Rob Foster & Skip Wilkins: Shakuhachi! at Williams Center for the Arts

Shakuhachi! A program of improvised music featuring shakuhachi (and other bamboo flutes) and jazz trio.

Robert Foster integrates a wide range of interests and experiences into the music he performs and composes. A versatile woodwind performer, he honed his musical skills in Detroit, where he was immersed in the varied sounds that city is known for -- jazz, blues, Motown, funk, rock, and classical music. His explorations into shakuhachi (Japanese bamboo flute) have influenced his musical endeavors to encompass inclusive global/spiritual perspectives. His primary teacher is Michael “Chikuzen” Gould. He has performed with jazz artists such as Ralph Alessi, Louis Bellson, Dave Brubeck, Michael Dease, Dizzy Gillespie, Wycliffe Gordon, Lalo, Art Lande, James Newton, Terrell Stafford, Clark Terry, and Rodney Whitaker, as well as with popular artists such as Joey Bishop, Albert Collins, Charlie Daniels, John Denver, The Four Tops, Crystal Gayle, The Ink Spots, Melissa Manchester, Maureen McGovern, Bob Newhart, Olivia Newton-John, Mitch Ryder, The Temptations, The Platters, and others. In 2008 Sydney, Australia, he performed at the World Shakuhachi Festival, which was the premiere performance of his group Utake. Rob Foster is Professor of Music at Augusta University, Augusta, Georgia....

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Shakuhachi! A program of improvised music featuring shakuhachi (and other bamboo flutes) and jazz trio.

Robert Foster integrates a wide range of interests and experiences into the music he performs and composes. A versatile woodwind performer, he honed his musical skills in Detroit, where he was immersed in the varied sounds that city is known for -- jazz, blues, Motown, funk, rock, and classical music. His explorations into shakuhachi (Japanese bamboo flute) have influenced his musical endeavors to encompass inclusive global/spiritual perspectives. His primary teacher is Michael “Chikuzen” Gould. He has performed with jazz artists such as Ralph Alessi, Louis Bellson, Dave Brubeck, Michael Dease, Dizzy Gillespie, Wycliffe Gordon, Lalo, Art Lande, James Newton, Terrell Stafford, Clark Terry, and Rodney Whitaker, as well as with popular artists such as Joey Bishop, Albert Collins, Charlie Daniels, John Denver, The Four Tops, Crystal Gayle, The Ink Spots, Melissa Manchester, Maureen McGovern, Bob Newhart, Olivia Newton-John, Mitch Ryder, The Temptations, The Platters, and others. In 2008 Sydney, Australia, he performed at the World Shakuhachi Festival, which was the premiere performance of his group Utake. Rob Foster is Professor of Music at Augusta University, Augusta, Georgia.

Rob Foster’s visit is sponsored by Lafayette College's departments of Music and Asian Studies, and made possible by a generous grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

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