DANCE PARTY
with The Nicki Denner Sextet
featuring Freddie Bryant

Friday, May 1 at 8:30pm
Mass MoCA
Reservations suggested
please call 662-2111
$14 in advance, $18 the day of, $10 for students

Nicki Denner-piano
Christelle Durandy-vocals
Anton Denner-sax and flute
Jennifer Vincent-bass
Willie Martinez-timbales
Mayra Casales-congas
Freddie Bryant-12 string guitar

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FREE SALSA DANCE CLASSES!
Instructor-Arif Smith

Wednesday, April 29th
6-7:30 at the Mass MoCA Rehearsal Hall
Reservations Suggested: 413.662.2111

Thursday, April 30
Goodrich Hall second Floor Dance Studio,
at the corner of Spring and Main Streets.
5:00 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.
Reservations Suggested: 413.597.2410

all dance classes are sponsored by Greylock Federal Credit Union

Ben-Hur (1925)
the classic film with a new jazz score by JC Sanford

Thursday, April 30 at 8pm
$10, $5 for students
For tickets please call 597-2425

Pre-concert lecture at 7pm
free with ticket for the film

Initially trained both in the classical and jazz fields, composer JC Sanford has worked in several cross-genre musical situations, especially as a part of his association with the composers’ federation Pulse. His jazz orchestra, Sound Assembly, already stretches the boundaries of what is considered “jazz big band music” by using many unconventional techniques such as simultaneous multiple tempi and the shifting of traditional instrumental roles.

Sanford’s original score for the 1925 silent film Ben-Hur commissioned by the 2009 Syracuse Film Festival is a continuation of this practice. It contains aspects of jazz, but also other world musics and modern “classical” flavors. Much of the melodic and harmonic pitch material has been derived from the text in the intertitles (the projected text between and during scenes in a silent film). There will also be moments of guided improvisation specifically meant to depict and re-enforce the spontaneity and aggression of the dramatic pirate attack and chariot race. Performing live with the film, the JC Sanford Octet employs the fine talents of members of the Central New York Jazz Orchestra. has worked in several cross-genre musical situations, especially as a part of his association with the composers’ federation Pulse. His jazz orchestra, Sound Assembly, already stretches the boundaries of what is considered “jazz big band music” by using many unconventional techniques such as simultaneous multiple tempi and the shifting of traditional instrumental roles.

18th Annual Intercollegiate Jazz Festival

Day One
Friday, May 1

‘62 Center MAINSTAGE
12:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Free

College bands playing for adjudication by John Clark & Virginia Mayhew
** All times subject to change.

Day Two
Saturday, May 2

‘62 Center MAINSTAGE
9:00 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.
Free

**All times subject to change

College bands again playing for adjudication by John Clark and Virginia Mayhew

Miguel Zenon Quartet

Saturday, May 2 at 8:30pm
at the '62 Center
Williams College
$20, $10 for students
To purchase tickets, call the '62 Center box office at 597-2425.
Cash or check only. Phone orders can be picked up at the door.

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.”

(For more information, please visit the artist's website.)

Sponsored by the Mass Cultural Council and the Williams College President's Office

Post Concert Open Jam Session
10:00pm
or at the conclusion of the Miguel Zenon concert
at Spice Root Indian Restaurant
Cover charge
Call 458-5200 for more information

Vijay Iyer Trio

Wednesday, May 6 at 8pm
at the The Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute
$20, $10 for students
call 662-2111 for tickets

VIJAY IYER [pronounced "VID-jay EYE-yur"] was described in The Village Voice as "the most commanding pianist and composer to emerge in recent years." The son of Indian immigrants, he is a largely self-taught creative musician grounded in the American jazz lexicon and drawing from a wide range of Western and non-Western traditions. A young musician with a large, diverse, and respected body of work, Vijay is widely regarded as one of "the new stars of jazz" (U.S. News & World Report) and one of "today’s most important pianists" (The New Yorker).

(For more information, please visit the artist's website.)

Sponsored by Mass Cultural Council and The Williams College President's Office.