LAKEPORT— In support of two recent CD releases, Grammy winner and world-renowned jazz superstar Paul McCandless and the Bay-Area jazz trio, Charged Particles, will be appearing at the Soper Reese Theatre at 7 p.m. on Saturday as part of the theatre’s Saturday Night Jazz club Series. Tickets are still on sale. $20 open seating. The show is sponsored by Carol and Steve Schepper.
Known for soaring lyricism and gorgeous compositions, McCandless recently celebrated his 47th anniversary as co-leader of the jazz super-group Oregon. He plays soprano, tenor, and sopranino saxophones, oboes, English horn, bass clarinet, penny whistles, and a collection of folk flutes, and has released 40 records.
In 1996, McCandless won a Grammy for Best Pop Instrumental with Béla Fleck and the Flecktones. He also won Grammys in 2007 and 2011 with the Paul Winter Consort, for Best New Age Album. And Paul’s performance on the Oregon CD “1000 kilometers” was nominated for a Grammy for Best Jazz Instrumental Solo in 2009.
One of the new CD releases is “Morning Sun – Adventures with Oboe” (Living Music Records, LMU-49), billed as “A Retrospective Celebrating 45 Years of Genre-Bending Iconic Mastery” by McCandless in collaboration with his long-time collaborator: Paul Winter. The second CD is the 30th album by Oregon, the super-group that McCandless co-founded, entitled “Lantern” (Camjazz 7916).
The McCandless/Charged Particles project is bringing alive McCandless’ repertoire of original compositions that have been featured on his solo records over the years. This collaboration adds a fresh twist and new energy to McCandless’ music. The Charged Particles trio features Murray Low, keyboards; Aaron Germain, basses; and Jon Krosnick, drums.
The group premiered their collaboration on the main stage at the famed jazz club Yoshi’s San Francisco in 2014, and their jazz club appearances have included Birdland (New York City), Blues Alley (Washington, DC), Motion Blue (Jakarta, Indonesia), and Spin Jazz (Oxford, United Kingdom). They have taught master classes at Kelowna Secondary School (Kelowna, Canada), MacEwan University (Edmonton, Alberta, Canada), University of Arkansas (Fayetteville, Arkansas), Royal Northern College of Music (Manchester, UK), and Bath Spa University (Bath, UK).
Charged Particles
Murray Low is a veteran pianist of the Bay Area jazz scene and has been playing, composing, arranging, recording and teaching professionally for over 30 years. His fluency in all forms of jazz and its blending with other idioms has led to a multi-faceted career spanning a wide variety of musical contexts.
Murray is best known for his contributions to Latin Jazz, Salsa and Afro-Cuban musical landscape. In his 22 years of involvement he has established himself as one of the premier pianists in that genre, being nominated as 2008 Pianist of the Year by the Latin Jazz Corner and for a Grammy in 2004 as part of Machete Ensemble.
Spending 20 years as a busy hired gun bass player, Aaron Germain has traveled the world and learned from the masters. Growing up in Massachusetts and studying at Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts (with Yusef Lateef), he cut his teeth on upright and electric bass in bands playing jazz, blues, funk, reggae, Senegalese mbalax, and more, while traveling all around the northeast.
Since moving to the Bay Area in 2000, his calendar has always been full, and he’s expanded his repertoire to include salsa and Afro-Cuban music, Brazilian forro music, Caribbean steel pan music, Indian kathak dance, calypso, and dense odd-meter jazz.
Jon Krosnick began playing piano at age 6 and drums at age 9. The bulk of his formal musical training took place during ten summers spent at the National Music Camp in Interlochen, Michigan. There, he studied classical percussion and jazz drumming, and he performed with orchestras, concert bands, percussion ensembles, jazz bands, and back-up bands for musical theater performances.
Jon’s playing in Charged Particles reflects his primary influences on the drums: Peter Erskine, Dave Weckl, and Steve Gadd. His drumming style blends incredible technique (developed through his classical training) and a sensitivity to his fellow players with an explosive energy that propels the trio to electrifying velocities.
This is a four-part series. A $10 discount is offered if you want to purchase tickets to all 4 shows up to and including the day of the first show (Jan.11, 2020).To purchase tickets go online at SoperReeseTheatre.com, or to The Travel Center, 825 S. Main, Lakeport, Monday-Friday 9 a.m. to 5 pm. For more information call 707-263-0577.
