Ravinia 2019, Issue 1, Week 1

RSMI JAZZ FACULTY Billy Childs ’s biography appears on page 104. For the last 50 years, Rufus Reid has been a formi- dable, influential presence in the jazz world as a bassist and educa- tor. For 20 years, he was director of the Jazz Stud- ies program at William Paterson University, building its reputation as one of the leading jazz schools in the world. Reid’s performances and recordings with Eddie Harris, Dexter Gordon, Andrew Hill, The Thad Jones–Mel Lewis Or- chestra and Quartet, Kenny Barron, Stan Getz, J.J. Johnson, Lee Konitz, and Jack DeJohnette, among many others, have cemented his stature as one of the deans of jazz bass. He has recorded more than 400 albums and a dozen albums as a leader, and he authored a seminal text and DVD for bass methodology, The Evolving Bassist. Re- id’s reputation continues to evolve as a compos- er, having written for jazz ensembles of varying sizes, solo bass, chamber ensembles, and sym- phony orchestras. In 2008, he was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship, and he received two Grammy nominations for his 2014 recording Quiet Pride: The Elizabeth Catlett Project , in- cluding for Best Instrumental Composition. Highly regarded as a musician’s musi- cian, Steve Wilson has brought his distinctive sound to more than 100 recordings and ensembles led by such celebrated artists as Chick Corea, Ron Carter, Christian McBride, George Duke, Michael Brecker, Dianne Reeves, Billy Childs, Rufus Reid, Maria Schneider, and Joe Henderson, among many others. Wilson is himself a respected leader of many diverse en- sembles, from his quartet Wilsonian’s Grain on Live in New York: The Vanguard Sessions to The Analogue Band on the vinyl Sit Back, Relax & Unwind . He co-leads a trio with Renee Rosnes and Peter Washington, and he also completes three duos, with pianists Bruce Barth and Billy Childs, and with drummer Lewis Nash. His first recording with Nash, Duologue , was released in 2014, and he has one album with Barth, enti- tled Home . Wilson has seven recordings under his own name, featuring such guests as Nich- olas Payton, Mulgrew Miller, Rene Marie, Ray Drummond, Cyrus Chestnut, Greg Hutchinson, and Ben Riley. A passionate educator, Wilson is the director of Jazz Studies at City College of New York, and he conducts clinics and master classes around the world. FEATURED ARTISTS The Avalon String Quartet ’s biography appears on page 104. Saxophonist and composer Greg Ward was born in Peoria, IL, and is currently based in Chicago, having attended RSMI in 2001. Ward has had the opportu- nity to perform and record with a varied group of artists, in- cluding Prefuse 73, Lupe Fiasco, Tortoise, Wil- liam Parker, Makaya McCraven, Linda May Han Oh, and Mike Reed, and as a bandleader, he has produced four recordings—Fitted Shards: South Side Story, Phonic Juggernaut, Touch My Be- loved’s Thought, and Rogue Parade: Stomping Off from Greenwood. As a composer, he has also received commissions from the Jazz Gallery in NYC, the Chicago Jazz Institute, the City of Chicago’s Made In Chicago: World Class Jazz Series, and the Peoria Ballet Company. He has also been awarded the New Music USA Van Lier Fellowship (2012) and a DCASE IAP grant (2017). Ward maintains an active international touring schedule with various ensembles. Glenn Zaleski is an in-demand pia- nist on New York’s jazz scene, having played with the likes of Ravi Col- trane, Lage Lund, and Ari Hoenig. He released his first solo album, Solo Vol. 1 , on his own label early last year, fol- lowing up 2017’s Fellowship on Sunnyside Re- cords, which issued his debut, My Ideal , in 2015 to critical acclaim from DownBeat , Jazz Times , and the New York Times . His discography also includes Limitless (2013) and Anticipation (2011) on the Capri label with the collective Strana­ han/Zaleski/Rosato, as well as a duo record with his brother, saxophonist Mark Zaleski, entitled Duet Suite (2010). Originally from Boylston, MA, Zaleski was an RSMI fellow in 2005 and attended the Brubeck Institute Fellowship pro- gram in California from 2005 to 2007 before finishing undergraduate studies at The New School in New York in 2009. He then joined the NYU faculty while working toward a graduate degree through 2011, when he became both a semifinalist in the Thelonious Monk Interna- tional Jazz Piano Competition and a finalist for the American Pianists Association’s Cole Porter Fellowship. Dan Chmielinski is a critically acclaimed, award- winning bassist, composer, pro- ducer, and band- leader who con- sistently creates original projects under his own brand, Chimy Music. Having fallen in love with the bass at age 3, he has already traveled to 14 countries while performing and recording with the likes of Wynton Marsalis, Joey Alexander, the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, Marc Cary, Chase Baird, Brad Mehldau, Jeff “Tain” Watts, Jon Batiste, Antonio Sanchez, Ulysses Owens Jr., Nir Felder, Etienne Charles, Camille Bertault, Bryan Carter, Eric Harland, and Carl Allen. His own ensembles include Four by Four, a jazz quartet plus classical string quartet, and Circuit Kisser, comprising five synthesizers, electric bass, and drums. Having earned both a bach- elor’s and a master’s degree from The Juilliard School under the guidance of Marsalis and Ron Carter, Chmielinski has been inspired and men- tored by jazz and classical figures alike, includ- ing Richard Davis, Ben Wolfe, and Carlos Hen- riquez, and in 2012 he became a fellow at RSMI. He has also participated in BMI’s “Composing for the Screen” mentorship program with Rick Baitz and studied with composers Philip Lasser, Kendall Briggs, and Edward Bilous. Robert Boone Jr. is an up-and- coming drummer and percussionist from Augusta, GA. Believing in giving back to the community, he has played in nursing homes and elementary schools in addition to tradi- tional venues such as The Blue Note, Birdland, Churchill Grounds, The Velvet Note, The Cobb Energy Centre, and the Sydney Opera House. In 2013, Boone earned an undergraduate degree in performance from Kennesaw State University, studying with John Lawless and Justin Chesarek, and in 2015 he was selected to participate in the Disneyland All-American College Band. As a member of various collegiate ensembles, as well as being an active freelancer, he has collaborated with such leading artists as Dee Dee Bridgewa- ter, Tyrone Jackson, Sam Skelton, Marcus Lewis, Rodney Jordan, Eric Reed, Leon Anderson, Ron McCurdy, Scotty Barnhart, and Marcus Roberts. Boone graduated from Florida State University with a master’s degree in jazz studies in 2016. Boone is currently the drummer for the Count Basie Orchestra. RAVINIA MAGAZINE | MAY 31 – JUNE 9, 2019 98