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Jazz Artists Richard Davis, Andrew Cyrille, Aska Kaneko and Angelica Sanchez to Perform in Jazz Room at William Paterson University on November 22

--Concert will be recorded live for a CD

Bassist Richard Davis

Bassist Richard Davis, along with drummer Andrew Cyrille, violinist Aska Kaneko, and pianist Angelica Sanchez will perform as part of the fall 2015 Jazz Room series at William Paterson University in Wayne on Sunday, November 22, 2015. The concert, which will be recorded live for a CD, begins at 4 p.m. in the University’s Shea Center for Performing Arts on campus.

Prior to the concert, the afternoon’s performers will be the guests for “Sittin’ In,” an informal discussion about jazz, at 3 p.m. in Shea Center. Admission to “Sittin’ In” is free to all Jazz Room ticket holders. Tickets for the performance are available at the Shea Center Box Office in advance at 973.720.2371 or wp-presents.org or on the day of the performance at $15 general admission, $12 senior citizens and William Paterson community, and $8 for non-William Paterson students.  William Paterson students are admitted free with a valid I.D. There is a $3 fee for tickets purchased on the day of the show.

Davis was the original bassist of the Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Orchestra.  He has been heard on such landmark recordings as Eric Dolphy’s Out to Lunch and others with Kenny Dorham, James Moody, Booker Ervin, and Pat Martino. He has recorded a dozen albums as a leader and 3,000 recordings/jingles as a sideman; his performance/recording credits include Sarah Vaughan, Bruce Springsteen, Van Morrison, Frank Sinatra, Barbra Streisand, Miles Davis, and Dexter Gordon, among others. He is a professor of bass at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. 

Cyrille is a veteran of collaborations with a wide array of jazz musicians, from Mary Lou Williams, Coleman Hawkins, and Illinois Jacquet to Kenny Dorham, Freddie Hubbard, Walt Dickerson, and Rahsaan Roland Kirk, among others. He also played with Nigerian drummer Babtunde Olatunji and was long associated with Cecil Taylor. Cyrille formed his group Maono in 1975, with its fluid membership dictated by the forces his compositions called for. He was the drummer on Billy Bang's A Tribute to Stuff Smith, notable for being the last studio session of Sun Ra.

Kaneko is a virtuoso violinist, a composer, musical director, producer and vocalist. In demand as a new music pioneer, she has pursued numerous collaborations with visual artists, illustrators, playwrights, and she has been deeply involved not only in the composition and arrangement of particular musical works but also in the overall production of multifaceted performance events. In addition to directing Aska Strings, which has released three recordings, she is a member of Gaia Cuatro, a Japanese-Argentinian group that regularly tours Europe and Japan. In 2015 Kaneko started a duo project with the harpist Amy Camie.

Sanchez has performed with a wide range of artists, including Paul Motian, Joe Lovano, Dave Ballou, and more. Sanchez leads many groups including her own quintet featuring Marc Ducret, Tony Malaby, Drew Gress, and Tom Rainey. She was the 2008 recipient of the French/American Chamber Music America grant and the 2011 Rockefellers Brothers Pocantico artist residency. She can be heard on numerous recordings.  Sanchez is a jazz studies graduate of William Paterson University.

Launched in 1978, William Paterson University’s Jazz Room Series is one of the largest and most prestigious college-sponsored jazz events in the country. Performers include renowned professionals who encompass the complete spectrum of jazz, as well as William Paterson’s own student ensembles. The series has won numerous grants from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts for its innovative programming.