As a celebration of the late American composer and jazz saxophonist Oliver Nelson's birthday, Mike Conrad revisits the tunes from his 1961 album Blues and the Abstract Truth alongside Conrad's original work. Conrad will be joined by Alex Pershounin on bass and John Kizilarmut on drums.
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Mike Conrad is a composer and improviser currently serving as Assistant Professor of Jazz Studies at the University of Northern Iowa. He has been recognized for his arranging and composing with four ASCAP Herb Alpert Young Jazz Composer Awards and seven awards from Downbeat Magazine, as well as many other accolades. Conrad’s music has been performed all over the world, including a 2017 concert by the Metropole Orkest in the Netherlands, a 2014 Carnegie Hall Premiere, and a performance at the US Presidential Inauguration in 2013.
As a performer, he has toured China, played at the Umbria Jazz Festival in Perugia, Italy, and appeared at various jazz festivals and venues all over the United States. Aside from his own projects like the All Angles Orchestra, the Mike Conrad Trio, and the co-led big band COLOSSUS, Conrad has enjoyed playing and/or recording with Alexa Tarantino, Dave Chisholm, the Bob Washut Dodectet, Christopher’s Very Happy. Band., the Max Wellman Big Band, and many other groups. Some of his more recent projects include a reimagination of Beethoven’s 3rd symphony in collaboration with the Berlin-based Stegreif Orchester, and a suite of four Iowa-inspired big band pieces for the Iowa Jazz Composers Orchestra, which he founded.
Equally accomplished on both trombone and piano, Conrad truly loves collaborating with other musicians, and always brings his creativity and expressiveness to everything he does.
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In addition to our live audience performance in Noce Jazz & Cabaret, this show will be streamed live via Facebook and Youtube beginning at 8PM on the night of the show.
Noce is gladly accepting contributions in lieu of our usual cover for shows through the following portals - https://cash.app/$nocedsm - https://paypal.me/nocedsm