The faculty musicians of the Jazz Studies Program go downtown on Oct. 10 for a concert at Ilsley Ball Nordstrom Recital Hall at Benaroya Hall. KPLU Radio host Jim Wilke is the master of ceremonies for this event, which features short sets by the Fred Radke Quintet, the Michael Brockman Quartet, Tom Collier (Collier and Dean), Marc Seales, and the Cuong Vu Quartet. This performance includes a special appearance by drummer Ted Poor, artist-in-residence at the School of Music during Fall Quarter 2012, and by Richard Karpen, director of the School of Music. The evening concludes with a group finale by all of the featured musicians.

PROGRAM DETAIL

Cuong Vu Quartet

Aaron Otheim, keyboards; Ted Poor, drums; Greg Sinibaldi, saxophone; Cuong Vu, trumpet

Performing "Body and Soul," music by Johnny Green; "The Star," by Greg Sinibaldi; and "I Took a Fall," by Greg Sinibaldi

Marc Seales, solo piano

Performing "Medley: Bye and Bye, It's Me, Oh Lord"; "Blues #52," by Marc Seales; and "Prelude to a Kiss," by Duke Ellington

Richard Karpen and Ted Poor

Richard Karpen, piano; Ted Poor, drums

Performing "Duet"

Collier and Dean

Tom Coller, vibes; Dan Dean, bass

Performing "Pacific Aire," by Tom Collier; and "Chase the Wind," by Dan Dean

Michael Brockman Quartet

Michael Brockman, saxophone; Milo Peterson, guitar; D'Vonne Lewis, drums; Paul Gabrielson, bass

Fred Radke Quintet

Bill Anschell, piano; Ivan Arteaga, saxophone; Tom Collier, drums; Dan Dean, bass; Fred Radke, trumpet

Performing “Blues Walk,” by Clifford Brown; “Si Tu Vois Ma Mère, (Lonesome)” by Sidney Bechet; and “Sweet Emma,” by Nat Adderley

HOST BIO: Jim Wilke

Since 1983, Jim Wilke's radio programs have been broadcast nationally on PRI and NPR, and now internationally via the internet. Jazz After Hours has been on the air every week since 1984, and guests have included many of the jazz world's greatest artists including Dizzy Gillespie, Max Roach, Ray Brown, Harry Edison, Milt Jackson, and Jim Hall, as well as newer stars including Joshua Redman, Cyrus Chestnut, Diana Krall and Benny Green. Prior to devoting himself to jazz radio, Jim was program director of classical music station KING-FM.

In addition to Jazz After Hours, Jim Wilke also produces a weekly Jazz Northwest show for KPLU. He has produced hundreds of hours of live jazz radio programs from venues outside the studio. His location recordings have provided material for numerous CDs as well as radio programs. He is a member of The Recording Academy (NARAS) and The Jazz Journalists Association.

Jim taught Jazz History at The Cornish College of the Arts for many years and radio broadcasting at Bellevue Community College and KBCS.  He has been the music coordinator for dozens of outdoor concerts and several jazz festivals. He was inducted into the Seattle Jazz Hall of Fame in 1993, the first non-musician to receive the honor, and has been nominated for The Willis Conover Award for Excellence in Jazz Broadcasting by the Jazz Journalists Association in 1998, 1999, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2010, 2011 and 2012. Jim was also named one of the top syndicated jazz radio personalities in the JazzTimes Readers Poll in 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008.  The expanded JazzTimes Critics Poll also included Jazz After Hours on the short list as one of the nation's top syndicated jazz radio programs in 2011 and 2012.

PERFORMER BIOS

Cuong Vu, trumpet

Cuong Vu is widely recognized by jazz critics as a leader of a generation of innovative musicians. A truly unique musical voice, Cuong has lent his trumpet playing talents to a wide range of artists including Pat Metheny, Laurie Anderson, David Bowie, Dave Douglas, Myra Melford, Cibo Matto, and Mitchell Froom.

As a youngster, Cuong's intense dedication and love for music led him to a full scholarship at the New England Conservatory of Music where he received his Bachelor of Music in Jazz studies with a distinction in performance. Transitioning from his studies in Boston, he moved to New York in 1994 and began his career actively leading various groups while touring extensively throughout the world. As a leader, Cuong has released five recordings, each making critics' lists of the 10 best recordings of their respective years. Each record displays how he has carved out a distinctive sonic territory on the trumpet while blurring all stylistic borders while developing his own compositional aesthetic.

A recipient of numerous awards and honors, Cuong was awarded the Colbert Award for Excellence: The Downtown Arts Project Emerging Artist Award. As an assistant professor in jazz studies, he was recently awarded the University of Washington's prestigious Distinguished Teacher Award and is a Donald E. Petersen Endowed Fellow. In 2002 and 2006, Cuong was a recipient of the Grammy for Best Contemporary Jazz Album as a member of the Pat Metheny Group. He's been recognized as one of the top 50 young Jazz Artists in an article called "The New Masters" from the British magazine, "Classic CD" and in 2006 was named the Best International Jazz Artist by the Italian Jazz Critics' Society. Amazon listed Vu's "Come Play With Me" on their "The 100 Greatest Jazz Albums of All Time".

Cuong is a "Yamaha Performing Artist", playing the Yamaha Custom YTR8310Z trumpet.

Marc Seales, piano

A noted pianist, composer and leading figure in the Northwest jazz scene, Marc Seales has shared stages with many of the great players of the last two decades. He has played with nearly every visiting jazz celebrity from Joe Henderson and Art Pepper to Benny Carter, Mark Murphy, and Bobby Hutcherson. With the late Don Lanphere he performed in such places as London, England; Kobe, Japan; The Hague in the Netherlands; and the North Sea Jazz Festival.

The musicians he admires most are Herbie Hancock, Charlie Parker, John Lewis, John Coltrane, Miles Davis, and Wynton Kelly, though he is quick to acknowledge that he owes the basically be-bop/post be-bop sound of his playing to his mentors, Don Lanphere and Floyd Standifer.

Critics have praised Seales variously for his "meaty piano solos," and "blues inflected, Hancock-inspired modernism." Winner of numerous Earshot awards (Instrumentalist of the Year in 1999 and Acoustic Jazz Group in 2000 and 2001; Jazz Hall of Fame, 2009), Seales is today promoting jazz awareness and molding young talents as a Professor of Music at the University of Washington, where he serves as Chair of the Jazz Studies Program. He teaches an array of courses, including History of Jazz, Jazz Piano, and Beginning and Advanced Improvisation, as well as leading various workshops and ensembles.

Fred Radke, trumpet

Fred Radke joined the School of Music faculty in Fall 2011 as a part-time lecturer in the Jazz Studies program. A well-known big-band conductor and authority on big-band history, Radke directs the University of Washington's big band, the UW Studio Jazz Ensemble.

A professional musician since the age of fifteen, Radke has toured extensively around the world as leader and member of the Harry James Orchestra. He has also performed as lead trumpeter with many other well-known ensembles and performers, including the Glenn Miller Orchestra, the Dick Jergens Orchestra, the Modernaires, Johnny Ray, Ella Fitzgerald, Mel Torme and numerous others.

In addition to his professional career as a trumpeter, conductor, recording artist, compose/arranger, and producer, Radke is a musical clinician and educator who most recently has served as the resident instructor of Jazz Studies at North Seattle Community College.

Ted Poor, drums

Ted Poor began playing drums in 1984 at the tender age of three. He can’t remember his first attraction to the drums, though his parents place it at a Horace Silver concert in his hometown of Rochester, NY. That concert led to a homemade drum set, which in turn prompted a neighbor to donate his old set to the enthusiastic youngster. Ted continued playing throughout grade school and began studying privately with Rich Thompson in 1993. After briefly entertaining the thought of a career in engineering, Ted enrolled in the Eastman School of Music to study music full time – receiving his Bachelors of Music in 2003. While still at Eastman, Ted met acclaimed guitarist Ben Monder, who was visiting as a guest artist. Monder then appeared on Poor’s debut quartet record "All Around" (Trier 2003) and in the fall of 2003 Poor joined Monder’s band and moved to New York City.

Poor has since established himself as a unique and important voice in the NY jazz/improvised music community. Jazz Review writes, “Ted has an uncanny ability to shape the music and a refreshingly unique, organic approach to playing the drums.” This unique approach has caught the ears of many of jazz’s most established musicians and placed him amongst those drummers most in demand. In 2003 Poor began touring internationally with Grammy award winning trumpeter Cuong Vu. Together with bassist Stomu Takeishi, the trio collaborated with Bill Frisell to record "It’s Mostly Residual" (Artist Share 2004) and with Chris Speed to record "Vu-Tet" (Artist Share 2007). Ted has additionally performed with a broad spectrum of musicians including Kurt Rosenwinkel, Chris Potter, Aaron Parks, Maria Schneider, Scott Colley, George Garzone, Ralph Alessi, Marc Ducret, David Fiuczynski, David Berkman, Nils Wogram, Donny Mccaslin and John McNiel. As a guest soloist and educator, Poor has held residencies at, among others, the Eastman School of Music, Berklee College of Music, Cal Arts, Lawrence University, the HR Big Band of Frankfurt, Colorado University ay Denver and the University of Washington.

While maintaining a busy touring schedule as a sideman, Ted is also committed to a number of collaborative ensembles. Formed in 2001, the Respect Sextet is a powerhouse ensemble dedicated to performing a wide variety of improvisational musics. Relying on their explosive energy, rare telepathy, outstanding musicianship and a deep friendship, Respect pieces together free improvisations, original compositions, free jazz classics, television commercial jingles, text pieces, jazz standards, game pieces and more into “a whirling collage,” shouts Exclaim! Magazine, “that ransacks and reshapes the entire jazz tradition, from New Orleans march to Misha Mengelberg, Sun Ra to Charlie Parker.”

Most recently, Ted has joined with cohorts Loren Stillman, Gary Versace and Nate Radley to create Bad Touch. In a musical age of predominantly solo careers, Bad Touch has set out to nurture their identity as a collective. With a shared goal of developing improvised music, these likeminded musicians draw on a wide spectrum of jazz improvisational techniques within original compositions. Bad Touch believes that mutual friendship and commitment yield the most fulfilling musical adventures and aims for their work to reflect this philosophy. "Like A Magic Kiss" (Bad Touch Music, 2008) is a concise and potent example of their shared sense of direction.

Richard Karpen, piano

Richard Karpen (b. 1957) is one of the leading composers and researchers of electroacoustic music internationally. He is known not only for his pioneering compositions for live and electronic media, but also for developing computer applications for composition, live/interactive performance, and sound design.

Karpen is currently Director of the School of Music at the University of Washington after previously serving at the UW as Founding Director of the Center for Digital Arts and Experimental Media (DXARTS) and Divisional Dean for Research in the College of Arts and Sciences. He is a Professor of Music Composition. He has been the recipient of many awards, grants and prizes including those from the National Endowment for the Arts, the ASCAP Foundation, the Bourges Contest in France, and the Luigi Russolo Foundation in Italy. Fellowships and grants for work outside of the U.S. include a Fulbright to Italy, a residency at IRCAM in France, and a Leverhulme Visiting Fellowship to the United Kingdom. He received his doctorate in composition from Stanford University, where he also worked at the Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics (CCRMA). Karpen is a native of New York, where he studied composition with Charles Dodge and Gheorghe Costinescu.

Karpen's works are widely performed in the U.S. and internationally. While he is primarily known for his work in electronic media, Karpen has also composed symphonic and chamber works for a wide variety of ensembles. Furthermore, he has composed works for many leading international soloists such as soprano Judith Bettina, violist Garth Knox, trombonist Stuart Dempster, flutists Laura Chislett and Jos Zwaanenberg, guitarist, Stefan Östersjö, and oboist Alex Klein. Along with numerous concert and radio performances, his works have been set to dance by groups such as the Royal Danish Ballet and the Guandong Dance Company of China. Karpen's compositions have been recorded on a variety of labels including Wergo, Centaur, Neuma, Le Chant du Monde, DIFFUSION i MeDIA, Fleur du Son, and Capstone.

Tom Collier, vibes

Director of percussion studies at the University of Washington School of Music since 1980, associate professor Tom Collier, co-director of Jazz Studies, has performed and recorded with many important classical, jazz, and popular artists, in addition to recording and performing with his own jazz group. He is a veteran of more than 50 years in music -- his first public appearance was at age five, on xylophone, and his first professional performances were made as a nine-year-old marimba virtuoso.

Collier has appeared in concert with many important jazz and popular artists, including Eddie Daniels, Roger Kellaway, Frank Zappa, Emil Richards, Laurendo Almeida, Buddy DeFranco, Diane Schurr, Peggy Lee, Herb Ellis, Ernestine Anderson, Natalie Cole, Mannheim Steamroller, The Beach Boys, Della Reese, and many more. Although his primary focus in recent years has been jazz, Collier has continued to perform occasionally as a featured mallet soloist with the Seattle Symphony, Spokane Symphony, Bellevue Philharmonic, Northwest Chamber Orchestra, and the Denver Symphony.

He has made commercial and educational recordings with his own jazz group for various jazz labels, including Inner City (New York), Music Minus One (New York), TC Records (Seattle), Nebula (Baton Rouge), and Studio 4 (Los Angeles). Collier has also made recordings with many internationally known jazz and popular artists, including Ernie Watts, Don Grusin, Bud Shank, Alex Acuna, Bobby Shew, Laurendo Almeida, Barbra Streisand, Ry Cooder, Nilsson, Howard Roberts, and others. In addition, he has appeared on many Hollywood film soundtracks under the direction of composers such as John Williams, Henry Mancini, Elmer Bernstein, Lalo Schifrin, Jerry Goldsmith, and Oliver Nelson.

Collier has also established a reputation as a jazz/percussion composer, with many of his compositions for jazz percussion ensemble published by Studio 4 Productions and distributed by Alfred Music. He has won 15 consecutive ASCAP Popular Panel Awards for his jazz and percussion compositions.

Collier has recorded several educational albums for Music Minus One and Studio 4 Productions, as well as presenting more than 300 jazz concerts in public schools around Washington for the Arts in Education Program, Washington State Arts Commission. The National Association of Jazz Educators presented him with an "Outstanding Service to Jazz Education" award in 1980.

A UW alumnus, Collier graduated from the School of Music in 1971 with a BA/BM in percussion performance.

Michael Brockman, saxophone

Michael Brockman, DMA, moved from the East Coast to Seattle in 1987 to join the UW School of Music faculty. He instructs concert and jazz saxophone performance, and jazz arranging and composition. Brockman earned a Doctor of Musical Arts from the UW, and a Master of Music degree with distinction from the New England Conservatory in Boston, where he studied arranging with Jaki Byard, composition with George Russell, and woodwind performance with Joe Allard. He earned a bachelor of music degree from Lewis and Clark College, and also attended both the Berklee College of Music in Boston, and the Musikhochschule in Cologne, Germany.

Brockman's doctoral dissertation is titled "Orchestration Techniques of Duke Ellington," and he has transcribed numerous classic large ensemble scores by Ellington, Mingus, Mulligan, Lunceford, Kenton, Monk and others. He is the lead saxophonist and co-director of the award-winning Seattle Repertory Jazz Orchestra, and has performed with Wynton Marsalis, Clark Terry, Frank Wess, Frank Foster, Jimmy Heath, Quincy Jones, James Moody, Benny Carter, Ernestine Anderson, Arturo Sandoval, Ella Fitzgerald, Jon Hendricks, Joe Williams, and many other luminaries of jazz. The SRJO presents the annual Duke Ellington Sacred Concert in Seattle (now in its 23rd year), plus an annual subscription concert series of rare big band works. In addition to performing in the SRJO, Brockman has prepared scores for much of the band's repertoire, based on rare vintage recordings of unpublished works by great composers.

As both a jazz soloist and a classical recitalist, he has toured throughout Europe and the eastern United States. He is an active professional performer in numerous Seattle ensembles, including the Seattle Symphony Orchestra, and appears on nationally acclaimed recordings with Jimmy Heath, the SSO, the SRJO, and Seattle drummer Clarence Acox, whose 1991 CD Joanna's Dance and 1992 CD Indigenous Groove were consecutively selected as Album of the Year by Seattle's Earshot magazine.

A perpetual student of woodwind acoustics, Brockman is the inventor of a patented device called the "Broctave Key" (U.S. Patent WO/2010/068909) that provides an additional octave/register vent to any wind instrument.

Brockman has premiered many new works for saxophone, including the West Coast premiere of Sonata for Saxophone by Gunther Schuller, and has appeared as a soloist in the Reims Music Festival, the Dubrovnik Music Festival, the World Saxophone Congress, the Stanford Computer Music Festival, the New Music Across America Festival, the Seattle New Music for Saxophone Festival, the Northwest Saxophone Symposium, and many others. Brockman is a clinician for the Selmer Company.