Litchfield Jazz Festival will mark its 26th anniversary with a live streamed full day of top flight music from Telefunken Soundstage on Saturday, July 31. The festival will be available to the public free of charge from noon to 6 PM.
The lineup begins with a moving and romantic set titled Beautiful Ballads by the Albert Rivera/ Andrew Hadro Sextet fronted by two stellar sax men, Rivera on tenor, alto and soprano saxophones and Hadro on baritone sax.
As a performer, Mr.Rivera has regularly appeared in his hometown of New York in venues like Zinc Bar, Smalls Jazz Club, Blue Note, and others. He maintains a busy travel schedule performing in venues throughout the USA including various cities in Connecticut, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Washington DC, Georgia, Florida, California, Georgia, and countless others. His collaborators in the past have included Don Braden, Jimmy Greene, Claudio Roditi, Avery Sharpe, Rachel Z, and a stint with the great legendary pianist Junior Mance. At the Litchfield Jazz Camp and Jazz Festival, where he is the current Director of Operations, he appears with his own group and faculty stars like Matt Wilson, Paul Bollenback and Dave Stryker.
Baritone saxophonist Andrew Hadro is a performer, composer and band leader based in Brooklyn and one of the only professional bass saxophone players in New York. He has been Litchfield Jazz Camp’s Technical Director, a faculty member since 2006, and more recently Co-Director of Operations. He also serves as a product specialist for Vandoren advising peers on reeds and mouthpieces. He was selected as a DownBeat Critic’Poll Rising Star Baritone Saxophonist in … Andrew performed regularly with his mentor, the legendary pianist Junior Mance, until his death last year. As curator of JazzBariSax.com he provides resources and news to baritone saxophonists all over the world. If this were not enough he is an elite marathon runner.
The group’s pianist, Carmen Staaf, was the youngest piano player ever hired by Berklee College of Music. She is currently pianist and Musical Director for NEA Jazz Master Dee Dee Bridgewater and was a member of a select quintet at the prestigious Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Performance where she received her Master’s degree. In addition to her long-time membership on the LJB faculty, Carmen has held faculty positions at Berklee College of Music, the New School, Stanford Jazz Institute and elsewhere.
The bass player of the group is Zwelake-Duma Bell le Pere. Zwe, another of our former Litchfield campers, received his undergraduate and graduate degrees from New England Conservatory. He too is an LJC instructor with a busy career, appearing with artist like Christian Scott, Dave Holland, Randy Weston, Dave Liebman, and Jason Moran at festivals and concerts worldwide.
Richie Barshay began drumming inside kitchen cabinets at an early age, and continues banging on things worldwide to this day. Noted for his work with the Herbie Hancock Quartet in the 2000s and his long association with The Klezmatics, he has also performed and recorded with Chick Corea, Esperanza Spalding, Fred Hersch, Kenny Werner, Lee Konitz, Natalie Merchant, Bobby McFerrin, and Pete Seeger among others. Since 2004 he has led outreach projects across 5 continents as an American Musical Envoy with the U.S. State Department. He can be heard on over 80 recordings with Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, Esperanza Spalding, The Klezmatics, Fred Hersch, Kenny Werner, Lee Konitz, Natalie Merchant, Bobby McFerrin, and Pete Seeger among others. Since 2004 he has led outreach projects across 5 continents as an American Musical Envoy with the U.S. State Department. Like Zwe, Richie was a Litchfield camper in his teens. He has also served as a LJC instructor and appeared on the Litchfield Jazz Festival with notables like Paquito d’Rivera and Kenny Werner. He is an AmSAT certified Alexander Technique teacher with a private practice.
Last but by no means least, the singer with the band is Melinda Rodriquez. Rodriguez hails from Miami where she met up with many past and future Litchfield musicians while receiving her undergraduate degree from Frost School of Music. Recently, in addition to serving as Adjunct Professor of Music at Illinois Wesleyan University, she was a finalist in the popular television show, The Voice. A YoungArts winner, she appeared recently at The Miami Downtown Jazz Festival. Melinda has performed with Michael Feinstein and Jane Monheit and frequently appeared with the late Kevin Mahogany. She began her relationship with the Litchfield program as a Teaching Assistant under the tutelage of well-known vocalist Nicole Zuraitis. This summer she will stand in for Zuraitis at the helm of the Camp’s vocal program. An overachiever, this lovely and talented vocalist is now a creditable bass player as well.
Albert Rivera is proud to endorse Vandoren Optimum Ligatures‚ Mouthpieces‚ and Reeds and RS Berkeley Virtuoso saxophones. Andrew Hadro endorses a wide array of Vandoren products. His “set up” can be found on his website at Andrew Hadro.com.
The Litchfield Jazz Festival is sponsored by Litchfield Jazz Members and by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Connecticut Department of Economic Development’s Office of the Arts, DownBeat Magazine, and Telefunken Soundstage.