Resources

FIRST TUESDAYS JAZZ MASTERCLASSES AT CSU East Bay

First Tuesdays Jazz Masterclasses all take place in the Music Building Recital Hall,MB1055 at 7 p.m. and are free and open to the public.


	March 6,2012 –John Stowell &Michael Zilber Quartet With John Shifflett (bass) and Jason Lewis (drums) Guitar great John Stowell has joined forces with saxophonist Michael Zilber to record originals and renditions of songs by Kenny Wheeler and John Scofield,as well as off the beaten track standards. Joined by the Bay Area’s first call call rhythm team of John Shifflett (bass) and Jason Lewis (drums),the two have recorded solo,duo and quartet cuts which mix free playing,transparent ECMish settings and more hard-charging modern jazz. The Stowell-Zilber quartet runs the gamut from the delicacy of The Beatles and A Brazilian to the abstracted New Orleans grease of Wabash 3 and the Nordic swing of Kayak.
	April 3,2012 –Saxophonist Dayna Stephens “Its no wonder Dayna Stephens has played with names like Wayne Shorter and Herbie Hancock. Every note punches a hole in the back wall of the room. Every note counts. And yet,every note is unexpected. Stephens’improvising skills leaves the audience members looking at each other and just shaking their heads in disbelief.“ –The Jazz House Born in Brooklyn,New York and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area Dayna Stephens began playing the saxophone at age 13,attended the prestigious Berkeley High School where he was part of their jazz ensemble,and was later accepted to Berklee College of Music in Boston on a full scholarship. There,he studied with Hal Crook,Billy Pierce,George Garzone and Andy McGee among others. While in Boston,Dayna also had the opportunity to perform with Chick Corea and the Boston Pops for a PBS special. After graduating from Berklee,Dayna was selected to be in the Thelonious Monk Institute of jazz program located at the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles by Herbie Hancock,Wayne Shorter and Terence Blanchard. He studied there for two years and while there,Dayna studied and played with,among others:Dave Holland,Kenny Barron,Wayne Shorter,Herbie Hancock,John Scofield,Lewis Nash,Mark Turner,Christian McBride,Carl Allen and Terence Blanchard. In the spring of 2003 the Monk group made a recording featuring Terence Blanchard,Herbie Hancock,and Wayne Shorter. The recording Featured some of the best compositions and arrangements made by group during their two years spent together. Since Graduating from the Monk Institute in 2003,Dayna has been performing and teaching actively. Dayna also plays upright bass and has performed with Stefon Harris,Marcus Belgrave,Sonny Fortune,Roy Hargrove and Natalie Douglas.
	May 1,2012 –Saxophonist Geoff Countryman Geoff Countryman is a saxophonist,multi-instrumentalist,composer,producer,engineer and teacher. Born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area,Geoff came to New York to attend NYU’s Jazz performance program where he studied with Gil Goldstein,Lenny Pickett,John Scofield,and Chris Potter. Since graduating Cum Laude from NYU he has created an impressive body of work and has been in high demand. He can be seen in Julie Taymor’s Across the Universe,has performed regularly with the Saturday Night Live Band and with Chico Hamilton’s Euphoria as well as with his own band,The Sidewinders and countless others. He was assistant producer to Lenny Pickett for Kenny Werner’s album Lawn Chair Society (Blue Note Records) and is a featured performer on hip-hop artist T.I.’s platinum,Grammy nominated album King (Atlantic records). Geoff has enjoyed working with a number of prominent artists including,Patti LaBelle,Ingrid Jensen,Hiromi,John Pattitucci,Randy Brecker,Leon Pendarvis,Mike Mainieri,producers Neil Jason and Al Bell,Emmy award winner Katreese Barnes,and Langhorne Slim among many others. His professional background also includes extensive commercial work on national television spots. He continues to record,compose and produce music for TV,film and internet.
	May 15,2012 –Trumpeter Brian Lynch (CSU East Bay Jazz Resident Artist) A highly esteemed and influential musician within both the hardcore straight ahead and Latin Jazz communities,Grammy Award winner Brian Lynch is as comfortable negotiating the complexities of clave with Afro-Caribbean pioneer Eddie Palmieri as he is swinging through advanced harmony with bebop maestro Phil Woods. A honored graduate of two of the jazz world’s most distinguished academies,Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers and the Horace Silver Quintet,he has been a valued collaborator with jazz artists such as Benny Golson,Toshiko Akiyoshi,and Charles McPherson;Latin music icons as diverse as Hector LaVoe and Lila Downs;and pop luminaries such as Prince. As a bandleader and recording artist he has released a series of critically acclaimed CDs featuring his distinctive composing and arranging,and toured the world with various ensembles reflecting the wide sweep of his music. He currently is on the faculty at New York University as well as conducting clinics and workshops at prestigious institutions of learning the world over. His talents have been recognized by top placings in the Downbeat Critics and Readers Polls;highly rated reviews for his work in Downbeat,Jazziz and Jazz Times;three Grammy award nominations as well as a 2006 Grammy Award,and grants from the National Endowment for the Arts,Chamber Music America,and Meet The Composer. Brian’s most recent CD releases as a leader include Bolero Nights For Billie Holiday (Venus);his Grammy Award winning collaborative recording project with Eddie Palmieri, Simpático (ArtistShare – http://brianlynch.artistshare.com);Spheres Of Influence Suite (EWE),and ConClave (Criss Cross).For more information about Brian Lynch,see his website at http://www.brianlynchjazz.com.
	June 5,2012 –Pianist Peter Zak Peter grew up first in Ohio,then in Oakland,California,studying classical piano,then turning to jazz while in high school. Following graduation from U.C. Berkeley,Peter played clubs,concerts and festivals in the San Francisco Bay Area with such artists as Frank Morgan and John Handy. Since relocating to New York,he has performed and/or recorded with Junior Cook,George Coleman,Jimmy Cobb,Billy Hart,Ryan Kisor,Etta Jones,Scott Hamilton,Al Foster,Eric Alexander,Curtis Stigers,Walt Weiskopf,and Jon Hendricks,among many others. Peter is also a faculty member in the renowned jazz program at New School University.Since 2005,Peter has been recording for the Danish jazz label,SteepleChase Records–his first release for the company,The Peter Zak Trio,featuring drummer Al Foster,and bassist Paul Gill,appeared that year. Subsequent releases include For Tomorrow,featuring Paul Gill and drummer Willie Jones III,in 2006;a solo piano album,My Conception, in 2007;Seed Of Sin,featuring Paul Gill and drummer Quincy Davis,in 2008;Blues on the Corner:The Music of McCoy Tyner,again featuring Paul Gill and Quincy Davis,in 2009;and The Decider,a quartet album including Walt Weiskopf on saxophones,Ugonna Okegwo on bass,and drummer Billy Drummond. Down East,a trio date featuring Peter Washington and Billy Drummond,has just appeared in the spring of 2011. Peter also remains quite busy as a recording sideman as well,including recent appearances on Walt Weiskopf’s Day In,Night Out,and See the Pyramid,Ryan Kisor’s Live at Smalls,and Tom Guarna’s Major Minor,among others.