‘Four For' jazz night caps Warwick Grove Village Life Arts Festival

WARWICK - Jazz artists Todd Coolman, John Riley, Steve Wilson and Renee Rosnes come together to conclude the Warwick Grove Village Life Arts Festival as “Four For.” on Friday, Oct. 22 at 7 p.m. Todd Coolman Grammy Award-winning jazz bassist Coolman is the director of the Purchase Jazz Studies Program, at SUNY Purchase. Coordinaters said he is among the more in-demand musicians on the New York music scene today. He has performed and recorded with a virtual “who’s who” of jazz artists including Horace Silver, Gerry Mulligan, Stan Getz, Benny Golson, Art Farmer, Tommy Flanagan, Lionel Hampton, and Benny Goodman. Today, he is performing with artists including James Moody, Renee Rosnes, Charles McPherson, and The Jon Faddis Quartet and Jazz Orchestra. Coolman has recorded three CDs and has authored two books: “The Bass Tradition” and “The Bottom Line.” Among several academic recognitions, he holds a doctorate in music from New York University. John Riley John Riley began playing drums at age eight, after receiving a snare drum as a gift. With the support, encouragement and patience of his parents, he played in the school band and began drum lessons with a good local teacher. After some playing in rock bands Riley was inspired by the soundtrack to “The Gene Krupa Story,” and got a job by auditioning over the phone. He went on to attend the University of North Texas, where he was introduced to a larger world of music and percussion. In 1976, he moved to New York City and was soon called to join the Woody Herman Band. Following that experience, Riley began freelancing with 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. He is on the faculty of Manhattan School of Music and SUNY Purchase, and is an artist in residence at Amsterdam Conservatory, Holland. Riley is the author of “The Art of Bop Drumming,” “Beyond Bop Drumming,” and “The Jazz Drummer’s Workshop,” and has taught master classes around the world. Steve Wilson Saxophonist Steve Wilson has earned a prominent position on the bandstand and in the studio with the greatest names in jazz, as well as acclaim as a bandleader in his own right. Wilson has brought his distinctive sound to more than 100 recordings led by 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 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. Wilson was a featured guest with Dr. Billy Taylor in his series “Jazz at the Kennedy Center,” broadcast on NPR. He is on the faculty at The Manhattan School of Music, SUNY Purchase, and Columbia University. Renee Rosnes Coordinators called Renee Rosnes is one of the premier jazz pianists and composers of her generation. Canadian born, she began classical piano studies at age three and became interested in jazz music in high school. Shortly after relocating from Vancouver to New York in 1986, Rosnes quickly established a reputation as a formidable talent. In 1987, she joined tenor saxophonist Joe Henderson’s band; in 1988, she spent a year with Wayne Shorter’s Quintet; in 1989, legendary trombonist JJ Johnson invited Rosnes to become his pianist, and she performed and recorded with him for seven years. Her 2003 Blue Note release, “Renee Rosnes with the Danish Radio Big Band,” features eight tracks. Aside from leading her own trio and quartet, Rosnes is a 19 year member of the James Moody Quartet, frequently performs with legendary vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson, and was the pianist for six years for the SF Jazz Collective, an all-star band that has featured such artists as Joshua Redman, Nicholas Payton, Miguel Zenon, Nicholas Payton, Dave Douglas and Joe Lovano. Rosnes also often collaborates with her husband, pianist Bill Charlap, in a two piano setting. If you go The “Four For” performance will take place at the Warwick Grove Neighborhood Center on Hudson St. on Friday, Oct. 22, at 7 p.m. Seating is limited. Tickets are $25 per person, and $15 for students. Light refreshments will be served. Visit www.warwick-grove.com for more information or call 988-5274.