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Merrimans' Playhouse Jazz Performance Series presents Adam Smale Quartet

Merrimans' Playhouse
South Bend, IN

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Merrimans' Playhouse Jazz Performance Series presents Adam Smale Quartet

"Standing strong in the field of "Jazz" Adam Smale is one of the serious devotees an exciting new voice on the scene take notice!" Pat Martino

In the classic tradition of the jazz masters, New York guitarist and composer Adam Smale tells stories with his music. His "pen" is a personally designed 7-string guitar, wielded with both virtuosity and creativity. His tales are woven from his rich imagination stoked by a wide variety of musical influences and his later CD, Out of the Blue, fully attests to his compelling artistry. Quartet includes Keith Hall on drums, Andrew Rose on bass, Jeremy Siskind on piano.

Adam has a wide variety of influences like Chet Atkins, Albert Lee, Eddie Van Halen, Flatt & Scruggs, along with jazz guitar masters Pat Metheny, Pat Martino, Tal Farlow, Jim Hall, and John Scofield, plus contemporary guitarists Alan Holdsworth and Kurt Tosenwinkel. However, it was the legendary Lenny Beau that had the greatest impact. Now throw in Charlie Parker and Bill Evans, and you might have an idea where Adam is coming from. Out of the Blue - his first U.S.CD - was released in January 2014. Demonstrating his enormous versatility and virtuosic artistry on guitar.

In 1992, Smale's public career began in earnest. Covering all genres from country to Latin, Jazz to World, over the next 15 years Adam performed all over the world, including South America, India and the Middle East, as well as numerous cross-Canadian tours. Based in Toronto, he performed consistently with his own trio and quartet featuring outstanding Canadian musicians (sometimes including renowned bassist and drummer Don Thompson and Terry Clarke) and was a regularpresence at the acclaimed Toronto Downtown Jazz Festival, and was featured at the prestigiousGrand Prix du Jazz at the 2002 Montreal Jazz Festival. In 1996 Adam co-founded the experimental
ensemble Camarillo, which performed together until 2007.

The educational realm is an important part of Adam's focus. He has conducted master classesand seminars throughout the U.S. and Canada for Guitar Workshop Plus and the National Guitar Workshop. Adam has also written and published the book New Approach to Scales for Guitarists: A Practical Modern Direction. He received his Masters Degree in Jazz Performance from Western Michigan University in 2009. That same year Adam moved to New York City where he is now focusing primarily on his quartet. He
is currently arranging to tour behind the release of Out of the Blue, ready to establish his own place in the forefront of today's guitar masters.

Keith Hall:
Drummer Keith Hall has established himself as a passionate educator and joyful performer. He currently tours the globe playing concerts, festivals and appearing on numerous television and radio shows with singer/saxophonist and Concord Recording Artist Curtis Stigers. Keith spent 8 years in New York City where he played drums on Broadway's 'Lion King' for 3 years and served as the Director of Music at Faith Exchange Fellowship in Manhattan. He has performed with Marcus Belgrave, Betty Carter, Wycliffe Gordon, Sir Roland Hanna, John Hicks, David Kikoski, Wynton Marsalis, Michael Phillip Mossman, Claudio Roditi, Hilton Ruiz, Luciana Souza, Terrell Stafford, Joe Wilder and Steve Wilson. He recently toured Eastern Europe with the Latin-jazz quartet 'Grupo Yanqui' during a U.S. State Department tour, and has appeared on many recordings that include Curtis Stigers, Tom Knific, Ron DiSalvio, Mind's Eye, Jeff Haas, and his own projects The Groov'tet, Skyline and most recently TRI-FI. Keith holds a Bachelors and Masters degree in Jazz Studies from Western Michigan University and Queens College in New York and has taught at New York University. He has given clinics and master classes around the world as an endorser for Regal Tip drumsticks, Taye drums, Istanbul Agop cymbal, Remo drumheads and Protection Racket drum cases. According to JazzPolice.com "He has the chops and fuel to hit the afterburner zone", and Modern Drummer Magazine says "Hall has a nimble, grooving, and 'melodic' touch." Keith now lives in Michigan where he teaches at Western Michigan University and is the director of the Keith Hall Summer Drum Intensive. He is the author of Jazz Drums Now! Vol. 1 and the radio host for Jazz Currents on WMUK.

Jeremy Siskind:
Jeremy Siskind is among the top jazz pianists of his generation is quickly becoming overwhelming: at age 26, Siskind is the winner of the Nottingham International Jazz Piano Competition, a second-place finisher in the Montreux Jazz Festival Solo Piano Competition, a two-time finalist for the American Pianist Association's Cole Porter Fellowship, and a two-time second-place finisher at the Phillips Jazz Competition. Jeremy is a graduate of the Eastman School of Music (High Honors; degrees in Jazz Performance and Music Theory) with a Masters from Columbia University (degree in English and Comparative Literature). Siskind, who was recently named a Professor of Piano at Western Michigan University's School of Music, made a sold-out solo debut at Carnegie Hall in 2012, performing Debussy's Etudes in the first half and jazz improvisations in the second half.

Siskind's 2012 CD release, Finger-Songwriter, has been hailed as "one of the best albums I've heard all year" by critic Dave Sumner, "one of the most remarkable recordings I've heard in a very long time" by the MinnPost's Pamela Espeland and "the most exciting musical project I've heard in a long time" by Andrea Carter of Jazz Police. It was placed in emusic's top 100 CDs of 2012 in any genre. His 2010 release, Simple Songs (for When the World Seems Strange), featuring Ted Poor, Chris Lightcap, and Jo Lawry, was awarded four stars in a review from Downbeat, and appeared on three jazz critics' "Best CDs of 2010" features.

Location

Merrimans' Playhouse (View)
1215 Mishawaka Ave.
South Bend, IN 46615
United States

Contact

Owner: Merrimuse Enterprises, LLC

On BPT Since: Jul 19, 2013

Mary Merriman, at Merrimuse Enterprises, LLC

MerrimansPlayhouse.com

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