JAZZ@FIRST | ALAN BARNES OCTET: FROM JELLY ROLL TO MILES

Leading U.K. alto saxophonist Alan Barnes returns to the Queen City and the Jazz@First stage. Performing with an eight-piece ensemble, Alan will lead a concert featuring his “small big band” arrangements spanning the history of jazz before electronic instruments. Always delightfully funny, this European powerhouse instrumentalist will treat guests to an afternoon of feel-good fun.

 

A complimentary wine and cheese intermission is included with your ticket.

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Jazz@First Series Sponsor: Al Harris

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About the Artist: Alan Barnes, alto saxophone

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Alan Barnes is a prolific international performer, composer, arranger, bandleader and touring soloist. He is best known for his work on clarinet, alto and baritone sax, where he combines a formidable virtuosity with a musical expression and collaborative spirit that have few peers.

 

His range and brilliance have made him a “first call” for studio and live work since his precocious arrival on the scene more than thirty years ago.

 

​His recorded catalog is immense. He has made over 30 albums as leader and co-leader alone, and the list of his session and side-man work includes Bjork, Bryan Ferry, Michel LeGrande, Clare Teale, Westlife, Jools Holland and Jamie Cullum. He has toured and played residencies with such diverse and demanding figures as Ruby Braff, Freddie Hubbard, Scott Hamilton, Warren Vache, Ken Peplowski, Harry Allen and Conte Candoli.

 

In British jazz, the young Barnes was recognized – and hired – by the established greats of the time: Stan Tracy, John Dankworth, Kenny Baker, Bob Wilber and Humphrey Lyttelton. He is equally respected for his longstanding and fruitful collaborations with contemporaries such as David Newton, Bruce Adams and Martin Taylor.

 

Alan Barnes’s unique musicianship, indefatigable touring, and warm rapport with audiences have made him uniquely popular in British jazz. He has received over 25 British Jazz Awards, most recently in 2014 for clarinet, and has twice been named BBC Jazz Musician of the Year.

 

Learn more at alanbarnesjazz.com.

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About the Artist: Phil DeGreg, piano

 

Phil DeGreg began playing the piano in his childhood and now performs as a jazz pianist internationally. His earliest jazz influences were Bud Powell and Bill Evans, but he is accomplished and comfortable in a wide range of jazz styles, ranging from mainstream to bebop to Brazilian jazz. A graduate of Yale and the University of North Texas, he toured with the Woody Herman Orchestra in the 1980s and has 10 CDs to his credit as a leader. For 13 years he accompanied many national and international jazz artists in the house trio in Cincinnati’s famous Blue Wisp Jazz Club. He has been on staff with the renowned Jamey Aebersold Summer Jazz Workshops since 1983, and has performed and taught in Europe and South America.

 

Phil DeGreg is the retired Professor of Jazz Studies at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music and is the recipient of two National Endowment for the Arts study grants. In 2008 he was awarded a 4-month Fulbright Fellowship as a lecturer in Brazil.

 

His text “Jazz Keyboard Harmony” is a practical text for teaching jazz harmony for all musicians, and is used all over the world in universities and for private study.

 

Learn more about Phil DeGreg on his website http://phildegreg.com.