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KINGSTON, R.I., Feb. 24, 2016 \u2013 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s Big Band is hitting a high note\u2014again.<\/p>\nKINGSTON, R.I., Feb. 24, 2016 \u2013 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s Big Band is hitting a high note\u2014again.<\/p>\n
For the fourth year in a row, the 溏心vlog免费B站 Big Band has been invited to play at the Newport Jazz Festival, one of the most prestigious jazz concerts in the world.<\/p>\n
The 19-member band will play a 45-minute set at noon July 29 at Fort Adams State Park, overlooking Narragansett Bay in Newport.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe’re thrilled to be part of the festival again,\u201d says Joe Parillo, chair of 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s music department and a piano player. \u201cIt\u2019s a coup for 溏心vlog免费B站 and the music program to be on an international stage in front of tens of thousands of people.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jared Sims, who teaches sax at 溏心vlog免费B站 and leads the big band, says the invitation puts 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s jazz studies program on the map as one of the best in the country, maybe the best. The jazz studies program at 溏心vlog免费B站 is about a decade old.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt’s an honor for our program to be performing, and perhaps even more of an honor that they’ve asked us to return,\u201d says Sims. \u201cIt’s a really big deal for 溏心vlog免费B站.\u201d<\/p>\n
This will be the fourth year 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s band has appeared at the festival, but the fifth performance. Last year, the entire band performed, and 11 of those musicians were featured in the horn section of festival headliner and British musician Jamie Cullum.<\/p>\n
Both undergraduate and graduate students are in the 溏心vlog免费B站 band. Musicians auditioned for the band during a blind audition in September. 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s performance at the festival over the years has been so good no auditions were necessary, he says.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s how well-respected our jazz band is,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s impressive.\u201d<\/p>\n
This year\u2019s performance will also feature two vocalists: Jack Thomas, a junior from Duxbury, Mass., and Sandy Lewanika, a graduate student from Jackson, Miss. They will sing jazz tunes from the American songbook.<\/p>\n
The band members are: Taylor Allen, alto saxophone, Nashua, N.H.; Christopher Botelho, baritone saxophone, Portsmouth, R.I.; Michael Grenier, tenor saxophone, North Kingstown; Andrew Hellwig, alto saxophone, Mashpee, Mass.; Collin Larkin, tenor saxophone, Stonington, Conn.; Nick Casey, trombone, West Greenwich; Alyssa Oates, trombone, West Warwick; Jeffrey Kimmerlein, trombone, Wakefield; Jack Armstrong, trombone, Barrington; William Chilton, trumpet, Newport; Manny Morales, trumpet, Wakefield; Michael Pollart, trumpet, Kingston; Jason Taylor, trumpet, Cranston; Keaton Nelson, guitar, West Warwick; James Himmelmann, piano, Manorville, N.Y.; Evan Magno, bass, Cranston; and Nicolas Motroni, drums, West Warwick.<\/p>\n
A saxophonist from Boston, co-director Sims has toured in the United States, Europe, South America, India and the Middle East. He has played live with Bob Brookmeyer, Stefon Harris, Han Bennink, Cecil McBee and Bob Moses, as well as with the orchestras of Artie Shaw and Jimmy Dorsey. He has also been on recordings with Antonio Sanchez, Anat Cohen and Dave Liebman.<\/p>\n
He has performed at the Montreal Jazz Festival, Flint Jazz Festival in Michigan, Beantown Jazz Festival in Boston, Quito Jazz Festival in Ecuador, and Northsea Jazz Festival in the Netherlands.<\/p>\n
Sims has also appeared on more than 35 different recordings. His newest jazz recording, The New Stablemates, was released in 2012 and features bassist Dave Zinno and drummer Steve Langone. Both Langone and Zinno teach in 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s music department.<\/p>\n
Tickets can be purchased online at Newport Jazz Festival<\/a><\/p>\n To listen to the band<\/p>\n