Notables from the Jazz World to Conduct Free Clinics at
Long Island University’s Brooklyn Campus in October
Saxophonist T.K. Blue to appear on October 6; trumpeter Amir El Saffar on October 20

Brooklyn, N.Y. – Long Island University’s Brooklyn Campus will present a pair of jazz clinics this fall with appearances by saxophonist T.K. Blue and trumpeter Amir El Saffar. Admission is free and open to the public.

Sponsored by the Music Department as part of its “Jazz Clinic and Concert Series,” the clinics will take place in Humanities Building Room 106 at the Brooklyn Campus in downtown Brooklyn, near the corner of Flatbush and DeKalb avenues.

Tuesday, October 6, 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. - T. K. Blue will conduct a master class on “Improvising the Blues.” Born Talib Kibwe, Blue is an American jazz saxophonist whose parents were Jamaican and Trinidadian. Using their Afro-Caribbean musical styles in his music, he has worked with, among others, Don Cherry, South African pianist Dollar Brand, and Randy Weston. In 1986, Blue recorded “Egyptian Oasis,” his first record as a leader, which sparked tours to some 20 countries in Africa. He recorded his second CD, “Introducing Talib Kibwe,” in 1996.

Tuesday, October 20, 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. - Iraqi-American trumpeter Amir El Saffar will discuss improvising with Arabic modes and scales. An accomplished jazz and classical trumpeter, he has collaborated with various artists, including Cecil Taylor, Rudresh Mahanthappa, Vijay Iyer and Daniel Barenboim, and was the winner of the 2001 Carmine Caruso International Jazz Trumpet competition. In 2006, El Saffar composed “Two Rivers,” a suite that invokes Iraqi musical traditions and frames them in a modern jazz setting. All About Jazz described his recording as “a stirring example of the creative possibilities of international jazz in the 21st century.” He has composed and performed on several film soundtracks, and appeared in Jonathan Demme's Oscar-nominated film, “Rachel Getting Married.”

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 more information, call (718) 488-1668.

Posted: September 16, 2009