Trumpter Mike Williams from the Count Basie Band will be the guest artist with the Jazz Lab Band on Tuesday, January 25th.

Photos and bios are available at http://www.MikeWilliamsTrumpet.com

(Submitted by David Bixler)

Area audiences will have the opportunity to enjoy the unique vocal style and harmonies of the New York Voices when the a cappella group returns to Bowling Green State University in August. They will be giving three concerts, at 8 p.m. Aug. 3, 5 and 7, in Bryan Recital Hall of the Moore Musical Arts Center. The concerts complement the vocal jazz camp taught by members of the multiple Grammy Award-winning ensemble that week.

In a joint concert on Tuesday, Aug. 3, members Peter Eldridge and Lauren Kinhan will perform material from their solo recordings. Bass vocalist Eldridge will preview songs from his soon-to-be released “Mad Heaven,” while Kinhan will debut her just-released project “Avalon” to the Bowling Green audience. Tickets are $5, payable in cash at the door.

On Thursday, Aug. 5, founding members Kim Nazarian and Darmon Meader will perform together. In addition to singing, both serve as arrangers for the group’s musical selections. Tickets are also $5, payable in cash at the door.

The entire New York Voices ensemble will present the Saturday evening, Aug. 7, concert. Rejoining the group will be West Coast vocal entrepreneur Greg Jasperse, who continues to make his mark as an ensemble and solo vocalist in a cappella, vocal jazz and other vocal groups. Tickets are $15, payable in cash at the door or reserved by e-mailing info@BGSUjazz.com.

Following rave reviews from last year’s participants and concert attendees, the New York Voices Vocal Jazz Camp returns to Bowling Green State University’s College of Musical Arts Aug. 2-8. The camp will once again provide a blend of the group’s style of ensemble singing and soloist virtuosity in both teaching and performing. The multiple Grammy Award-winners return with several new releases in tow.

“Singing at the camp both as a soloist and as part of an ensemble has informed not just my work and performance in jazz, but also my singing in front of rock crowds with my rhythm and blues band,” reported Texas resident Elisha Jordan, a 2009 camp participant.

While this uniquely American art form was the popular music of the 1930s and ’40s, a recent resurgence with such performers as Norah Jones and Michael Bublé has lent the educational efforts of the New York Voices new steam.

In concerts on Aug. 3 and Aug. 5, group members Kim Nazarian, Peter Eldridge, Darmon Meader and Lauren Kinhan will perform material from their solo recordings. Kinhan will have her just-released project “Avalon” to debut to Midwest audiences, and in a joint concert bass vocalist Eldridge will preview material from his soon-to-be released “Mad Heaven.” On Aug. 7, the New York Voices will be featured in concert as the final event of the camp.

Rejoining the group will be West Coast vocal entrepreneur Greg Jasperse, who continues to make his mark as an ensemble and solo vocalist in a cappella, vocal jazz and other vocal groups.

For registration information, visit www.BGSUjazz.com.

Bowling Green State University’s College of Musical Arts celebrates Jazz Week with a visit from acclaimed pianist, composer and educator Arturo O’ Farrill.

O’Farrill will have a busy schedule starting with a master class at 4 p.m. March 24 in Kobacker Hall of Moore Musical Arts Center followed by a performance with the Faculty Jazz Group at 8 p.m. in Bryan Recital Hall of Moore Center.  On March 26, O’Farrill will participate in high school Jazz Day clinics at Kobacker Hall and will perform with the Jazz Lab Band I at 8 p.m. in the same location.

“He brings a different perspective in jazz, coming from an Afro-Cuban tradition,” said David Bixler, an assistant professor in Jazz Studies. “We do a more mainstream form, and he will provide a new angle both musically and culturally, which is good for students in the Midwest.”

“This will be a great experience for both the students and faculty of the Jazz Studies area,” explained Jeff Halsey, a professor and director of Jazz Studies. “O’Farrill is one of those rare individuals who bridges Latin-influenced music with mainstream jazz, and he is a powerful piano performer and bandleader.”

O’Farrill was born in Mexico and grew up in New York City. He created the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra and was Grammy nominated in 2006 for his debut album “Una Noche Inolvidable.”  In 2003, he was awarded the Latin Jazz U.S.A. Outstanding Achievement Award.

As a solo artist, O’Farrill has worked with a number of well-known jazz artists including Dizzy Gillespie, Wynton Marsalis and Harry Belafonte.