Doors at 7pm - Music at 7:30 - $30 in advance - $35 at the door
The Alluvion 2024 Jazz Series continues with another living legend in jazz: Bob Mintzer. We are thrilled to welcome this all-star Interlochen alumnus and his quartet back to Northern Michigan.
Featuring a band of the highest caliber: John Riley on drums, Jay Anderson on bass, and Phil Markowitz on piano. This will be yet another amazing opportunity to see world class touring musicians in an intimate, high quality setting in Traverse City.
Want to stay in the loop for upcoming Alluvion shows and events? Be the first to know what’s happening next by signing up for our email updates here: Join our email list
About the artists:
BOB MINTZER - Bob Mintzer is a saxophonist/arranger/educator who resides in Los Angeles. He is currently holds the Barbara and Buzz McCoy endowed chair at the USC Thornton School of Music. Bob is a 30 year member as saxophonist with the Yellowjackets. He is also the chief conductor of the WDR Big Band in Cologne Germany. Bob has written over 500 big band arrangements, several jazz study books, orchestral and chamber works. He has played on over 1000 recordings and has performed with Tito Puente, Buddy Rich, Thad Jones Mel Lewis Big Band, Eddie Palmieri, Jaco Pastorius, Mike Manieri, Randy Brecker, and the New York Philharmonic.
Born January 27 1953 in New Rochelle, New York. He formed a connection to music at a very early age, primarily through playing piano by ear, and later moving on to guitar, clarinet, drums, and eventually saxophone. Bob played clarinet and later saxophone in school band programs while playing guitar and keys in garage bands through high school. The turning point which solidified Bob’s connection to music as a life long endeavor came in 1969, when he received a scholarship to attend the Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan. There he saw first hand what kind of commitment was involved in becoming a full time musician. It was at Interlochen that Bob met Peter Erskine, who became a colleague which continues to this day some 50 years later.
Bob attended the Hartt School of music 1970-72 and the Manhattan School of Music 72-74. He was a clarinet major in both institutions while teaching himself jazz and getting together with musicians outside of school. Hartford had a small band of musicians playing jazz every night, which provided an opportunity for Bob to play regularly. In NYC the loft scene was in full swing, and Bob developed many connections in the loft sessions that were taking place nightly, sometimes until 6 in the morning.
In 1974, upon finishing his year at MSM, bob joined the Tito Puente Orchestra and simultaneously did some touring with Eumir Deodato. 1975 brought an opportunity for Bob to join the Buddy Rich band and toured steadily with that band for 2 plus years. The ability to play every night, travel the world, and begin to write arrangements was a golden opportunity. By 1978 Bob was playing with several small jazz groups (Stone Alliance, Teruo Nockamura, a short encounter with Art Blakey, Joe Chambers, Mike Manieri) and was asked to join the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra. Bob played with Thad and Mel for 6 months, and later with Mel, as Thad had moved to Europe. In 1980 Bob arranged a project for the Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra to be recorded live at the Montreal Jazz Festival of the music of Herbie Hancock. In 1981 through 1982 Bob was a member of the Jaco Pastorius Word of Mouth band., playing tenor sax, bass clarinet, and doing some arranging/composing for both the big and small band components. There are several recordings and videos of this band out and about. In 1983 Bob started his big band in NYC which consisted of many of the finest musicians in town (Michael and Randy Brecker, Marvin Stamm, Lou Soloff, Barry Rogers, Dave Taylor, Don Grolnick, Will Lee, Peter Erskine, Roger Rosenberg). The band performed regularly at 7th Avenue South (club owned by the Brecker Brothers) and occasionally at the Village Vanguard. Around this time Bob made contact with Tom Jung who had one of the first compact disc labels Digital Music Productions. This began a 23 year relationship where Bob recorded 12 big band cd’s and one small band cd (One Music with members of the Yellowjackets). There were 4 grammy nominations in there and one grammy win for the Homage to Count Basie cd. During the 80’s Bob did a fair amount of session work in NYC, playing on numerous recordings as well as jingles and television music. He also joined the faculty at the Manhattan School of Music and spent 22 years there. In 1990 Bob joined the Yellowjackets in Los Angeles to record a project for the GRP label called Greenhouse. This encounter started a 30 year relationship that continues to this day. The band has recorded some 16 projects in this time period with 12 Grammy nominations. 2008 brought a move from Hastings on Hudson, New York to Los Angeles. Bob accepted the Barbara and Buzz McCoy endowed chair position in the Thornton School of Music Jazz program. He and his wife Carla eventually settled in a former home of Arnold Schoenberg in the Hollywood hills. Bob is still currently on faculty there. In 2016 Bob was asked to be the chief conductor of the WDR Big Band in Cologne, Germany. He currently holds that position.
JOHN RILEY - John began playing drums at age eight, after receiving a snare drum as a gift. At age twelve, John began playing in rock bands and heard his first jazz recordings, the soundtrack to The Gene Krupa Story and Max Roach's Conversation. Two years later, he played his first "professional" gig, which he obtained through an audition played over the telephone. John began studying with Joe Morello in 1971, after meeting him at a drum symposium. In 1976, he moved to New York City and was soon called to join the Woody Herman Band. Following that great experience, John returned to New York and began freelancing with a wide spectrum of world class musicians including Stan Getz, Milt Jackson, Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, John Scofield, Bob Mintzer, Gary Peacock, Mike Stern, Joe Lovano, the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, the Carnegie Hall Jazz Band, John Patitucci, Bob Berg, and many others.
John has a Bachelor of Music degree in jazz education from the University of North Texas and a Master of Music in jazz studies from Manhattan School of Music. He is on the faculty of Manhattan School of Music, and Kutztown University, and is an Artist in Residence at Amsterdam Conservatory, Holland.
JAY ANDERSON - Bassist/composer Jay Anderson is among the most versatile and respected jazz artists performing today. He has performed/recorded with a wide range of jazz artists including Woody Herman, Carmen McRae, Michael Brecker, Paul Bley, Bob Mintzer, John Abercrombie, Dave Liebman, Joe Sample, Maria Schneider, Stanley Cowell, John Scofield, Lee Konitz, Vic Juris, Red Rodney, Ira Sullivan, Mike Stern, Anat Cohen, Toots Thielemans, Kenny Wheeler, Jay Clayton and non-jazz artists like Oswaldo Golijov, Dawn Upshaw, The Australian Chamber Orchestra, Robert Spano (Atlanta Symphony), Michael Franks, David Bowie, Frank Zappa, Tom Waits, Terre Roche, Chaka Khan, Michel Legrand, Allen Ginsberg, and Celine Dion. He has been featured on over 400 recordings, seven of which have received the Grammy Award. His original recordings “NEXT EXIT” (DMP), “LOCAL COLOR” (DMP), and "DEEPSCAPE" (Steeplechase) have received critical acclaim both in the U.S. and abroad. Jay has conducted clinics around the world and is a Professor of Jazz Bass Studies at the Manhattan School of Music in New York City and New Jersey City University.
PHIL MARKOWITZ - Phil Markowitz, is forty year veteran of the International Jazz scene and is dedicated to realizing the full potential of improvisational music within the jazz idiom. He performs original compositions, which range from hard-cutting chromaticism to the most lyrical post-romantic ballads. Inventive, virtuostic, and accessible, Markowitz presents a forward-looking vision for contemporary music. Mr. Markowitz leads his own trio, and a quartet and duo with violinist Zach Brock, and is the pianist in the all-star group "Saxophone Summit" (David Liebman, Joe Lovano and Greg Osby and Billy Hart). His credentials span a cornucopia of jazz; from the traditional to the avant-garde; from his early associations with Chet Baker and Toots Thielemans, through his multi decade affiliations with Bob Mintzer and David Liebman.
Phil's notoriety as a composer came in the late 1970's when he was playing in a NYC club with legendary jazz harmonica player, Toots Thielemans. As they were playing Phil's composition, "Sno' Peas", pianist Bill Evans walked in, loved the song, and asked Toots to bring it to their upcoming recording session. Evans' and Thielemans' subsequent recording of "Sno' Peas" on the classic Grammy-nominated album, "Affinity", put Markowitz on the map as a venerable jazz composer.
Phil has been artist in residence in major conservatories and universities throughout the world including the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, the Stockholm Conservatory of Music, North Carolina School for the Arts, Oberlin Conservatory. His academic base is the Manhattan School of Music, where he is a professor in the graduate and doctoral divisions.