Miguel Zenón headlines the Williamstown Jazz Festival
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. - The Williamstown Jazz Festival presents Miguel Zenón dubbed by Jazz Times Magazine in 2006 as “Best New Artist of the Year” on Saturday, May 2, at 8:30 p.m. on the Mainstage of ‘62 Center on the Williams College Campus.Tickets are $20 Single Admission, $6 for students with valid ID. ‘62 Center Box Office: 413-597-2425.
A winner of the 2008 MacArthur grant, Miguel Zenón began studying jazz at the Berklee School of Music after spending much of his life studying classical saxophone. He received his Masters in Saxophone Performance from the Manhattan School of Music in 2001.
His debut CD entitled Looking Forward was the number one independent jazz record of 2002, according to the New York Times. Downbeat Critic’s Poll declared Zenón as the top Rising Star Alto Sax for three consecutive years. In 2005, Billboard magazine proclaimed him as one of the “Faces to Watch—30 Under 30: Top Young Acts and Executives.”
Zenón became one of the founding members of the SF Jazz Collective in 2004. His own quartet shared the Downbeat Critic’s Poll Rising Star Small Group in 2006 and 2007 with the SF Jazz Collective. His most recent CD, Awake, was chosen as one of the best Jazz CDs of 2008 by JazzTimes, Improv Magazine, El Nuevo Dia, and many others.
When Zenón is not touring, his priority is teaching. In 2003, his quartet performed and taught around West Africa. He is continuously involved with master classes, clinics, and residencies in many colleges and universities through out the world and is a private saxophone instructor at The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music in New York.
Zenón’s latest project focuses on Plena Music from Puerto Rico as part of his fellowship with the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation.
The festival is sponsored by the Williams Dept. of Music, ‘62 Center, Greylock Federal Credit Union, Gala, Orchards Hotel, Spice Root, St. Johns, The Williams Inn, Berkshire Hills Motel, Café Latino, JAM, MASS MoCA, The Clark, Williams College Museum of Art, and Williamstown Chamber of Commerce.
