Tim Fischer, CCU assistant professor of music, and Matthew White, CCU associate professor of music, present an evening of original music and jazz standards, accompanied by Charleston-based musicians Brett Belanger on double bass and Adam Ray on drums.
Fischer is a jazz guitarist, composer and educator who has performed across the United States as well as in Europe. He holds a D.M.A. in studio/jazz guitar with a minor in Musicology from the University of Southern California. As a trumpeter, composer and educator, White teaches trumpet lessons, directs the CCU Jazz Ensemble and Combo 1, and manages the Wheelwright Recording Studio; he holds degrees from the University of North Florida and the University of Miami.
Belanger earned his B.A. in jazz performance and theory at the College of Charleston and plays professionally around the Southeast. Ray is also a graduate of College of Charleston, having earned a B.S. in economics and a B.A. in music performance. He has performed at the Charleston Jazz Festival, the Folly Beach Jazz Festival, and with many professional big bands in the Charleston region.
The CCU Jazz Big Band will perform with the Carl Payne Big Band to showcase the authentic, polished jazz sound of the Big Band Swing Era. The Carl Payne Big Band, headed by Carlton Payne Jr., was founded with the intent of educating the listening public and young, aspiring musicians in the genre of Big Band Swing. The band members include band directors, teachers, engineers, lawyers, law enforcement officers and students from college as well as high school.
International Jazz day is an annual worldwide celebration of jazz music sponsored by the United Nations Educational Scientific Cultural Organization. Dedicated volunteers across the world have created thousands of activities, programs and community service initiatives that celebrate “the virtues of jazz music” as an educational tool, force for peace, instrument for intercultural dialogue and global cooperation. This will be the seventh year International Jazz Day has been observed around the globe and the second year at CCU.
Beyond the Crossroads is a celebration of American blues music that includes both the classic sounds of artists such as B.B. King and the new styles that comprise the contemporary blues scene. Directed by Dan O’Reilly, CCU lecturer of music, the concert features POP 101, CCU’s contemporary music ensemble of student singers, horn players, guitarists, bass players, keyboardists and drummers.