Adam Kolker Quartet at Pioneer Valley Jazz Shares Series at Community Music School Of Springfield

Adam Kolker (saxophones, clarinets, flute) is a multi-talented performer, composer and arranger. He served as music director for percussion master Ray Barretto from 1994 through 2002 (with whom he received two GRAMMY nominations). He also appears with the Village Vanguard Orchestra, Fred Hersch's "My Coma Dreams," the Maria Schneider Orchestra, Bruce Barth, Judi Silvano, and his own group with John Abercombie and Billy Hart. He has recorded with Bruce Barth, John Hébert, Marty Ehrlich, Bobby Previte, Gunther Schuller, Frank Carlberg, among others. Kolker is a member of Yard Byard, a quintet dedicated to performing the music of Jaki Byard., and is also a member of the Brooklyn Jazz Underground. He was a full time Associate Professor at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst from 1999-2008....

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Adam Kolker (saxophones, clarinets, flute) is a multi-talented performer, composer and arranger. He served as music director for percussion master Ray Barretto from 1994 through 2002 (with whom he received two GRAMMY nominations). He also appears with the Village Vanguard Orchestra, Fred Hersch's "My Coma Dreams," the Maria Schneider Orchestra, Bruce Barth, Judi Silvano, and his own group with John Abercombie and Billy Hart. He has recorded with Bruce Barth, John Hébert, Marty Ehrlich, Bobby Previte, Gunther Schuller, Frank Carlberg, among others. Kolker is a member of Yard Byard, a quintet dedicated to performing the music of Jaki Byard., and is also a member of the Brooklyn Jazz Underground. He was a full time Associate Professor at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst from 1999-2008.

Scott Wendholt has more than 30 recordings to his credit with artists such as Kenny Garrett, Cyrus Chestnut, and Christian McBride. He has also led recordings for Doubletime and Criss Cross. He has performed with the Bob Mintzer, Buddy Rich and Maria Schneider Big Bands, and was honored to be asked to join the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra (formerly the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra) to fill the "trumpet soloist" chair previously held by the legendary Thad Jones. Wendholt is in demand internationally as an educator and is on the faculty for Jamey Aebersold’s Summer Jazz Camps.

Ugonna Okegwo is one of the most distinctive and sought-after bassists in the world, earning him a place on the bandstand with jazz legends as diverse as Clark Terry, Benny Golson, Pharoah Sanders and Joseph. Born in London in 1962 to a German mother and Nigerian father, Okegwo moved to New York in 1989, began playing with musicians like Big Nick Nicholas, Junior Cook, and James Spaulding. Long associations with legendary vocalist Jon Hendricks, pianist Jacky Terrasson and drummer Leon Parker have made Okegwo well known.

Born in 1950 in Omaha, Nebraska, Victor Lewis studied music at the University of Nebraska, before moving to New York, where he performed with Woody Shaw, Carla Bley, David Sanborn, and Dexter Gordon. He was a member of the Stan Getz Quartet from 1980 to 1991 (along with Kenny Barron and Rufus Reid) and is one of the most in-demand drummers. Lewis has toured and recorded with Art Farmer, J.J. Johnson, Mike Stern, John Stubblefield, Grover Washington Jr., Gary Bartz, Bobby Hutcherson, and Bobby Watson, and is also a bandleader, composer and educator.

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