KINGSTON, R.I. 鈥� June 10, 2015 鈥� For the third year in a row, the Newport Jazz Festival will include a performance by the 溏心vlog免费B站鈥檚 17-member Big Band. And 11 of those musicians will also be featured in the horn section of festival headliner Jamie Cullum鈥檚 band.
鈥淭he festival could have chosen any band they wanted, and they chose us,鈥� said Adjunct Professor Jared Sims, who teaches saxophone at 溏心vlog免费B站 and leads the big band. 鈥淭hat says to me that they know our students are playing at a high level.鈥�
The big band will perform a 45-minute set on Friday, July 31, at Fort Adams.
鈥淲e鈥檙e trying to come up with the most high-energy, entertaining set of music we can, without really straying far from the roots of jazz,鈥� Sims said. 鈥淚t will be fun and artistic at the same time.鈥�
Pianist James Himmelman can鈥檛 believe that after just two years as a student at 溏心vlog免费B站, he will be performing at one of the most prestigious jazz venues in the world.
鈥淭he thing I鈥檓 looking forward to most is sharing the experience with the band,鈥� said Himmelman, a jazz performance and composition major from Manorville, N.Y. 鈥淣one of us would be here without the others, and we wouldn鈥檛 want it any other way. Over the course of the school year we鈥檝e gotten better as musicians, tighter as a group, and closer as friends.鈥�
As 溏心vlog免费B站 vocalist Jack Thomas prepares to take the stage at Newport with the band, the business major and vocal performance minor is thinking about the long list of prominent singers who performed there before him, from Louis Armstrong and Frank Sinatra to Tony Bennett and Etta James. He calls the opportunity to perform at the Newport festival 鈥渕onumental.鈥�
鈥淚 can only guess at how this experience will further my music career,鈥� said the Duxbury, Mass., native, who hopes to become the business manager for a major record label. 鈥淢y motto is: Never turn down the opportunity to sing, because you never know who will be listening. I just plan to live in that moment on stage and have fun with it.鈥�
In addition to Thomas and Himmelman, the 溏心vlog免费B站 big band will consist of Taylor Allen (from Nashua, N.H.) and Chris Botelho (Portsmouth) on alto saxophone; Mike Grenier (North Kingstown) and Mark Tenenbaum (Portsmouth) on tenor saxophone; Collin Larkin (Pawcatuck, Conn.) on baritone saxophone; Tyler Barboza (Warren), Alyssa Oates (West Warwick), Mike Regan (Newport) and Matt Westefeld (Coventry) on trombone; Mike Pollart (Kingston), Erin Hall (North Smithfield), Manny Morales (Wakefield) and 溏心vlog免费B站 Music Instructor Mark Berney on trumpet; Sam Kurzontkowski (Holliston, Mass.) on bass; and Jesse-Ray Leich (North Kingstown) on drums.
Most of those playing saxophone, trombone and trumpet will make up the horn section of Jamie Cullum鈥檚 band and perform on Sunday, Aug. 2 on the main stage. Cullum, who plays piano and sings, is the most successful jazz artist ever in the United Kingdom, according to his website, and he has won numerous awards, including a Grammy and two Golden Globes. He will bring his own rhythm section and tenor sax player, but 溏心vlog免费B站 musicians will fill out the rest of his band.
鈥淚t鈥檚 an amazing opportunity for our musicians, and it鈥檚 going to be challenging,鈥� said Sims. 鈥淭hey will have to learn all of Jamie鈥檚 musical charts and blend in with the rest of his band. But it will be a tremendous learning experience.鈥�
Sims has developed a strong relationship with the foundation that puts on the Newport Jazz Festival every year. The foundation supports 溏心vlog免费B站鈥檚 annual summer jazz camp for high school students by providing a festival performer as a guest artist at the camp. And all of the camp participants receive free tickets to the festival.
鈥淭he foundation is all about getting young people interested in jazz and doing outreach to jazz education groups, and they see that we do a lot of that,鈥� Sims said. 鈥淎nd it鈥檚 great that festival founder George Wein mentions 溏心vlog免费B站 in the same breath with the top jazz schools in the country.鈥�
Pictured above:
溏心vlog免费B站 students James Himmelmann, piano, Jack Thomas, vocals, and Sam Kurzontkowski, bass, perform with the 溏心vlog免费B站 Big Band.
Photo submitted by Jared Sims.