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Order a DVD of the 2008 concert
from:
South Dakota Public Broadcasting
1-800-456-0766
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Laura Caviani - Jazz Pianist and Composer
 Laura
Caviani has performed and recorded for over 15 years. The
Minneapolis Star Tribune hailed her debut CD, Dreamlife as
"...in a word, outstanding". Marian McPartland called it
"...sparkling and inventive". Her second release, As One,
was touted as "stunningly fresh" by Jazz Times. Her holiday
album, Angels We Haven't Heard, was considered "this
season's finest new jazz cd of holiday music" by the St.
Paul Pioneer Press. The Star Tribune claimed her solo
release, In Your Own Sweet Way was, "...poised right where
the salon meets the saloon, with as much spunk as serenity."
Going There, her fifth recording as a leader, is already
receiving wide praise. Bob Protzman, Downbeat Contributor
and WQLN-FM host called it "...piano trio jazz of the
highest order."
As a sideman, Ms. Caviani has recorded and toured with the 2002
Grammy nominee Karrin Allyson (Concord Records) whose band,
according to the Wall Street Journal, "...could waltz into
any New York nightclub and tear up the joint...". Ms.
Caviani has shared the stage with other greats as Toots
Theilemans, Bob Mintzer, and Dave Liebman. Locally, she has
recorded with numerous musicians, including Pete Whitman's
Quintet and Xtet, and the jazz orchestra JazzMN, all on the
Artegra label. She has also recorded with Twin Cities jazz
vocal greats: Lucia Newell, Prudence Johnson, and Voice
Trek.
In '97, Caviani received a grant from the Atlantic Center
for the Arts to study with renowned pianist and composer
JoAnne Brackeen. The following year, she was selected to
study in Japan at the Akiyoshidai International Art Village.
As a composer, her commissions include numerous works for jazz
ensembles and smaller jazz combos (some of which are
currently available through Increase Music and Really Good
Music) as well as orchestral works for both the Central
Wisconsin Symphony Orchestra and the Kansas City Symphony
Orchestra.
Caviani has both a bachelors of music in Composition from Lawrence
University, and a masters of music in Improvisation from The
University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. She has taught at a
number of schools, including St. John's University, the
University of Wisconsin at Eau Claire, The University of St.
Thomas, and many middle schools in Minneapolis through the
"Harman How to Listen Program", an outreach program
co-founded by Wynton Marsalis. Currently, she is on faculty
at both Carleton College and St. Olaf College, both located
in Northfield, MN.
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Chris Vadala
 One
of the country's foremost woodwind artists, Chris Vadala is
in demand as a jazz/classical performer and educator. He has
appeared on more than 100 recordings to date, as well as
innumerable jingle sessions, film and TV scores, performing
on all the saxophones, flutes, and clarinets. A native of
Poughkeepsie, N.Y., he graduated from the Eastman School of
Music, earning the honor of the Performer's Certificate in
saxophone as well as a B.M. in Music Education, received an
M.A. in clarinet from Connecticut College, and pursued
postgraduate study in woodwinds at Eastman.
Professor Vadala is the Director of Jazz Studies and
Saxophone Professor at the University of Maryland. Previous
academic appointments include teaching studio woodwinds and
conducting jazz ensembles at Connecticut College, Montgomery
College, Hampton University, Prince George's Community
College and Mount Vernon College, as well as Visiting
Professor of Saxophone at the Eastman School of Music, 1995
and 2001.
Mr. Vadala's performing career has been highlighted by a
long tenure as standout woodwind artist with the
Internationally recognized Chuck Mangione Quartet, which
included performances in all 50 states, Canada, Australia,
Japan, Phillipines, China, Brazil, Mexico, Argentina,
Bermuda, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, Dominican Republic,
England, Italy, France, Germany, Austria, Netherlands,
Poland, Belgium, and Switzerland, and performing credits on
five gold and two platinum albums, plus two Grammy, one
Emmy, one Georgie (AGVA) and one Golden Globe Award. In
addition, he has performed and/or recorded with such greats
as Dizzy Gillespie, Quincy Jones, B.B. King, Chick Corea,
Ella Fitzgerald, Aretha Franklin, Placido Domingo, Sarah
Vaughn, Natalie Cole, Herbie Hancock, Ray Charles, Henry
Mancini, Doc Severinsen, Phil Woods, Joe Lovano, and many
others. As one of the Selmer Company's most requested Artist
in Residence clinicians and D’Addarrio/Rico Artists, Mr.
Vadala travels worldwide, performing with and conducting
student and professional jazz ensembles, symphonic bands,
and orchestras. Within the past six years alone, Mr. Vadala
has appeared with over 200 groups across the nation and
Canada, and has conducted 38 All-State, as well as numerous
All-County and All-District Jazz Ensembles. He has served
three terms as President of the Maryland Unit of the
International Association for Jazz Education, is a permanent
member of its Executive Board (College Faculty
Representative), and was a Woodwind Representative to its
International Resource Team.
Mr. Vadala's column on woodwind doubling appeared regularly
in the Saxophone Journal for 10 years, and he has authored
articles for many other magazines. A Downbeat magazine poll
finalist in four categories and the recipient of a National
Endowment for the Arts Jazz Study grant, he has published a
number of original compositions and arrangements (Medici
Music & Cimarron Music Press). His book, Improve Your
Doubling (Dorn Productions) is acclaimed as a valuable
addition to woodwind literature. In addition to his debut
solo CD, Out of the Shadows, recent recording/publications
include Jazz/Rock in the USA, Jazz Solos, Nothin' But Jazz,
Jazz Adventures, Modern Jazz-Rock and R & B, and Fusion
Solos 6 books with play-a-long CDs by dehaske/Curnow), as
well as a contributions to Warner Brother's Approaching the
Standards play-a-long improvisation series and Jazz Pedagogy
(The Jazz Educator's Handbook and Resource Guide). He also
has the honor of being included in a new publication, "The
History of the Top 40 Sax Solos (1955-1998)." |
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Pat Harbison... trumpeter, composer,
teacher and clinician.
 Jazz
trumpeter Pat Harbison currently teaches jazz history and
improvisation and conducts ensembles at Indiana University.
He has been on the faculty of the Jamey Aebersold Jazz
Workshops since 1976. Previously he taught trumpet and jazz
at the University of Cincinnati.
Pat became intent on a career in music in his early teens,
when he became a protégé of jazz education pioneer, Jamey
Aebersold. Jamey exposed him to the magic of jazz and
instructed Pat in improvisation, arranging, and composition.
After graduating from the University of Louisville, where he
studied trumpet with Leon Rapier, he spent time free-lancing
in New York City and studying with Carmine Caruso. He
returned to his native Indiana for graduate study in jazz
with David Baker and trumpet with William Adam. Pat's other
major teachers include John McNeil and Dominic Spera.
Pat has performed and recorded with his own groups,
including his solo debut, After All and the 2002 recording
Conspiracy Theory, both on WholeTone Records. In addition to
his work as a leader, Pat's credits include work with the
Jamey Aebersold Quintet, the PsychoAcoustic Orchestra, The
Steve Houghton Quintet, John VonOhlen's Blue Wisp Big Band,
and David Baker's 21st Century Bebop Band. In over three
decades as a jazz trumpet artist and educator, Pat has
performed at major jazz concerts and festivals and taught
aspiring musicians about jazz around the world. Pat is the
author of many articles on jazz and trumpet, as well as
several books, including Technical Studies for the Modern
Trumpet and Twenty Authentic Bebop Solos (both published by
Aebersold). |
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©2008 South Dakota Public Broadcasting