Sax & Violins Sponsored by the Music Performance Trust Fund Doors 6:30PM Music 7:00PM Free!
Sax & Violins: A Double quartet comprised of a String Quartet and a Jazz Quartet The Compositions of This group center on eight voices: a jazz quartet and a string quartet. Featuring original music of Gerald Spaits as well arrangements of Thelonious Monk, Duke Ellington, the Beatles and more. “I've brought this particular group together to explore new possibilities in combining different genres of music in an improvising se ng. I've gathered some of the finest musicians in Kansas City to perform this music. The strings are not just added to the jazz quartet for background but are interactive within the ensemble. There are times when the String Quartet is playing by itself or in combinations with other players, the jazz ensemble by itself and other times we all play together.” -Gerald Spaits Featuring: Gerald Spaits: Bass; Gerald Spaits, a native of Kansas City, is one of the foremost bass players in the Kansas City area. Spaits has enjoyed an active career including playing with jazz legends Jay McShann and Claude “Fiddler” Williams. Appearing with national recording artists Herb Ellis, Karrin Allyson, Marilyn Maye, and The Woody Herman Orchestra among others. Spaits is the adjunct assistant professor of jazz string bass at the Conservatory of Music and Dance at the University of Missouri-Kansas City and leads a bass ensemble at UMKC. Gerald is involved in the development and crea on of many bands and projects. Composing and arranging for groups including The Gerald Spaits Trio, The Gerald Spaits Quartet, The Westport Art Ensemble, The Kansas City Bass Quartet and his latest project Sax & Violins, a combination of string quartet and jazz quartet. Gerald has released albums on his own label PASSIT productions including “Three Sides,” “The Westport Art Ensemble,” “Westport Art Ensemble live,” and “Solo Bass EP” Gerald has also wri en instruction books for jazz bass and written arrangements for everything from Big Band to Solo Bass.
Charles Perkins: alto sax, Bass Clarinet; Charles Perkins has lived and worked in the greater Kansas City area for years, showcasing his versatility in a variety of musical situations. Accomplished on many wind instruments, Perkins is known as a versa le jazz musician, equally comfortable on alto saxophone, flute, clarinet and bass clarinet. He spent 1984-85 in New York playing with Ted Curson, Frank Foster and other New York musicians. Currently he plays with the 18th and Vine Big Band led by Bobby Watson and Bands of Gerald Spaits and Rich Hill. He is featured on a number of recordings including Time to Go; The Music of Russ Long and Three Sides by Gerald Spaits
Rich Wheeler: Soprano sax, Tenor sax; Rich Wheeler has been a freelance professional saxophonist and private saxophone teacher in the Kansas City area for the past 15 years. He has performed across the US and Europe, and can be heard locally with the Rich Wheeler Quartet, Brandon Draper New Quintet, Jeff Harshbarger Trio, People's Libera on Big Band, Marcus Lewis Big Band, Son Venezuela, and Alaturka. Rich can be heard on a number of albums including recording dates with the New Vintage Big Band, New Jazz Order, and multiple albums by the Peoples Libera on Big Band, Alaturka, and the Brandon Draper Quintet. Alaturka's critically acclaimed second album Yalniz recently received 4.5 stars in a review from Downbeat Magazine. (August 2013).
Brian Steever: drums and percussion; The drums have been his passion since he was born. He began his studies with Loyd Warden in Columbia Missouri and is an alumnus of UMKC where he was fortunate enough to study with Doug Auwarter, Brandon Draper, Cur s Lundy, Michael Carvin and Bobby Watson. He has played around KC with Mike Metheny, Ma O o, Bob Bowman, Jeff Harshbarger, and Hermon Mehari. Brian has also had opportunity to play with musicians from all over the world including Steve Cardenas, Ben Allison, Javon Jackson, Alan Ferber, Deborah Brown, Bob Sheppard, and Jerry Dodgion, among others. Strings: Adam Galblum: violin; Adam is an improvising violinist who studied jazz violin with Kansas City icon Claude "Fiddler" Williams as well as renowned jazz violin pedagogue Ma Glaser in Boston, Mass. Galblum leads Hot Club KC, an ambitious gypsy jazz band that features the music of Django Reinhardt, plus deep cut standards and the original compositions of living Kansas City jazz musicians.
Joanna Metsker: violin; Joanna is a Kansas City-based violinist, violist, and educator known for her versatility across classical, folk, jazz, and pop. She is the founder of Monarch String Ensemble, an in-demand group performing for Candlelight Concerts and events throughout the Midwest. Her diverse career spans commercial appearances with The Eagles, Lindsey Stirling, and the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, alongside innovative community projects like Infused Sound Healing and Drunken Fiddles. Joanna holds a Master of Music from the University of Missouri and currently teaches at Kansas City Kansas Community College.
Marvin Gruenbaum: viola; Marvin is a charter member of the Kansas City Symphony viola sec on (since 1982). Classically trained at the UMKC Conservatory of Music, he holds degrees in violin and viola. His musical pursuits have always been split between the two instruments, and shared between symphonic and alternative styles (Jazz, Country/Western and Bluegrass). While he continues his KC Symphony tenure, he regularly plays fiddle with Western swing band “3 Trails West” and with his jazz ensemble “The Hot Strings.” Marvin is currently president of the Local Kansas City chapter of the American Federation of Musicians.
Ezgi Karakus: cello; Turkish cellist, Ezgi Karakus began her cello education at the age of eleven with Prof. Caglayan Unal SUMER, and a ended Dokuz Eylul University State Conservatory in her native Izmir, Turkey. While a ending the conservatory she thrice won the concerto competition and before arriving in the U.S., joined several festivals including the Youngenc Philharmonic Orchestra in Bremen, Germany. Ezgi completed her Master of Arts at Marshall University under Dr. Solen Dikener's mentorship, where she was awarded first price in the Jackson Balshaw Music Competition, and the Marshall University Concerto Competition.
Press: From Pitch Weekly This mash-up or whatever you want to call it — two styles, two genres — that's always appealed to me," Spaits says, "to try and do different disciplines, with classical and jazz or whatever it might be. I've written a lot for a string quartet and a couple different combinations” “A jazz quartet and a classical string quartet generally have no reason to overlap,” violinist Adam Galblum says. "Those are two different worlds, these eight people are playing combined quartet music, and it takes somebody who has the vision to compose and arrange the strings part for these tunes, as well as for the jazz quartet, which is really complicated. Not everyone can compose like that. It takes a lot of effort to write that kind of music. You have to sit down and make all these parts happen, and not everyone has that kind of initiative. Gerald is that person." Excerpt from Plas c Sax A solo by Charles Perkins over a bed of strings on Duke Ellington’s “Heaven” at the Westport CoffeeHouse on Thursday was one of the most divine things I’ve heard in recent months. The saxophonist's sublime effort was part of the second concert by Gerald Spaits’ Sax & Violins ensemble. The bassist’s group includes a string quartet, saxophonists Perkins and Rich Wheeler and drummer Brian Steever. My fear that the arrangements would favor treacly compromises was unwarranted. Nothing I heard during the 30 minutes I spent among the 40 people who paid a $10 cover charge was overly sentimental. A swinging solo by violinist Adam Galblum and a robust tandem statement from the saxophonists were among the other highlights. Sax & Violins has claimed a spot near the top of the list of my favorite bands in Kansas City.