2023 SPF Press Release

Today’s Date: March 31, 2023

Written by Eugene Uman and Dan Langa (please give author’s credit)
Who: 7th Solo Jazz Piano Festival
What: A two day celebration of solo piano via concerts and educational offerings; in-person and livestreamed
Artists: Headlining – Orrin Evans, Myra Melford, Dan Tepfer, Michael Weiss; Emerging – Shiyu Fang, Remi Savard
When: Friday & Saturday, April 21-22, 2023 (full schedule available at www.vtjazz.org/ 7th-solo-jazz-piano-festival/)
Pricing: Full festival pass: $80-$120; Individual headliner concerts: $20 – $50; Saturday daytime pass: $60. All tickets are general admission and offered on a sliding fee scale (except the Saturday daytime pass).
Tickets for In-person Show Available:  online at www.vtjazz.org, by email at ginger@vtjazz.org.
Livestream (presented by donation): www.vtjazz.org and https://www.facebook.com/VermontJazzCenter/live_videos
Accessibility Questions: Email ginger@vtjazz.org

Vermont Jazz Center
7th Annual Solo Jazz Piano Festival
April 21-22, 2023

FOR ALL MUSIC LOVERS, not just pianists, interested in both the practical and spiritual aspects of jazz and improvised music. Together we will hear six brilliant pianists perform and discuss their relationship to music, to the jazz lineage, to structure and to freedom. The VJC invites you to participate in a festival that showcases artists who have invested their lives and artistic practices in the sounds of the piano which spring forth with reverence and joy.

Headliners: Orrin Evans, Myra Melford, Dan Tepfer, Michael Weiss
Emerging Artists: Shiyu Fang, Remi Savard

A Weekend of Concerts and Educational Opportunities that Celebrates the Distinct Practices and Vocabularies of Solo Piano in Jazz Music

The Vermont Jazz Center celebrates the vital impact that the piano has played in the history of jazz by hosting its 7th annual Solo Jazz Piano Festival on April 21 and 22, 2023. The artists headlining this year’s festivals are Michael Weiss, Dan Tepfer, Myra Melford, and Orrin Evans; emerging artists are Shiyu Fang and Remi Savard.

On the evenings of April 21 and 22 starting at 7:30 PM, two headlining pianists will present back-to-back solo sets. April 21 will include sets by Michael Weiss and Dan Tepfer, and on April 22 we will hear Myra Melford and Orrin Evans.

Saturday, April 22 is a full day of educational and concert programming. The day begins at 10:00 AM with presentations from three of the headliners, with a fourth and final presentation at 3:30 PM. These presentations are designed to be accessible to all music lovers, not just pianists. In addition to the four presentations, Saturday will include two short sets from the emerging artists as well as interviews and a round-table discussion with all six artists moderated by VJC Director Eugene Uman. Topics for the panel will be selected from questions presented by in-person and online audiences.

The Solo Jazz Piano Festival, now in its seventh year, is one of the cornerstones of the VJC’s programming. The festival has presented some of the world’s top pianists and most important musical innovators of this generation including  NEA Jazz Masters Toshiko Akiyoshi and Joanne Brackeen, acknowledged luminaries Stanley Cowell, Benny Green, Sullivan Fortner, Kenny Werner, and many others. The Solo Jazz Piano Festival continues to be a unique opportunity for audiences of all backgrounds to communicate directly with the artists as they divulge their methods and teachings through performances and presentations. The VJC is honored to continue this important tradition in Brattleboro.

Each of this year’s headliners are highly regarded by jazz lovers around the world. They are all virtuosic in their abilities and have released numerous, celebrated recordings as leaders and side-people. But what sets this group of four apart is that each individual conveys a completely distinct approach to the instrument. Each pianist is a mature example of an artist who has developed an instantly recognizable vocabulary and personal style.

It’s not possible to quickly define the characteristics of each of the performers, especially because so many decisions go into choosing repertoire for a given performance. But it is possible to identify a musician’s tendencies by listening to their body of work and identifying some of their attributes. For example, Michael Weiss’ style is strongly influenced by his years of work as accompanist to numerous bebop and post-bop legends and his dedication to learning the stylistic nuances of Bud Powell, Thelonious Monk and Barry Harris, which he then used to formulate his own personal voice. Dan Tepfer’s creations are most clearly shaped by his vast experience playing Bach, his embrace of long-form open improvisations (i.e. Keith Jarrett’s Köln Concert) and the deep listening skills he developed over 15 years of playing music with alto saxophone master Lee Konitz. Myra Melford’s canon juxtaposes a strong blues influence with a restless pursuit of originality resulting in unexpected gems with unpredictable forms. Melford was a fixture in the NYC downtown scene for many years, recording and playing with John Zorn, Henry Threadgill, Butch Morris and Leroy Jenkinss–some of the most formidable creative spirits of that fertile period. Orrin Evans’ music also incorporates open-minded, in-the-moment explorations, but is firmly grounded in the swinging tradition of Philadelphia’s highly respected jazz scene and resonates with the fullness of his associations with the Mingus Big Band and Bobby Watson.

The Performers

Orrin Evans
Headliner Performance: Saturday, 4/22 at 7:30 PM
Presentation: Saturday, 4/22 at 11:00 AM
“Reharms can be Fun” – Orrin will explore the world of recreating standards while discussing why we do re-harms. Are they good? Why not just write a new tune? Join Orrin while he finds the fun while tackling the fear.
During his 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. Evans bedrocks his aptitude for exploration with virtuoso command of the piano and deep assimilation of the fundamentals. A deft tune deconstructor, he commands vocabulary across a broad timeline of swinging, blues-infused, straight-ahead jazz and avant-garde jazz dialects, and conveys his stories with the intuitive spontaneity of an ear player. Evans projects an instantly recognizable sound, sometimes creating flowing rubato tone poems, sometimes embodying the notion that the piano comprises 88 tuned drums.He also swings like crazy. Evans’ stylistically polyglot compositions are influenced by the individuality-first Black Music culture of his native Philadelphia, by a decade of playing with the Mingus Big Band, and by his tenures with other leaders like Bobby Watson, David Murray, Sean Jones and Donny McCaslin. But what really sets Evans aside are the projects he creates as a leader, including his own Captain Black Big Band. His engaging compositions are simultaneously energetic and meticulous.

Myra Melford
Headliner Performance: Saturday, 4/22 at 7:30 PM
Presentation: Saturday, 4/22 at 12:00 PM
“Language of Dreams: Composing for Improvisers” – Jazz standards are imbued with familiar language and forms that many musicians continue to hone. But some artists stretch the jazz tradition, creating new structures and developing new improvisational grammar. Myra Melford will take us on a guided tour of her journey in developing new forms of expression and discuss how some of her mentors influenced her.
The Bay Area pianist Myra Melford—whom the New Yorker called “a stalwart of the new-jazz movement”—has spent the last three decades making brilliant original music that is equally challenging and engaging. Inspired by extra-musical sources like literature, history and spirituality, she has explored an array of formats, from ruminative solo-piano recitals to deeply interactive small groups, ambitious multidisciplinary programs and even the swinging grandeur of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra. Her most recent release, The Other Side of Air (Firehouse 12), by her quintet Snowy Egret, is an ideal place to begin digging into her dynamic catalog. Here Melford is joined by cornetist Ron Miles, guitarist Liberty Ellman, bass guitarist Stomu Takeishi and drummer (and MacArthur Fellow) Tyshawn Sorey, performing hard-angled counterpoint, potent grooves, free exploration, intuitive interplay, chamber-music elements over smart, engaging compositions. That sort of idiom-bending ingenuity—which has garnered Melford fans from the worlds of jazz, contemporary classical and the avant-garde—has been a through line in her musical life. Born in 1957 and raised near Chicago, Melford’s early tutelage included both classical training and the Windy City blues and boogie-woogie. She studied under Art Lande and Gary Peacock in Seattle before heading east, first to Boston and then to New York. Once immersed in the city that nurtured Cecil Taylor, Ornette Coleman and her other avant-jazz beacons, she began making her own vital contributions as a leader in her own right.

Dan Tepfer
Headliner Performance: Friday, 4/21 at 7:30 PM
Presentation: Saturday, 4/22 at 3:30 PM
From Bach to Natural Machines: Algorithms as the Shapers of Music – Many think of music as primarily a product of the heart, but Dan Tepfer argues that algorithms — rules that are followed consistently — are just as important. Without constraints underlying creativity, music tends to lack the deep structure that makes it timeless. Tepfer will demonstrate and illuminate his concept of using algorithms as a helpful tool for spontaneous composition.
Dan Tepfer has earned an international reputation as a pianist-composer of wide-ranging ambition, individuality, and drive—one “who refuses to set himself limits” (France’s Télérama). The New York City-based Tepfer, born in 1982 in Paris to American parents, has recorded and performed around the world with some of the leading lights in jazz and classical music, from Lee Konitz to Renée Fleming, and released ten albums of his own in solo, duo and trio formats. Tepfer earned global acclaim for his 2011 release Goldberg Variations / Variations, a disc that sees him performing J.S. Bach’s masterpiece as well as improvising upon it—to “elegant, thoughtful and thrilling” effect (New York magazine). Tepfer’s newest video album, Natural Machines, finds him exploring in real time the intersection between science and art, coding and improvisation, digital algorithms and the rhythms of the heart. The New York Times has called him “a deeply rational improviser drawn to the unknown.” During the Covid pandemic, his belief that music brings people together in times of crisis led him to dive headlong into live-streaming, performing close to two hundred online concerts from his home for a devoted community of listeners. Tepfer’s honors include first prizes at the 2006 Montreux Jazz Festival Solo Piano Competition, the 2006 East Coast Jazz Festival Competition, and the 2007 American Pianists Association Jazz Piano Competition, as well as fellowships from the American Academy of Arts and Letters (2014), the MacDowell Colony (2016), and the Fondation BNP-Paribas (2018).

Michael Weiss
Headliner Performance: Friday, 4/21 at 7:30 PM
Presentation:  Saturday, 4/22 at 10:00 AM
“Harmony as an Expressive Device and Storytelling in Jazz” – Having the full pallet of harmonic colors at one’s command allows the pianist to spontaneously give any melody note a distinctive flavor, texture or color.  The storytelling element is vital to a successful improvised solo, with all the same ingredients of sentence structure, syntax and pacing that make for a captivating speech.
For over forty years, pianist, composer, and educator Michael Weiss has forged a formidable career working in the bands of jazz legends Johnny Griffin, Art Farmer, Frank Wess, Charles McPherson, Lou Donaldson, Slide Hampton, the Heath Brothers, George Coleman, the Jazztet, Jon Hendricks, Junior Cook, Bill Hardman, Vanguard Jazz Orchestra and Mingus Epitaph Orchestra. He has also performed with Joe Henderson, Woody Shaw, Clark Terry, Clifford Jordan, Phil Woods, Pepper Adams, Ron Carter, David Newman, Gerry Mulligan, Nancy Wilson, Randy Brecker, Joe Lovano, Donald Byrd, Joe Wilder and other high profile jazz recording artists. As a band leader Weiss has headlined at major jazz venues such as the Village Vanguard, Dizzy’s, Blue Note, Bradley’s, and the Detroit Jazz Festival. Television appearances include CBS-TV’s Nightwatch and PBS’ Live From Lincoln Center: The City of Jazz. NPR radio appearances include Marion McPartland’s Piano Jazz and Jazzset. Weiss was a 1989 prizewinner in the Thelonious Monk Institute’s International Piano Competition and won the 2000 BMI/Thelonious Monk Institute’s Composition Competition grand prize presented to him by Wayne Shorter. He is also the recipient of two Chamber Music America New Works grants. Weiss’ recordings as a leader are on the Cellar Live, CrissCross, SteepleChase, DIW, and Sintra labels and have received unanimous critical acclaim.

Shiyu Fang
Emerging Artist Performance and Interview: Saturday, 4/22 at 2:00 PM
Shiyu Fang is a Chinese-born pianist and composer who is currently majoring in jazz composition and performance at the Berklee College of Music. She was awarded the prestigious Berklee Toshiko Akiyoshi Award in 2023, which recognizes exceptional talent in jazz composition. She also received the Herb Pomeroy Scholarship and the Berklee World Tour Scholarship. She is currently studying with Kevin Harris and Kris Davis, two renowned jazz musicians who have played a significant role in shaping her sound and style. She also has studied with Luis Perdomo, Kenny Werner, Billy Childs, Nicholas Payton, Phil Grenadier, Tim Ray and Greg Hopkins. Her original compositions caught the attention of the US Army Field Band, who have performed her arrangements. Shiyu is deeply involved in gender justice activism as part of the Jazz and Gender Justice Institute at Berklee, where she is learning to use her music to effect positive change in society by using her music as a platform to raise awareness about the challenges faced by women and other marginalized communities, and to advocate for greater equality and social justice.

Remi Savard
Emerging Artist Performance and Interview:  Saturday, 4/22 at 2:45 PM
Remi Savard is a graduating senior at the University of Vermont studying music and microbiology. Growing up in Montpelier, Vt., Savard has been around the Vermont jazz scene since he was in middle school. He began playing jazz at 12 years old after being inspired by Oscar Peterson and studying with Andy Moroz. Savard continued his private studies with Tom Cleary, Fred Haas, and Andy Jaffe. He is an active performer in the Vermont area both as a bandleader and a collaborator working with local musicians Jake Whitesell, Connor Young, Ray Vega, Marty Fogel, and Steve Blair, as well as visiting artists including the great Billy Pierce. After finishing his degree, Savartd will be moving to Seattle to begin PhD studies in immunology. There, he hopes to continue his growth both as a musician and scientist.

Educational Activities (Saturday 10 AM- 5:30 PM)
On Saturday, April 22, the festival will present a mix of presentations and performances from emerging artists and headliners creating an opportunity for the audience to connect with the performers via a Question & Answer Hour.

Presentations
Michael Weiss, 10:00 AM: “Harmony as an Expressive Device and Storytelling in Jazz”
Orrin Evans, 11:00 AM: “Reharms can be Fun”
Myra Melford, 12:00 PM: A discussion and demonstration of topics related to her association with AACM.
Dan Tepfer, 3:30 PM: “From Bach to Natural Machines: Algorithms as the Shapers of Music”
Emerging Artist Performances
From 2:00 to 3:30 PM, two young artists will offer short, live musical performances (25 minutes each) and will be interviewed afterwards.
All-Artist Q&A Panel Discussion
Upon arriving for the day-long educational component, each audience member will be given the opportunity to write out a question to the panel of six musicians. Questions will also be accepted via Facebook (using the VJC’s FB page). At 4:30 PM on Saturday, a juried selection of those questions will be presented to the panel and will serve as topics for discussion. The conversation will be moderated by VJC Director Eugene Uman.

Gratitude
The VJC’s Solo Jazz Piano Festival is a tribute to Mike McKenzie who, for the last 25 years has provided artists performing at the VJC with the finest pianos possible, including the beautiful Steinway D Concert Grand upon which this festival was founded. VJC is especially grateful to two members of the VJC Summer Jazz Workshop community and to Katy Oz for their generous sponsorship. VJC also thanks the Thompson Trust, the Windham Foundation, the Vermont Arts Council, the Vermont Humanities Council, and the New England Foundation of the Arts for their steadfast support. The VJC is also appreciative of the excellent, pro-bono work by piano technician William Ballard and the exquisite care offered by piano technician Crystal Fielding.

Artist Materials – videos and quotes

ORRIN EVANS, videos and quotes
Orrin Evans Trio – Home
Orrin Evans Trio – The Answer
Orrin Evans Trio – A Love Supreme
Orrin Evans Solo Living Room Set (on Facebook)
“…a poised artist with an impressive template of ideas at his command.” -New York Times

MYRA MELFORD, videos and quotes
Attic by Myra Melford
Myra Melford Trio Improvisations
Mondays with Kuumbwa Set
Solo Piano Playlist
“Myra Melford’s Snowy Egret is Jazz’s most dynamic quintet. Impeccably accomplished and deeply satisfying, The Other Side of Air… is important not because it’s radically new but because it’s powerful and compelling.” -The Nation
“Pianist-composer Myra Melford has often placed her music at the fulcrum between gleaming beauty and turbulent unrest. This is music with an endless capacity for elasticity and surprise, along with an affirming spirit of coherence.” -NPR Best 50 Albums of 2018
“In the nearly three decades she’s spent in the public eye, the accomplished piano improviser, composer, and bandleader has worked her way through a wide span of ensembles and projects, putting her poetic stamp on each while also responding vigorously and sympathetically to each setting, situation, and fellow musician.” -The National Sawdust Log

Dan Tepfer, videos and quotes
Summertime
Free Improvisation 
Natural Machines (2023 Bonus Episode)
“As a pianist, Mr. Tepfer combines superb technique with a complex set of impulses: He’s a deeply rational improviser drawn to the unknown.” — The New York Times

Michael Weiss, videos and quotes
Michael Weiss Trio Live at Mezzrow
La Ventana – Michael Weiss Quartet
A Night in Tunisia – w/ Johnny Griffin Quartet
“…one of the most dynamic young pianists in jazz” – Chicago Tribune
“…focuses the intensity of a tune as well as any pianist in mainstream jazz” – New York Times
“…writes with thought-provoking originality” – JazzTimes
“…one of the most dependable pianists on the scene” – The New Yorker

Shiyu Fang, video
Round Midnight Shiyu Fang.mp4