prestigious music venues. After graduating from music school in 2009, Liya decided to continue her music education abroad, and in 2010 she moved to Amsterdam, Netherlands where she entered Conservatorium van Amsterdam with a full scholarship. 

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Liya Grigoryan joined the East-West Jazz Orchestra (based in Germany, Dortmund), which she toured in Germany, Czech Republic, Belgium, Russia, and the Netherlands In that project she got to collaborate with big names such as Dave Liebman, Jerry Bergonzi, Dennis Rowland, Jd Walter among many others. 

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During her study in Europe, Liya was actively performing as a sideman and as a leader of her projects. She played all over Europe which include: Belgium, Spain, Italy, France, Germany, Poland, and Switzerland. During this time, she performed and toured with internationally acclaimed artists such as Dick Oats, Gary Smulian, John Clayton, Justin Dicoccio, Marco Tamburini, and Theo Crocker. 

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Ms. Grigoryan won few awards as a leader of her piano trio, Jazz in Padova (Italy). In 2014 she received an award at the Getxo Jazz (Bilbao, Spain) where she has got an opportunity to play an opening act before the jazz legend Jack DeJohnette. 

In 2015 Ms.Grigoryan got an incredible opportunity to study at the Manhattan School of Music. As a part of the exchange program, she graduated at the top of her class and collaborated with great artists such as Phill Markowitz, Dave Liebman, Justin Diciocio and others. 

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In 2016 Liya graduated from Conservatorium van Amsterdam, where she received her Master degree at the Jazz performance art. She still continues to grow her music career as a bandleader by collaborating with a different artist from all over the world. 

In 2017 she released her first record as a leader, which got highly acclaimed in the jazz world and gave her opportunity to perform at numerous Jazz Festivals such as prestigious “North Sea Jazz “(Rotterdam, Netherlands), “Cangas Jazz” (Galicia, Spain) , “Meer Jazz” , “What’s Next Jazz Festival”, and many more. 

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In 2018 Liya Grigoryan was a semi-finalist in one of the most prestigious contests in the history of jazz - the Thelonius Monk Contest.

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Noriko Ueda is originally from Hyogo, Japan. Her interest in music began early in her life, studying classical piano at the age of 4. At 16, she began playing the electric bass. At age 18,  she began her career with the upright bass. Noriko was the B.E.S.T. scholarship recipient for the Berklee College of Music in Boston where she majored in Jazz Composition, graduating in 1997. She then relocated to NY.

Noriko has performed at many historical jazz venues include “Carnegie Hall", “Blue Note NY", “Jazz at Lincoln Center - Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola", “Kennedy Center", “Birdland" and “Small’s". She also performed, toured and recorded with various groups including the legendary “Frank Wess Quintet" and his Nonet, “Ted Rosenthal Trio",  “Sherrie Maricle and The DIVA Jazz Orchestra", “Five Play", “Grady Tate Band", “Harry Whitaker Band", Marion Cowings, Makoto Ozone and Terumasa Hino.

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NYC-based drummer/composer/teacher Allison Miller gathers inspiration from a wide array of genres. Coming from the Jazz tradition, she engages her deep roots in improvisation as a vehicle to explore all music. Described by critics as a charismatic and rhythmically propulsive drummer with melodic sensibility, Miller has been named “Rising Star Drummer” and “Top 20 Jazz Drummers” in Downbeat Magazine’s acclaimed Critics Poll. Her band, Boom Tic Boom, is a 2014 recipient of Chamber Music America’s “Presenter Consortium for Jazz Grant” and is proudly sponsored by Mid- Atlantic Arts Foundation.

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Miller is a three time Jazz Ambassador of the US State Department and is on Yamaha’s Top 30 Clinicians List. She conducts clinics and master classes throughout the world and teaches at The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music, Stanford Jazz Workshop, and Jazz Camp West. Her lessons and writings have been published in The Huffington Post, Modern Drummer, Jazz Times, DRUM, Tom Tom, and Drummer UK.

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Miller endorses Yamaha drums, Zildjian cymbals, Vic Firth sticks, and Evans drumheads.