Notables from the Jazz World to Conduct
Free Jazz Clinics at Long Island University’s Brooklyn Campus

- Include trumpeter Jeremy Pelt, saxophonist Harel Shachal,
vocalist Marta Topferova and pianist Jean-Michel Pilc -

Brooklyn, N.Y. — Long Island University’s Brooklyn Campus will present a series of jazz clinics this spring with appearances by trumpeter Jeremy Pelt, saxophonist Harel Shachal, vocalist and cuatro player Marta Topferova and pianist Jean-Michel Pilc. All events are free and open to the public. The Brooklyn Campus is located in Downtown Brooklyn at the corner of DeKalb and Flatbush avenues.

• Tuesday, February 12, 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., Humanities 106 - Jazz Trumpeter Jeremy Pelt will perform with his quartet and lead a workshop. Voted Rising Star on the Trumpet five years in a row by Downbeat Magazine and the Jazz Journalist Association, Pelt has played with many jazz luminaries, such as the Mingus Big Band, Jimmy Heath, Ravi Coltrane, Nancy Wilson and Bobby Short. He will also perform in an Afternoons at LIU concert on Wednesday, February 13, noon, Kumble Theater.
  
  
• Tuesday, February 26, 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., Humanities 106 - Israeli saxophonist/clarinetist Harel Shachal will perform with his trio and lead a workshop on Middle Eastern jazz and Arabic composition and improvisation. He studied with the great saxophone player Albert Piamenta, learning the system of maqams and quarter tones from one of the masters of this music.
  
  
• Tuesday, March 4, 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., Humanities 106 - Vocalist and cuatro player Marta Topferova with her group, Trio Lyra, will lead a workshop on Latin American folk songs and rhythms. Topferova started singing at age eight in her native Prague, Czech Republic, with the Mládí choir. Upon moving to the United States in 1987, she continued her vocal and music studies with The Seattle Girls' Choir. A singular artist, she sings in and is fluent in both Czech and Spanish.
  
  
• Tuesday, April 1, 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., Humanities 106 - Jazz pianist Jean-Michel Pilc will perform with guitarist Gilad Hekselman and lead a workshop on jazz improvisation. Pilc’s new trio album, “New Dreams” was released in 2007 on Dreyfus Jazz. Pilc has played with some of the best jazz musicians: Roy Haynes, Michael Brecker, Dave Liebman, Jean Toussaint, Kenny Garrett, Mingus Dynasty & Big Band. He has also worked with Harry Belafonte, as his musical director and pianist.

The Brooklyn Campus music department offers programs leading to a B.A. in traditional music studies, a B.F.A. in Jazz Studies and a B.S. in Music Education in Urban Schools. For further information, call (718) 488-1668.

Posted: February 7, 2008

Media contact: (718) 488-1015