dewberry jazz

Jazz Luminary Christian McBride Performs with the Metropolitan Jazz Orchestra

Zoe Harr — Thu, 28 Sep 2023 19:27:30 +0000

Jazz Luminary Christian McBride Performs with the Metropolitan Jazz Orchestra Zoe Harr Thu, 09/28/2023 - 15:27

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Metropolitan Jazz Orchestra with Christian McBride performs at the Center on October 28.

“Mixing Big Band Jazz with James Brown Soul” (The Observer), eight-time GRAMMY Award-winning bassist Christian McBride joins Metropolitan Jazz Orchestra on October 28 at the Center for the Arts. Met Jazz will be led by founder, artistic director, and virtuoso saxophonist Jim Carroll, in an unforgettable night of bravado, improvisation, and jazz swagger. A pre-performance discussion will be held on Monson Grand Tier (third floor of the Center) 45 minutes prior to curtain. Following the concert, audience members are invited to gather in the lobby and enjoy performances by Mason Jazz students, with drinks available for purchase.

With training from New York’s Juilliard School of Music and a deep passion for music, Christian McBride has become a household name in the jazz scene for his association with a variety of incredible artistic projects and experiences. One may recognize his velvety voice from one of his two radio shows, “The Lowdown: Conversations With Christian” on SiriusXM satellite radio or National Public Radio (NPR)’s “Jazz Night in America,” a weekly radio show and multimedia collaboration between WBGO, NPR, and Jazz at Lincoln Center. This September, McBride joined singer-songwriter Norah Jones and Questlove on Jones’ podcast, Norah Jones Is Playing Along, to collaborate with the two artists for a new song, “Why Am I Treated So Bad." McBride notes, “I already knew working with Norah and Ahmir [Questlove] would be amazing, but I didn’t know just how amazing it was going to be! Norah proved herself to be quite a funk/soul queen.” The new song can be listened to in a recent article from Bass Magazine.

Along with the many artistic collaborations McBride has participated in, he recently released an album, Prime, on which he is joined by his band, New Jawn. Though this is only his second album with group, this is his 18th as a bandleader with other ensembles of his including the Christian McBride Band (his longest-running group) and the Christian McBride Big Band. Watch a preview of his newest album with the song “Moon Child” which Jazz Journal notes, “leads in a demonstrative way but never overshadows, leaving the others plenty of space to shine.”

Wanting to create a welcoming environment for young people interested in jazz, McBride joins his wife, vocalist Melissa Walker, in her community arts organization JAZZ HOUSE KiDS as artistic director. Identified by the JazzTimes as “one of the most successful and respected jazz education programs in the country,” JAZZ HOUSE KiDS dedicates its efforts to educating children through jazz, bringing internationally renowned jazz performers to teach alongside a professional staff, and offering students a wide range of creative programming that develops musical potential, enhances leadership skills, and strengthens academic performance. In a 2023 interview with Forbes Magazine, McBride states, “[W]e have a duty to teach the younger people. . . I love going places where you see parents bringing their 13- or 14-year-old kids to the show.”

Want to experience the future of jazz in action? Join George Mason University jazz students and faculty for a collection of fantastic fall performances such as 22nd annual Jazz4Justice: Celebrating The Legacy of Anthony Maiello on October 14 as well as the Mason Jazz Workshop Concert on November 1, Mason Jazz Vocal Night on November 6, and Mason Jazz Ensemble on November 9.

Audiences won't want to miss McBride's "top-notch musicianship, uncommon technique, and refined taste" (Jazz Trail) this month! Get your tickets now and witness McBride’s larger-than-life sound and bold technical style paired with the Metropolitan Jazz Orchestra on October 28.

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Prof. John Kocur

Pam Muirheid — Mon, 31 Aug 2020 19:07:43 +0000

Prof. John Kocur Pam Muirheid Mon, 08/31/2020 - 15:07

Assistant Professor of Jazz Studies, SAXOPHONE, Jazz Workshop, Jazz Studies, Jazz History, Dewberry School of Music, CVPA

Contact Information

Campus: Fairfax
Building: de Laski Performing Arts Bldg

Biography

Saxophonist, composer, and educator John Kocur is Assistant Professor of Jazz Studies at George Mason University. He previously taught at Northern Virginia Community College where he directed the NOVA Nighthawks Jazz Ensemble. He serves as a saxophonist with the 257th Army Band of the D.C. National Guard, “the Band of the Nation’s Capital.”

Kocur founded and is the current president of the Loudoun Jazz Society, a chapter of the Jazz Education Network. The society presents monthly jam sessions, open big band rehearsals, and networking events in Loudoun County, VA.

As a bandleader, he has released two albums of original music that received reviews in national media outlets. The John Kocur Quartet has performed at Blues Alley, Bohemian Caverns, Strathmore, the Kennedy Center Millennium Stage, and the DC Jazz Festival.

As a sideman, Kocur has performed with GRAMMY-nominated artists Jamie Cullum and Christylez Bacon, the Bohemian Caverns Jazz Orchestra, bluegrass duo Herb & Hanson, Indian Classical violinist Nistha Raj, and the Virginia Grand Military Band. He has performed overseas at the Jazz Ascona Festival in Switzerland and the first annual Nagano Jazz Festival in Japan.

Previously, John was selected for the Betty Carter Jazz Ahead residency program at the John F. Kennedy Center, where he worked with jazz legends such as Curtis Fuller, Dr. Billy Taylor, Carmen Lundy, George Cables, and Winard Harper. John was also one of six musicians selected as an Artist-In-Residence at Strathmore Performing Arts Center in Bethesda, MD, through which he presented a series of solo concerts and lectures.

He holds a Bachelor of Music Degree in Instrumental Music from George Mason University and a Master of Music Degree in Jazz Studies from Howard University.

He currently resides in Sterling, VA with his wife and twin daughters.

Assistant Professor of Music

Applied Jazz Saxophone
Jazz Workshop Big Band
Jazz Studies
Theory for Pop and Jazz

Education

B.M. Instrumental Music, George Mason University
M.M. Jazz Studies, Howard University

Dr. Darden Purcell

admin_alpha — Tue, 20 Oct 2015 23:27:01 +0000

Dr. Darden Purcell admin_alpha Tue, 10/20/2015 - 19:27

Director of JAZZ STUDIES, JAZZ VOICE, Dewberry School of Music, CVPA

Contact Information

Campus: Fairfax
Building: de Laski Performing Arts Bldg
Room A428
Mail Stop: 3E3

Email: dpurcel2@gmu.edu

Personal Websites

Visit Darden Purcell online

Biography

Darden Purcell is a featured soloist with symphony orchestras, big bands and small ensembles, band leader and vocal instructor. Ms. Purcell has shared the stage with top jazz artists including Maria Schneider, Eric Alexander, Terell Stafford, Jim Pugh, Chip McNeill, Chuchito Valdes, Dana Hall, Alan Baylock, Don Heitler, Glenn Wilson, Chip Stephens, Stockton Helbing, Byron Stripling, Bobby Floyd, Joel Spencer, Darmon Meader, Lisanne Lyons, Jim Carroll, Charlie Young, Chris Vadala, Shawn Purcell, Matt Niess, Dave Detwiler, Joe McCarthy, the Metropolitan Jazz Orchestra, US Navy Commodores, Naval Academy big band, Next Wave, The Airmen of Note, US Army Blues and the American Festival Pops Orchestra (Tony Maiello) performing at concert halls and clubs nationally and internationally, including Blues Alley, Pops for Champagne, The Jazz Kitchen, The Blue Wisp, The Kitchen Cafe, The Bop Stop, Con Alma, JazzB (Sao Paulo, Brazil), Sandler Center (back-up vocals for Ben Folds) Meyerhoff Center (BSO), Wolf Trap for the Performing Arts (NSO) and The Kennedy Center (back-up vocals for Mr. George Benson, Sara Bareilles and Caroline Shaw). Dr. Purcell is the Director of Jazz Studies, Jazz Voice Instructor and Director of the Mason Jazz Vocal Ensemble at George Mason University.

Ms. Purcell is a former Washington D.C. Air Force Band vocalist, with the groups High Flight and the Airmen of Note, performing nationally and internationally, including Germany, Italy, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates. Purcell performed back-up vocals for nationally renowned recording artists, Chaka Khan, BeBe Winans, Bryan White, Lari White, Janie Frickie, Freda Payne, Sherrie Payne, Gloria Loring, Melba Moore and Rita Coolidge as well as a televised performance behind Darlene Love on "The Late Show with David Letterman."

In addition to her active performing schedule, Dr. Purcell is a sought-after jazz vocal educator and clinician. Dr. Purcell was the Jazz Voice Instructor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and founder/director of the University of Illinois Jazz Vocal Ensemble. She is now the founder/director of the Mason Jazz Vocal Ensemble. Her groups have been invited to perform at the New York Voices Jazz Festival, Western Michigan’s Gold Company Jazz Vocal Invitational, the 2012 Jazz Education Network (JEN) conference and the Kansas City Jazz Summit. Dr. Purcell has served on the faculty of the W.O. Smith Music School camp (Nashville), Illinois Summer Youth Music, George Mason Summer Jazz Workshop, National Jazz Workshop and Mason Jazz Camp to name a few.

She has been a guest artist/clinician at Capital University, Illinois Wesleyan University, Texas Tech, Virginia Tech, Southern Nazarene University, Tiffin University and Indiana State School Music Association. Her students have won “Outstanding soloist" and “Outstanding Musicianship" awards at collegiate festivals as well as Downbeat Student Music Awards. Spring 2016, the Mason Jazz Vocal Ensemble was awarded “Outstanding Ensemble" at the Kansas City Jazz Summit and in January 2018, the Mason Jazz Vocal Ensemble was a featured collegiate ensemble at the JEN conference in Dallas, TX.

May 2018, Darden was honored to present at the Institute for Jazz Research "Jazz Voices" conference in Graz, Austria and March 2020, through a George Mason University Global Education grant, she performed at Projeto GURI and JazzB in Sao Paulo Brazil.

Dr. Purcell received her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Vocal Jazz Performance at Virginia Tech, a Master of Music and a Doctor of Musical Arts in Jazz Performance at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Darden’s CDs, Easy Living and Where the Blue Begins, produced by Stockton Helbing with arrangements by Shawn Purcell, can be purchased at Bandcamp, iTunes and Amazon.

Associate Professor of Music

Applied Jazz Voice
Mason Jazz Vocal Ensemble
Jazz & Blues in America
Jazz Pedagogy

Degrees

BFA Jazz Performance, Virginia Polytechnic and State University
MM Jazz Performance, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
DMA Jazz Performance, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Prof. James Carroll

admin_alpha — Tue, 20 Oct 2015 23:24:01 +0000

Prof. James Carroll admin_alpha Tue, 10/20/2015 - 19:24

Professor of JAZZ STUDIES and Director of the Metropolitan Jazz Orchestra, Dewberry School of Music, CVPA

Contact Information

Campus: Fairfax
Building: de Laski Performing Arts Bldg
Room A327B
Mail Stop: 3E3

Email: jcarrol1@gmu.edu

Biography

Professor Jim Carroll has a versatile background ranging from tours with Michael Jackson to Woody Herman and The Thundering Herd. Jim received both his Undergraduate and Graduate training from Indiana University under the tutelage of David Baker and Eugene Rousseau.

His travels have taken him to major venues in each of the Fifty States, Europe and the Far East. He has performed at the Aurex, Nice, Bern, Concord, Montreux, Kool, Monterey, Newport, North Sea, Perugia, and Pori jazz festivals. Active as an educator, he has taught at Butler University, Capital University and the Jamey Aebersold Summer Jazz Workshops.

He has authored several volumes through Hal Leonard’s “Artists Transcriptions” series, including a collaboration with jazz legend Sonny Rollins. His arrangement and performance of “The Ballgame” can be heard at main entrance of Nationals Park in Washington, D.C. Mr. Carroll was a charter member of the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra, in residence at the Smithsonian’s Museum of American History. He performed, recorded and toured with the group until 1999 when he assumed the position as Director of Jazz Studies at George Mason University.

Mr. Carroll is the founder and artistic director of the Metropolitan Jazz Orchestra and the Jazz Connection. He is passionate about spreading the word of the power of the arts to bring people together, change lives and do good in the world.

Jim resides in Manassas, Virginia with his wife Janette.

Professor of Music

Founder of Mason Jazz Studies
Mason Jazz Ensemble
Topics in Jazz Studies
Introduction to Jazz Improvisation
Jazz Improvisation I & II
Jazz & Blues in America
Applied Saxophone

Degrees

MM, Woodwind Performance, Indiana University
B.M. Saxophone Performance, Indiana University