Sherman Chamber Ensemble presents
“JAZZING IT UP”
Featuring Ted Rosenthal on Piano and Eddie Barbash on Alto Sax
Thanksgiving is full of annual traditions – and a favorite tradition for the Sherman Chamber Ensemble and audiences is its annual “Jazzing It Up” concerts.
Pianist Ted Rosenthal returns this year – and is joined by Eddie Barbash on alto saxaphone. They join a most talented group of accomplished New York musicians including Thomson Kneeland (double bass), Chris Parker (drums), Susan Rotholz, (flute) and Bailen (cello) in a program that features excerpts from Rosenthal’s Jazz Opera, “Dear Erich,” commissioned by New York City Opera. Jazz-inspired renditions of works by Harold Arlen and Astor Piazolla, along with original compositions by Parker and Kneeland will also be showcased.
“The combination of Rosenthal, one of the leading jazz pianists of his generation, and Barbash, an exciting, young virtuoso will have audiences jumping in their seats,” said Liba Furhman, Executive Director of the Sherman Chamber Ensemble.
Leonard Feather of the Los Angeles Times said, “Rosenthal is a pianist of rarest skill, weaving rapid single note lines that span out into rich chordal patterns, parallel octaves and hints of the blues.” And Nate Chinen of the New York Times said, “There aren’t many modern jazz pianists more dexterous than Mr. Rosenthal.”
Barbash, named by Vanity Fair as one of the “millennials shaking up the jazz world” was a founding member of the Jon Batiste and Stay Human Band, of Late Night with Stephen Colbert fame. This will be his third appearance with the Sherman Chamber Ensemble. He received rave reviews and standing ovations, playing diverse styles of music from Debussey to Mozart, Rossini to blue grass and Roy Orbison tunes, leading music reviewer Kevin T. McEneaney to write, “Barbash is simply the greatest alto sax player I’ve ever heard.”
Also featured is drummer Chris Parker. Dan Bilawsky of allaboutjazz.com wrote, “Over the past four decades, he’s worked with everybody from the Brecker Brothers to Miles Davis and Laura Nyro to Lou Rawls, taking a genre-blind approach to drumming that continues to serve him well. As a sideman, he’s made his mark time and again with a who’s who of music giants.”
Called an “unsung hero of the music biz” Parker brings his skill and intensity to the Ensemble, which will feature his original compositions.
The concerts will take place on Saturday, November 24 at 4 pm at Christ Church on Quaker Hill, 7 Church Road, Pawling, NY and on Sunday, November 25 at 4 pm at St. Andrew’s Church, 1 North Main Street, Kent, CT.
The performance will be followed by a reception featuring light refreshments and a chance to meet and talk with the performers.
General Admission tickets are $30; Senior and Student tickets are $25, and children ages 15 and under are admitted free with the purchase of a paid ticket. Tickets may be purchased online at www.ShermanChamberEnsemble.org or at the door on the afternoon of the performance. For information or reservations call 860-355-5930.
ABOUT THE SHERMAN CHAMBER ENSEMBLE
World Class Music, Close to Home
Founded in 1982 by cellist Eliot Bailen, Artistic Director, and flutist Susan Rotholz, the Sherman Chamber Ensemble offers a year-round schedule of performances for all ages at venues in Connecticut and New York.
Guided by its mission to bring world class musicians to our communities and schools to perform a diverse range of music with an approach that is intimate and inclusive, the SCE has been described by The New York Times as “about as close as it gets to the Platonic ideal of a chamber music concert.”
SCE offers Baroque programs, a summer chamber music series, educational activities and a year-round slate of musical events showcasing the best of live musical performance, from classical to bluegrass to jazz – plus children’s and family concerts, school residencies and pop/rock coffeehouses. In addition to concert subscription and ticket sales, support comes from private foundations, local businesses and many generous individual donors.
