Dwayne Dolphin Trio

1 HACC Drive,Harrisburg PA 17110

30 April, 2023

Description

Central Pennsylvania Friends of Jazz will be celebrating International Jazz Day along with venues and artists all over the world.Dwayne Dolphin Trio featuring Orrin Evans on piano & Jeff “Tain” Watts on drums Pittsburgh jazz stand out Dwayne Dolphin is a mainstay in the jazz scene, working with Pittsburgh greats such as Roger Humphries, Pete Henderson and Carl Arter. Dwayne began playing the drum at ten years of age. In that same year, he began to play the bass guitar. By the time Dolphin was fifteen, he was on the jazz scene working with Pittsburgh professionals. Upon graduation from high school, Dwayne headed for the bright lights of New York City to start a promising career in the world of jazz. Dolphin’s talent was immediately put to use by Grammy Award winning trumpeter Wynton Marsalis. While touring extensively throughout the USA with Marsalis, he also appeared on the Tonight Show with this award winning quintet. Dolphin then joined the Hank Crawford Group. It was the teaching of Crawford that schooled this young lion about the true meaning of the blues. Later following his jazz roots, Dolphin toured the United States, Europe and Japan with Geri Allen, Wallace Roney, Don Byron and Oliver Lake.Throughout his career, Dolphin has had the opportunity to play and record with the “Who’s Who” of jazz, such as Nancy Wilson, Melba Moore, Fred Wesley and Abby Lincoln, among others. Dwayne Dolphin’s vast and diverse experience has afforded him the opportunity to lend his musical expertise in many areas. These include working with the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre’s production of Indigo In Motion, as well as serving as Adjunct Professor of Jazz at Duquesne University. During his kaleidoscopic quarter-century as a professional jazz musician, pianist Orrin Evans has become the model of a fiercely independent artist who pushes the envelope in all directions. Never supported by a major label, Evans has ascended to top-of-the-pyramid stature on his instrument, as affirmed by his #1-ranking as “Rising Star Pianist” in the 2018 DownBeat Critics Poll. Grammy nominations for the Smoke Sessions albums The Intangible Between and Presence, by Evans’ raucous, risk-friendly Captain Black Big Band, stamp his bona fides as a bandleader and composer. In addition to CBBB, Evans’ multifarious leader and collaborative projects include the Eubanks Evans Experience (a duo with eminent guitarist Kevin Eubanks); the Brazilian unit Terreno Comum; Evans’ working trio with bassist Luques Curtis and drummer Mark Whitfield, Jr.; and Tar Baby (a collective trio of 20 years standing with bassist Eric Revis and drummer Nasheet Waits). One of Tar Baby’s two 2022 releases will be released on Evans’ imprint, Imani Records, which he founded in 2001 and relaunched in 2018. Jeff “Tain” Watts is one of the most in demand jazz drummers in the world today. Jeff Watts majored in classical percussion at Pittsburgh’s Duquesne University, where he was primarily a timpanist, followed by enrollment at the Berklee School of Music, where he pursued jazz studies alongside such talented players as Branford Marsalis, Kevin Eubanks, Greg Osby, Aimee Mann, Steve Vai and Marvin “Smitty” Smith. Jeff joined the Wynton Marsalis Quartet in 1981 and proceeded to win three Grammy Awards with the ensemble. Watts left Wynton Marsalis in 1988. After working with George Benson, Harry Connick. Jr. and McCoy Tyner, he joined the Branford Marsalis Quartet in 1989. Jeff has worked in the film and television industry as both a musician on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno and as an actor, Rhythm Jones in Spike Lee’s “Mo Better Blues”. Jeff joined Kenny Garrett’s band after returning to New York in 1995 after three years in LA on the Tonight Show.Along with explosive power, blinding speed and mastery of complex rhythms and time signatures, Watts brings a rare sense of elegance, tried-by-fire composure, and a gritty street funk to his music. His artistic ingenuity expresses itself in his incomparable technique, sweltering sense of swing and an extraordinary ability to imbue his music with majestic grace and elegant repose. A true jazz innovator, Watts never fails to deliver the percussive magic that has been his trademark since his emergence on the contemporary jazz scene. EnsembleDwayne Dolphin, bass Orrin Evans, piano Jeff "Tain" Watts, drums MembersMembers of the Friends of Jazz get discounts on ticket or complimentary tickets, depending on membership level. Members, check your email or give us a call at 717-540-1010 for more info. Want to take advantage of membership? Join today! SponsorsThe Shearer Family Fund of the Foundation for Enhancing Communities, on behalf of Mr. R. Scott Shearer Rich Wengert on behalf of the Clifford Wengert Family Giving Fund