THIS EVENT HAS BEEN POSTPONED DUE TO AN ELECTRICAL PROBLEM.
Empathlectro Quartet
Pianist Stanley Cowell and guitarist Vic Juris
Two empathetic musical spirits combine in an electroacoustic adventure using sounds designed in Kyma, "...the holy grail of sound design."
with
Tassili Bond, bass
Christopher W. Brown, drums
Tickets: $25/$20 students
includes a Meet-The-Artist Reception and refreshments following the show
ABOUT THE ARTISTS:
Stanley Cowell, pianist and composer, was born in Toledo, Ohio, in 1941. He studied piano there with
Mary Belle Shealy and Elmer Gertz, and pipe organ with J. Harold Harder. By the age of fifteen, he was a featured
soloist with the Toledo Youth Orchestra in Kabelevsky's Piano Concerto No. 3, a church organist, choir director,
and a budding jazz pianist.
Cowell's formal training in music has been quite extensive: a Bachelor of Music degree from Oberlin
Conservatory and a Master of Music degree from the University of Michigan. He also has additional undergraduate
study at the Mozarteum Akademie, Salzburg, Austria, and graduate study at Wichita State University and the
University of Southern California. While at U.S.C., 1963-64, he performed Gershwin's Concerto in F with the
Burbank Symphony Orchestra, and played jazz in the Los Angeles area with Curtis Amy's and Ray Crawford's
bands.
After completing his Masters at Michigan in 1966, Cowell headed for New York City where he worked for
such musical artists as Max Roach, Abbey Lincoln, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Herbie Mann, Miles Davis, Stan Getz and
the Bobby Hutcherson-Harold Land groups. For several years he was part of Charles Tolliver's Music Inc., with
whom he formed the innovative musician-owned record company, Strata-East, in 1971.
Cowell organized the Piano Choir in 1972, a group of seven esteemed New York-based keyboardists, and
he became a founding member of the Collective Black Artists, Inc., a non-profit company devoted to bringing
African-American music and musicians to the public. He served as conductor of the CBA Ensemble, 1973-1974.
In 1974, he served as a musical director of George Wein's New York Jazz Repertory Company at Carnegie
Hall, along with Gil Evans, Dr. Billy Taylor and Sy Oliver.
During the Seventies, Cowell established his reputation as a versatile and sensitive pianist/composer,
performing and recording with Sonny Rollins, Clifford Jordan, Oliver Nelson, Donald Byrd, Roy Haynes, Richard
Davis, Art Pepper, Jimmy Heath and many more great musical artists.
From 1974-1984 he toured, recorded and conducted workshops throughout the Americas, Europe and Japan
as the featured pianist with the Heath Brothers (Percy, Jimmy and Albert).
He was a recipient of a Meet The Composer/Rockefeller Foundation/AT&T Jazz Program grant for 1990-
1991, for the creation of "Piano Concerto No. 1" (in honor of Art Tatum), which was premiered by the Toledo
Symphony Orchestra, January 17, 18, 1992.
Cowell served on the board of the Charlin Jazz Society, producer of jazz concerts in Washington, D.C.,
1990-1996. He and his wife Sylvia currently produce concerts in Prince George's County, Maryland, and in
Burlington Township, New Jersey under The Piano Choir, Inc., a non-profit music and educational entity.
In July, 1992, he was the featured piano soloist with the Colorado Festival Orchestra in Gershwin's
Rhapsody In Blue, and many other "third stream" works, conducted by Gunther Schuller and Larry Newland.
Stanley Cowell is currently a tenured professor and Chair of the Jazz Program at Mason Gross School of
the Arts, Rutgers University, Department of Music, New Brunswick, New Jersey. From 1981-1999, he was a
professor at Herbert Lehman College, C.U.N.Y., Bronx, New York, teaching music history, jazz history, piano,
improvisation, electronic/computer music, arranging, and jazz band. From 1988-1989, he concurrently taught jazz
piano at New England Conservatory, Boston.
Stanley Cowell, the pianist and composer, performs and lectures professionally as a solo pianist, and in
ensemble formations from duo to orchestra. He performs in a variety of venues, from jazz club to concert hall, often
utilizing electronic sounds and African finger piano.
Selected recent recordings:
* Angel Eyes, 1994, solo piano. (SteepleChase)
* Piano Jazz, 1995, Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz with Stanley Cowell. (Jazz Alliance)
* Live at Copenhagen Jazz House, 1995, trio. (SteepleChase)
* Mandara Blossoms, 1996, quintet. (SteepleChase)
* Hear Me One, 1997, quartet. (SteepleChase)
* As We Were Saying, 1997, with The Heath Brothers. (Concord)
* Dancers In Love, 1999, Stanley Cowell Trio. (Venus)
Selected recent projects/commissions:
* Fanfare & Fond Farewell for Brass Choir (2004) commissioned by the Toledo Symphony
* Asian Art Suite for jazz septet (2005) commissioned by Philadelphia Art Museum; presently expanded for
orchestra and jazz septet via a Spring 2007 sabbatical from Rutgers University
* A 2008 tour of Italy and Germany with Nasheet Waits quartet, including a solo concert in Jesi-Ancona
* A 2009 Town Hall New York Replication of Thelonious Monk’s 1959 Town Hall Concert; Charles
Tolliver Orchestra
From the wilds of Manhattan to the shores of Japan and Germany, jazz guitarist Vic Juris has covered an impressive range of territory, musically as well as geographically. Inspired by rock and roll legend Chuck Berry, the Jersey City native first picked up a guitar at the age of ten. With no musicians in the family, he taught himself to play and was soon appearing with rock and R&B bands throughout the tri-state area. But the young rocker's taste soon changed. In his late teens Vic discovered jazz and classical music. He was hooked. From there it was on to a career with the likes of Dizzy Gillespie, Phil Woods, Jimmy Smith, Sarah Vaughan, Chico Hamilton, Dave Liebman, Richie Cole, Mel Torme, Eddie Jefferson and Nancy Wilson. From the beginning Vic's voracious appetite for new musical experiences led him to explore any and every jazz artist he could hope to learn from. He drew on other idioms as well: blues, swing, bebop. In a less sensitive and technically accomplished musician this expansive vocabulary might descend into cacophony. But Vic's highly developed sense of composition, his skill at fusing traditional jazz guitar with other forms of expression, has made him an eloquent and popular conversationalist. Eagerly sought out by his fellow musicians, he has provided accompaniment for numerous recordings. In the mid eighties Vic teamed up with the phenomenally talented guitarist Bireli LaGrene during an engagement at Fat Tuesday's, a New York City jazz club. Vic and LaGrene, a young gypsy whose spirited style recalls that of legendary guitarist Django Reinhardt, began playing together regularly. Their popular performances were charged with the intensity of two masters challenging each other to new heights. One thing led to another. Vic and LaGrene toured Europe together. They recorded Bireli LaGrene Live, featuring Vic Juris for the German label Jazzpoint. It was during this time that Vic started spending a lot of time on the continent. He toured with alto saxophonist Richie Cole; pianist and composer Michel Legrand and then again as part of a guitar trio with Bireli LaGrene and Englishman John Etheridge. Vic found a warm welcome in Europe, where audiences are somewhat more sophisticated in their appreciation of jazz. European promoters were quick to book him, confident that he would draw a crowd. While spending much of his time in Europe, Vic nevertheless managed to keep busy back in the states. He often teamed up with guitarist Larry Coryell playing festivals and Jazz Clubs throughout the country. He also traveled with Gary Peacock in duet throughout the European circuit. Vic has been a member of the David Liebman group since 1991. This band has recorded 10 CDs, traveled throughout Europe, Japan, Israel, and the United States throughout the 1990s and is still going strong till this day. He was a member of the Gary Peacock Quartet and musical director of the Charles Mingus Guitar Quintet. Vic performed at George Wein's J.V.C. Festival, in duets with John Abercrombie and Russell Malone. He performs with Jeremy Steig, James Moody, Charlie Mariano to name a few. As a leader Vic Juris is performing in the U.S. and in European venues. His own quartet includes saxophonist Dick Oatts. Vic's band has recorded records on Steeple Chase, "Night Tripper", "Pastels" 1997, "Moonscape" 1998, "Remembering Eric Dolphy" 2000. His CD "Songbook" hit top 10 pics in 2000. Vic has also recorded on Double Time Records "Music of Alec Wilder." Vic's 2004 release of "Blue Horizon" listed him as top pics for the year 2004. Mr. Juris is currently recording for the Mel Bay label for release in the spring of 2005. Vic currently tours as a special guest, with his own band or in duo with vocalist Kate Baker. Vic Juris is also one of the leading jazz educators throughout the world. He has written two books published by Mel Bay, "Vic Juris Inside/Outside: Original Play-Along Modern Jazz Guitar Solos" and "Modern Chords:Advanced Harmony for Guitar". Both books are highly regarded by up and coming guitarists. He currently teaches at The New School for Social Research, Rutgers University, and Lehigh University. He has conducted clinics throughout the US and Europe.
