Bloomingdale School of Music Jazz Department presents BSM Jazz Fest Celebrating Jazz Appreciation Month

Bloomingdale School of Music presents BSM Jazz Fest, celebrating Jazz Appreciation Month on Saturday, April 22 at 3pm at the David Greer Concert Hall, 323 West 108th Street, NYC. The festival is free and open to the public and food and refreshments will be provided. Visit https://www.bsmny.org/event/jazz-fest-2023/ for more information and to RSVP.

“We are dedicating resources to the growth of our jazz department, welcoming more jazz lovers into our community, and are excited to encourage an interest in jazz among our students,” said Noelle Barbera, Director of Marketing & Development.

April is Jazz Appreciation Month! The BSM Jazz Fest will feature performances from the BSM Youth Jazz Ensemble, MAP Jazz Combo, two Adult Jazz Ensembles, and solo performances from BSM jazz students, including the online group returning for their first in-person performance since Fall 2019. Over the winter, long-time faculty member Daniel Bennett was elevated to Jazz Coordinator. Daniel has been busy growing the on-site jazz ensembles and will host the return of the BSM Jazz Fest.

In addition to Daniel Bennett, Bloomingdale School of Music jazz ensembles are also directed by Michael Cochrane and Eli Asher. The festival will feature music of Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Cole Porter, Jerome Kern and more. Bloomingdale School of Music students have consistently earned top ratings in the NYSSMA Jazz competition, Interlochen Jazz, and Essentially Ellington competition.

Upcoming events include a book signing with Mercedes Ellington, granddaughter of Duke Ellington, featuring her new book Duke Ellington An American Composer and Icon.

ABOUT THE ENSEMBLE DIRECTORS

Equally at home in a variety of styles from the traditional to the avant-garde, trumpeter Eli Asher’s longest musical relationships have been with the Bjorkestra (rebooted in September 2022 after a 7-year hiatus) and with the Respect Sextet, who the The New York Times called “ambitious music with a smart-alecky affect, ranging broadly from the antic to the deadpan”. He has also performed with Bang on a Can’s Asphalt Orchestra, Tilt Brass, Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society, The Gregory Brothers, Signal Ensemble, Slavic Soul Party!, and Jose Gonzalez, in venues ranging from the Blue Note in New York City, to the Montreal Jazz Festival, to the Teatro Manzoni in Milan. Recently he has been heard with the Eli Asher/Aaron Shragge Duo, Jump of This Bridge, Max Kutner’s Trio Generale and High Flavors Quintet, on Austrian radio ORF, and at the Jazzatlier Ulrichsberg (Austria) jazz festival. He is a graduate of the Eastman School of Music and Princeton University.

Pianist, composer, arranger, and instructor Michael Cochrane has resided in the Tri-State area since the fall of 1974. He has performed and/or recorded with: Sonny Fortune, Hannibal , Jack Walrath, Eddie Gomez, Tom Harrell, Valery Ponomorev, Paul Nash, John Clark, Clark Terry, Nancy Monroe, Chip White, Michael Brecker, Chico Freeman, Galen Abdur Razzaq, The Spirit Of Life Ensemble, Ted Curson, Oliver Lake, Bradford Hayes and many more. Mr. Cochrane has performed in colleges, clubs, and concert halls throughout the United States. In New York, for example, clubs have included The Village Vanguard, Sweet Basil, Blue Note … halls have included Carnegie Hall, Weill Recital Hall, Alice Tulley Hall and Merkin Hall. His touring experience spans over 18 European countries, including Germany, France, Spain, Yugoslavia, Lithuania, Russia, Poland, Belgium, Netherlands, Switzerland, Austria, Italy, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland and England. He has also performed in Canada, Japan, Puerto Rico, The Philippines,The Caribbean, and Estonia. In 1985 Mr. Cochrane received a Master of Arts Degree with honors from New York University. His teachers have included: Jaki Byard, Eleanor Hancock and the late Madame Margaret Chaloff. Mr. Cochrane was a part-time instructor at NYU for over twenty years. Mr. Cochrane currently is a part-time instructor at Princeton University, Rutgers State University (Newark campus), Bloomingdale School of Music and the JCC Thurnauer School of Music. He was also the music director of the Paterson Avenue Methodist Church for over ten years. He has received two fellowship grants in jazz performance from the National Endowment For The Arts as well as from the The Puffin Foundation and the Mid-Atlantic Arts Foundation. Mr. Cochrane has over fifteen recordings as a leader. Some of these include: ELEMENTS (Soul Note SN1151), SONG OF CHANGE (Soul Note 121251-2) and IMPRESSIONS (Landmark 1548), CUTTING EDGE (SteepleChase SCCD314300), GESTURE OF FAITH (SteepleChase SCCD31459), FOOTPRINTS (SteepleChase SCCD31476), MINOR MATRIX (SteepleChase SCCD 31494), QUARTET MUSIC (SteepleChase SCCD 31513), PATHWAYS (SteepleChase SCCD 31542), RIGHT NOW (SteepleChase SCCD 31627), and DISCOVERY (SteepleChase SCCD 31786. Mr. Cochrane is the author/composer of a solo piano book and combo arrangements (including scores and parts) which are published by Second Floor Music (distributed by Hal Leonard) and a book of original compositions published by SteepleChase. He has also written two instructional music books that are published by Charles Colin. Additionally ,he has written an instructional jazz piano exercise book which is published by his own publishing company, Inner Search Music.

Saxophonist Daniel Bennett has been hailed as one of the most original and unpredictable musical voices of his generation. The Boston Globe described Bennett’s music as, “a mix of jazz, folk and minimalism.” Daniel Bennett Group was recently voted ‘Best New Jazz’ in Hot House Magazine. NPR described Bennett’s original sound as, “synergistic Jazz!” Daniel Bennett has served on the woodwind faculty at Bloomingdale School of Music for over a decade. The bandleader has been featured in Timeout New York, NPR, and the Baltimore Sun. Daniel Bennett played woodwinds in ‘Blank! The Musical,’ the first fully improvised musical to launch on a national stage. The New York Times called the show, “Witty, Likable and Ludicrous!” Daniel Bennett’s theatrical works have influenced his eclectic sound and musical storytelling abilities as a bandleader.

ABOUT BLOOMINGDALE SCHOOL OF MUSIC

Founded in 1964, Bloomingdale School of Music is dedicated to the belief that music changes lives and everyone should have access to high-quality music education regardless of economic status, race, religion, ability level, or gender. Bloomingdale is a music-driven community center where all are welcome to join and learn about music from top faculty. We are dedicated to our mission – to make music education accessible to all who want to learn – and remain focused on supporting this mission through our values. www.bsmny.org