Jazz Ahead 2002 Press Release - The John F. Kennedy Center for

Press Release
RELEASED: March 18, 2002
UPDATED: March 20, 2002
BETTY CARTER'S JAZZ AHEAD
Kennedy Center Jazz Residency for Young People Begins March 29, 2002
YOUNG JAZZ ARTISTS TO PERFORM FREE
MILLENNIUM STAGE CONCERTS APRIL 4 AND 5 AT 6 P.M.
Vocalists Marcele Berger, Marvin Parks and Brianna Marie Thomas
Guitarist Lage Fosheim Lund and Violinist Zach Brock
Bassists Paul Beaudry, Ben Hazleton, Marco Panascia and Matt Wigton
Saxophonists Rahsaan Barber, Quamon Fowler, Thomas Cole Gardner and Benny Reid
Trumpeters Maurice Brown and Andrew Neesley
Trombonists Roland Barber, David Lambert, and Rick Parker
Drummers Michael De Castro, Jason Nazary, Brian Palla, Yotam Rosenbaum
Vibraphonists Tim Collins and James Westfall
Pianists Sam Bar-sheshet, Michael J. Cabe, Nial R. Djuliarso, Daniela Schachter
NATHAN DAVIS, CURTIS FULLER, WINARD HARPER,
CARMEN LUNDY, CURTIS LUNDY, ERIC REED
LEAD RESIDENCY AND PERFORMANCES
Presenting Sponsor for Betty Carter's Jazz Ahead at the Kennedy Center is "BET Jazz"
The Kennedy Center will present "Jazz Stars of Tomorrow," two free performances by the 2002
graduates of Betty Carter's Jazz Ahead, on the Millennium Stage Thursday, April 4 and Friday, April 5
at 6 p.m. Betty Carter's Jazz Ahead, the Center's national jazz residency program for young, emerging
artists, includes a week of intense training in performance, composing, and arranging led by saxophonist
Nathan Davis (residency director), trombonist Curtis Fuller, drummer Winard Harper, vocalist Carmen
Lundy, bassist Curtis Lundy, and pianist Eric Reed. The performances, the culminating events for the Jazz
Ahead program, will be broadcast live on the Internet at http://kennedy-center.org/millennium.
Presenting Sponsor for the 2002 Betty Carter's Jazz Ahead program at the Kennedy Center is
"BET Jazz."
- more -
2002 Kennedy Center Betty Carter's Jazz Ahead, page 2
Dr. Billy Taylor, artistic advisor for jazz to the Kennedy Center, invited the late, great jazz singer
Betty Carter to bring her Jazz Ahead program to the Center in 1998. This year's residency at the Kennedy
Center takes place Friday, March 29 through Friday, April 5. Twenty-eight young artists were selected by
audition that considered both composition and performance skills. The panel of judges included jazz
artists Nathan Davis, Carmen Lundy, Curtis Lundy, and Curtis Fuller.
About Betty Carter's Jazz Ahead
Betty Carter's Jazz Ahead 2002 is produced by the Kennedy Center Education Department, Derek
Gordon, vice president, and is part of the Kennedy Center's Jazz Programs, Dr. Billy Taylor, artistic
advisor. These concerts and residency are the fifth in this annual Kennedy Center program.
Carter founded Jazz Ahead as a vehicle to bring new life into jazz and teach the most promising
fledgling artists what she knew. About her decision to create the program, Carter once remarked, "It is a
concern of mine that jazz in its classical sense stands a chance of being placed in the background of the
musical spectrum. Regardless of the fact that jazz is considered one of the first of America's true musical
statements, it cannot survive simply on reputation alone. Creativity and explosive musical minds built this
music with the sweat of what inspired them. It isn't the lack of explosive talent that burdens us. We need
to create a wider pool for young talent to emerge, to be seen, and to be heard, in order to help them create
viable careers of their own."
The Jazz Ahead program was originally developed by Carter in 1993 at 651, an arts center in
Brooklyn, and the first concert was presented at the BAM Majestic Theater. In 1997, the John F. Kennedy
Center for the Performing Arts and Dr. Billy Taylor, the Center's artistic advisor for Jazz, invited Carter
to bring Jazz Ahead to Washington. On April 15, 1998, a delighted audience in the Kennedy Center
Concert Hall heard the results of Carter's intense week of work with a group of 20 young jazz artists.
Betty Carter's Jazz Ahead had a new home and Carter was filled with hope for the future of the program.
After Carter’s death in September 1998, Dr. Billy Taylor and the Kennedy Center decided to continue her
legacy by making the Jazz Ahead program, with the principles Carter laid down as the foundation, an
annual event.
For more information about the program, please visit < http://kennedy-center.org/jazzahead >.
PERFORMANCES:
Betty Carter's Jazz Ahead at the Kennedy Center
Millennium Stage, Thursday, April 4, 2001, at 6 p.m.
Millennium Stage, Friday, April 5, 2001, at 6 p.m.
ADMISSION:
FREE: No tickets are required.
PRESS ONLY, PLEASE CALL:
PUBLIC INFORMATION:
Mary Johnson (202) 416-8445
Erin Dowdy (202) 416-8453 (Millennium Stage)
Please do not publish press phone numbers.
(202) 467-4600; (800) 444-1324
2002 Kennedy Center Betty Carter's Jazz Ahead, page 3
2002 Betty Carter Jazz Ahead Participant Information
Name
Instrument
Hometown
School
Rahsaan Barber
saxophonist
Nashville, Tennessee
Indiana Univ., Bloomington, Indiana
Roland Barber
trombonist
Nashville, Tennessee
Indiana Univ., Bloomington, Indiana
Sam Bar-sheshet
pianist
Brooklyn, New York
William Patterson Univ., Wayne, New Jersey
Paul Beaudry
bassist
San Francisco, Calif.
Queens College School of Music, Queens, N.Y.
Marcele Berger
vocalist
Sao Paolo, Brazil
Berklee College of Music, Boston, Massachusetts
Zach Brock
violinist
Lexington, Kentucky
Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois
Maurice Brown
trumpeter
Harvey, Illinois
Southern University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Michael J. Cabe
pianist
Monroe, Washington
University of Washington, Seattle, Washington
Tim Collins
vibraphonist
Plattsburg, New York
Manhattan School of Music, New York, N.Y.
Michael De Castro
drummer
Washington, D.C.
Duke Ellington School of the Arts, Washington
Nial R. Djuliarso
pianist
Jakarta, Indonesia
Berklee College of Music, Boston, Massachusetts
Quamon Fowler
saxophonist
Fort Worth, Texas
Southern University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Thomas Cole Gardner
saxophonist
Washington, D.C.
The Field School, Washington, D.C.
Ben Hazleton
bassist
Hereford, Wales, UK
Middlesex University, London, England
David Lambert
trombonist
Portage, Michigan
Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, Mich.
Lage Fosheim Lund
guitarist
Skien, Norway
Berklee College of Music, Boston, Massachusetts
Jason Nazary
drummer
Atlanta, Georgia
Brookwood High School, Snellville, Georgia
Andrew Neesley
trumpeter
Glendale, Wisconsin
University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire, Wisconsin
Brian Palla
drummer
Bakersfield, California
California State University at Bakersfield
Marco Panascia
bassist
Sicily, Italy
Berklee College of Music, Boston, Massachusetts
Rick Parker
trombonist
Greenwich, Connecticut
Georgetown (DC) & New York Universities
Marvin Parks
vocalist
Baltimore, Maryland
Morgan State U. and Towson State U., Baltimore
Benny Reid
saxophonist
Westfield, New Jersey
Indiana Univ., Bloomington, Indiana
Yotam Rosenbaum
drummer
Tel Aviv, Jerusalem
Berklee College of Music, Boston, Massachusetts
Daniela Schachter
pianist
Sicily, Italy
Berklee College of Music, Boston, Massachusetts
Brianna Marie Thomas
vocalist
Peoria, Illinois
Illinois Central College, East Peoria, Illinois
James Westfall
vibraphonist
Houston, Texas
University of New Orleans, New Orleans, La.
Matt Wigton
bassist
Germantown, Tennessee
University of North Texas, Denton, TX