Faculty 2012
RONI BEN-HUR, Artistic Director/Guitar
Year by year, Guitarist Roni Ben-Hur has been building an increasingly stellar reputation for himself since he first migrated from his native Israel to New York City, back in 1985. A passionate leader, player, composer-arranger, published author and respected educator, Roni now stands as one of the elite players in modern jazz. Keepin’ it Open, his fifth release and his debut on the Motema imprint elevates his game yet another notch or two as he leads a company of fellow jazz greats – pianist Ronnie Matthews, drummer Lewis Nash, bassist Santi Debriano, percussionist Steve Kroon and new trumpet sensation Jeremy Pelt through a very personal and multicultural jazz adventure.
An avid educator, Ben-Hur’s teaching career began in Israel in 1981. Since then, he has established three successful, ongoing high school jazz music programs at the Professional Performing Arts School, The Coalition School for Social Change, and Landmark High School, all in New York City. His inspirational demeanor and communication skills create a strong personal bond with his students, prompting actress and social/educational activist, Bette Midler, to ask Ben-Hur to model a music education program for other public schools in New York City. He has directed the jazz program at Kaufman Center’s Lucy Moses School since 1992.
NILSON MATTA, Artistic Director/Bass
Nilson Matta Nilson Matta has long been considered one of Brazil’s best bass players. Since his arrival in New York 1985 he has become the first call of many of the top US musicians. Nilson studied bass at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) with Sandrino Santoro, Brazil’s premier classical bass player. While in Brazil he played with such top artists as João Gilberto, Hermeto Pascoal, Chico Buarque de Holanda, Nana Caymmi, João Bosco, Johnny Alf, Nivaldo Ornellas, MPB-4, Helio Delmiro, Luis Bonfa, and many others.
In 1983 Nilson was invited to Japan to perform with singer Lisa Ono. Together they spent a year promoting Brazilian music. While with drummer Pascoal Meirelles in 1984, Nilson founded the fusion band “Cama De Gato.”
Nilson moved to New York City in 1985. Since that time he has performed and recorded with such renowned artists as Joe Henderson, Paquito D’Rivera, Slide Hampton, Herbie Mann, Mark Murphy, Oscar Castro Neves, Don Friedman, Paul Winter, Claudio Roditi, Gato Barbieri, Yo Yo Ma, Kenny Barron and many others.
Learn more about Nilson Matta.
LENY ANDRADE – PHOTO & BIO TO BE POSTED SOON.
ARTURO O’FARRILL – Latin Jazz /Piano
Pianist, composer, educator, and winner of the Latin Jazz USA Outstanding Achievement Award for 2003, Arturo O’Farrill was born in Mexico and grew up in New York City. In 2002, Mr. O’Farrill created the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra (ALJO) for Jazz at Lincoln Center due in part to a large and very demanding body of substantial music in the genre of Latin and Afro Cuban Jazz that deserves to be much more widely appreciated and experienced by the general jazz audience. His debut album with the Orchestra, Una Noche Inolvidable, earned a GRAMMY award nomination in 2006.
Educated at the Manhattan School of Music, Brooklyn College Conservatory, and the Aaron Copland School of Music at Queens College, Mr. O’Farrill played piano with the Carla Bley Big Band from 1979 through 1983. He then went on to develop as a solo performer with a wide spectrum of artists including Dizzy Gillespie, Steve Turre, Freddy Cole, The Fort Apache Band, Lester Bowie, Wynton Marsalis, and Harry Belafonte.
In 1995 Mr. O’Farrill agreed to direct the band that preserved much of his father’s music, Chico O’Farrill’s Afro Cuban Jazz Orchestra, which has been in residence at Birdland, New York City’s famed nightclub, for the past 15 years, as well as performing throughout the world as a solo artist and with his smaller groups.
Besides recording eight albums as a leader for Milestone Records, 32 Jazz, Zoho, and M & I (Bloodlines, A Night in Tunisia, Cumana Bop, Live in Brooklyn, The Jim Seeley/Arturo O’Farrill Quintet, Song for Chico with the ALJO, In These Shoes with Claudia Acuna, and Risa Negra), Mr. O’Farrill has appeared on numerous records including the GRAMMY-nominated Heart of a Legend, Carambola, and the soundtrack to the critically acclaimed movie Calle 54. Mr. O’Farrill was a special guest soloist at three landmark Jazz at Lincoln Center concerts—Afro-Cuban Jazz: Chico O’Farrill’s Afro-Cuban Jazz Orchestra, November 1995; Con Alma: The Latin Tinge in Big Band Jazz, September 1998; and the 2001 Jazz at Lincoln Center Gala: The Spirit of Tito Puente, November 2001. In the spring and fall of 2002, he was also the featured artist in Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Jazz in the Schools Tour, when he led a Latin jazz quintet for more than 50 educational performances that reached over 10,000 students in NYC metropolitan area schools.
As an educator, he has taught master classes, seminars, and workshops throughout the world for students and teachers of all levels. Recently, Mr. O’Farrill received the Distinguished Alumnus Medal from Brooklyn College and served as the Alan and Wendy Pesky Artist in Residence at Lafayette College. In the summer of 2007, Mr. O’Farrill served as Visiting Artist at Haystack Mountain School of Crafts. From 2007-2008 he was Assistant Professor of Jazz at The University of Massachusetts in Amherst, and from 2008-2010, he served as Assistant Professor at SUNY Purchase.
Throughout the past few years, Mr. O’Farrill has toured the U.S., Europe, and Asia, and in the spring of 2006, led the ALJO on a tour of Mexico. In 2007, the ALJO left Jazz at Lincoln Center to pursue its own educational and performance opportunities. To that end, the Afro Latin Jazz Alliance was created as a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the preservation, furthering, and education of Afro Latin jazz.
Since its departure from Jazz at Lincoln Center, the Orchestra has performed in the prestigious Megaron Concert Hall in Athens, The Bern Jazz Festival, The Rialto Concert Hall in Atlanta, and with its new performance partner, New York’s acclaimed Symphony Space, where it has been in residence since 2007. The Alliance also established a residency in the schools program with weekly private and ensemble classes for inner city kids.
The ALJO’s 2008 album Song for Chico (Zoho Records) received unanimous critical acclaim and in February 2009 won the GRAMMY for Best Latin Jazz Album of the Year. Mr. O’Farrill recently recorded the newest album with the ALJO, 40 Acres and a Burro, to be released in early 2011. A recognized composer, Mr. O’Farrill has received commissions from Meet the Composer, Jazz at Lincoln Center, The Philadelphia Music Project, The Big Apple Circus, Symphony Space, The Bronx Museum of the Arts, and R.D. Rice. He has also composed music for films including Hollywoodland and Salud. He lives in Brooklyn with his wife, classical pianist Alison Deane, and their sons, Zachary and Adam, who are both accomplished musicians.
CAFE – photo & bio to be posted soon.
AMY LONDON, Vocals
Amy London is known and loved in New York City jazz and Broadway circles for her effortless sound, impeccable musicianship and depth of emotion. ‘When I Look In Your Eyes’, her first national release as a leader, features some of the world’s top jazz musicians, and reflects London’s fully seasoned career which includes recordings with Roland Hanna, Barry Harris, Fred Hersch, Dr. Lonnie Smith, New York Voices, three years in the 6 Tony award winning Broadway hit ‘City of Angels’, (on it’s Grammy nominated original cast recording as well), tours with Charles Aznavour, Tom Browne and Larry Elgart, and twenty five years of performances in the NY area, including long term engagements with the big bands of Chris Byars, Bill Conway, Loren Schoenberg and the Rainbow Room Orchestra, as well as the City Center production of ‘Promises, Promises’, with Martin Short. London’s selection of songs on this disc include moving renditions of rarely recorded American standards, along with some fresh crossover selections such as Laura Nyro’s ‘Lazy Susan’ and the title track, which is pulled from the soundtrack of ‘Dr. Dolittle’. Weaned on Motown and the folk rock of the 1970′s (Laura Nyro/Joni Mitchell/Carole King/James Taylor etc.) and deeply trained in the jazz idiom, London is poised to be a favorite of the baby boomer generation with her accessible Ella-meets Laura Nyro style. The sessions were recorded in a series of live takes at the famed Bennett Studios in New Jersey, with a jazz dream team. Notably, this was one of pianist John Hicks’ final recordings. Also featured are fellow Motema artists Roni Ben-Hur and Rufus Reid (bass jazz legend whose career spans 4 decades w/300 recordings). Rounding out the date are veteran drummer Leroy Williams, percussion master Steve Kroon and a tight horn section formed by Chris Byars, Richie Vitale, John Mosca and Dan Greenblatt. Producer Suzi Reynolds, at the helm of recently acclaimed Motéma releases by guitarist Roni-Ben Hur and bassist Rufus Reid, delivers a flawless production that is sure to make a strong showing at jazz radio.
STEVE WILSON – Saxophone, Clarinet, Flute
Picture coming soon!
STEVE WILSON is not only a prominent position on the bandstand and in the studio with some of the greatest names in jazz, he has has received critical acclaim as a bandleader in his own right. A musician’s musician, Wilson has brought his distinctive sound to more than 100 recordings led by such celebrated and wide-ranging artists as Chick Corea, George Duke, Michael Brecker, Dave Holland, Dianne Reeves, Bill Bruford, Gerald Wilson, Maria Schneider, Joe Henderson, Charlie Byrd, Billy Childs, Karrin Allyson, Don Byron, Bill Stewart, James Williams, and Mulgrew Miller among many others. Wilson has seven recordings under his own name, leading and collaborating with such stellar musicians as Lewis Nash, Carl Allen, Steve Nelson, Cyrus Chestnut, Greg Hutchinson, Dennis Irwin, James Genus, Larry Grenadier, Ray Drummond, Ben Riley, and Nicholas Payton.
A native of Hampton, Virginia, Wilson began his formal training at age 12. Playing saxophone, oboe, and drums in school bands, he also played in various R&B and funk bands throughout his teens, and went on to a year-long stint with singer Stephanie Mills. He then decided to major in music at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, affording him opportunities to perform and/or study with Jimmy and Percy Heath, Jon Hendricks, Jaki Byard, John Hicks, Frank Foster and Ellis Marsalis. In 1986, he landed a chair with O.T.B (Out of the Blue), a sextet of promising young players recording on Blue Note Records. In 1987 he moved to New York and the following year toured the US and Europe with Lionel Hampton. Becoming a first-call choice for veteran and emerging artists alike, Wilson was the subject of a New York Times profile “A Sideman’s Life”, highlighting his work with Ralph Peterson, Jr., Michele Rosewoman, Renee Rosnes, Marvin “Smitty” Smith, Joanne Brackeen, The American Jazz Orchestra, The Mingus Big Band, The Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra, Leon Parker, and Buster Williams’ Quintet “Something More”. In 1996 he joined the acclaimed Dave Holland Quintet, and from 1998-2001 he was a member of Chick Corea’s Grammy winning sextet “Origin”.
Having been cited by his peers in a New York Times poll as one of the artists most likely to break out [on his own] as an established leader, Wilson recorded four CDs (New York Summit, Step Lively, Blues for Marcus and Four For Time) on the Criss Cross label. He then debuted on Stretch Records with Generations, his multi-generational quartet with Mulgrew Miller, Ray Drummond and Ben Riley. His second Stretch release Passages features his working quartet-Bruce Barth, Ed Howard and Adam Cruz, and special guest Nicholas Payton. Containing nine original compositions Passages established Wilson as a leader whose vision reveres the past, creates a soundscape of the present, and reaches toward the future.
Wilson’s most recent recording Soulful Song, was released by MAXJAZZ in June 2003. It features his quartet and special guests Rene Marie, Carla Cook, Phillip Manuel, James Genus, Billy Kilson, Paul Bollenback and Wilson “Chembo” Corniel. The recording, which is the debut of the MAXJAZZ horn series, issues forth a powerful and provocative performance from these dynamic and versatile artists. As Wilson explains, “It’s a tribute Black radio, as it was called then, that was particularly inclusive in its programming and a galvanizing force in the community. On the same station one could hear R&B, jazz, blues, gospel, comedy, local news and affairs, and social commentary”. In addition to new original material the program includes songs by Stevie Wonder, Chick Corea, Abbey Lincoln, Gil Scott Heron, Earth, Wind & Fire, Patrice Rushen, and The Staple Singers.
Wilson was a featured guest with Dr. Billy Taylor in his series “Jazz at the Kennedy Center” which is broadcast on NPR. He was artistic consultant to Harvey Keitel for the film “Lulu On The Bridge” as well as being featured on the soundtrack. He has been Artist-In-Residence at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Hamilton College, Old Dominion University, and for the 2002/2003 season with the award winning arts organization CITYFOLK in Dayton, Ohio which included the performance of a commissioned work. He has been a featured performer, panelist, and clinician at conferences of the International Association of Jazz Educators, Association of Performing Arts Presenters, and Chamber Music of America. Wilson was honored with the Marc Crawford Jazz Educator Award from New York University in 2001, and the Virginia Jazz Award 2003 Musician of the Year presented by the Richmond Jazz Society, recognizing his outstanding service in the advancement of jazz and education in their respective communities. Since 1997 he has been regularly cited in the Downbeat Magazine Critics and Readers Polls in the soprano and alto saxophone categories.
Wilson continues to tour with the Steve Wilson Quartet and Generations. He performs in duo with his long-time friend and colleague Lewis Nash, in the Lewis Nash/Steve Wilson Duo. He is also a touring member of the Grammy winning Maria Schneider Jazz Orchestra, T he Buster Williams Quartet, and Mulgrew Miller’s Wingspan. In July 2009, Wilson will make his orchestral debut performing the Villa Lobos Fantasia for Soprano Saxophone and Chamber Orchestra with the Vermont Mozart Festival Orchestra, conducted by Gil Shohat, at the Vermont Mozart Festival in Burlington, VT.
Wilson is on the faculty at The Manhattan School of Music, SUNY Purchase, and Columbia University, and is the Artist-in-Residence at the University of Manitoba, Winnipeg (Canada) for the 2008/2009 school year.