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| Yay for ME! |
November 10th PSU Noontime Concert featuring Guitar Hero and The Colligan Men
November 28th PSU Jazz Night featuring PSU Big Band and Combos 7pm in LH 75
December 13th George Colligan's Portland Debut at the Mission Theater
December 17 George Colligan Quartet at Jazzway in Baltimore
December 21st George Colligan Trio at Cornelia St Cafe in New York
January 8th George Colligan with Jack DeJohnette at the Blue Note NYC
The concerts on the 10th will be in Lincoln Hall on the PSU Campus in LH 75 at NOON, HIGH NOON. The 10th features Guitar Heroes, which is a group consisting of four, yes four guitars and rhythm section. The 10th will also feature The Colligan Men, which is another ensemble I've been working with that is on the advanced side of things.
The PSU Jazz Night on the 28th (7pm in LH 75) will feature the PSU Big Band, which I and Charley Grey have been working with this term. Also featured will be the Bebop Ensemble, the Hard Bop Ensemble, the Contemporary Ensemble, and the Park Avenue Trio. There might be some surprise guests(time permitting...)
December 13th is a big one; this is my debut concert as a leader in Portland. Here is some of the official P.R. from PDX Jazz:
Pianist George Colligan To Make Portland Debut
PDX Jazz @ The Mission Theater
December 13 @ 8pm
the Works of Piano Icon Andrew Hill
PSU Students and Faculty Receive $2 Off At The Door With I.D.
PDX Jazz, the presenting organization of the Portland Jazz Festival in partnership with the Mission Theater, along with The Crystal Hotel and our media sponsor KMHD Radio, is set to present the final PDX Jazz @ The Mission Theater show of 2011 with George Colligan on Tuesday, December 13th at 8pm. Colligan, who joined the music faculty at PSU this fall, will be joined by: guitarist Dan Balmer, bassist Eric Gruber, drummer Todd Strait, and special guest pianist Kerry Politzer. The esteemed composer, Colligan, will also play trumpet and melodica on original compositions for this debut performance, in addition to performing compositions by the late pianist and former PSU Professor, Andrew Hill.
Colligan earned a reputation as an elite session performer and sideman in the New York area during the late 1990s; appearing on upwards of 100 CDs. Most recently Colligan has toured and performed with artists such as Cassandra Wilson, Miguel Zenon, Don Byron, Gary Bartz, Jack DeJohnette, Michael Brecker, Ravi Coltrane, and many others. He is a Chamber Music America/Doris Duke Foundation grant recipient who just released his 22nd recording, Living For the City. Colligan was a faculty member at the Julliard School for two years and an assistant professor at the University of Manitoba for two years before moving to Portland. Colligan enthused, “I am very excited to join the PSU Jazz Department Faculty. So far, everything has been great. I love the University, the community, and Portland as a city could not be more perfect.”
Concerning Andrew Hill, Colligan remarked, “he was an important and unique figure as a composer and pianist. More young jazz musicians should be aware of him. I hope that this concert will spark some renewed interest in his music.“ Hill became one of the most prominent jazz pianists of the 1960s; playing with central figures of the era like: Roland Kirk, Elvin Jones, Freddie Hubbard, Tony Williams, Eric Dolphy, Joe Henderson, Bobby Hutcherson, among countless others. Hill recorded many classic albums for the Blue Note label and was the only artist to record for the storied imprint on three separate occasions. In the 70s Hill moved to Portland where he taught as an associate professor at PSU, and established a summer jazz-intensive program.
Colligan plays in a style that is down-to-earth, technically gifted and impressively improvisational. Some of his influences include Miles Davis, Chick Corea, McCoy Tyner, Wayne Shorter, Thelonious Monk, and Herbie Hancock.
“As a creative artist, he’s really up there…. In terms of technique, knowledge of music and improvisational creativity, there aren’t a whole lot of cats from his generation that are any better than him. As a matter of fact, I can’t think of any.” – Don Braden in a blindfold test for JazzTimes.
I will be reminding my readers of these events; hopefully it won't get too annoying......
December 21 at Cornelia Street Cafe? Does this mean you'll be performing Christmas songs at the gig, perhaps The Chipmunk Song or Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer? Or how about Holiday songs from Broadway musicals? The drummer could add sleigh bells to his kit for the evening!
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