PORT ANGELES — ―Original jazz compositions, some of which have never been heard before on the North Olympic Peninsula, will highlight a special jazz performance by internationally acclaimed flugelhornist Dmitri Matheny and the David Jones Quartet at Peninsula College on Thursday, July 24.
The concert will be at 7 p.m. in the Maier Performance Hall on the Port Angeles campus at 1502 E. Lauridsen Blvd.
Tickets will be available at the door for $12 for general admission and $5 for high school or Peninsula College students.
In addition to original work, several standards and jazz classics will be part of the evening’s musical fare.
Matheny vaulted onto the jazz scene in the 1990s when he was the protege of Art Farmer. Since then, his trajectory has propelled him into international stardom.
He has toured extensively throughout the United States, Europe and Asia, traveling to 19 countries.
He has performed with many Motown and popular music acts, including the Temptations, Martha Reeves, Fabian, the Four Tops, Bobby Vinton, Sandy Patty, Bobby Rydell, Frankie Avalon and the O’Jays.
Critics and fans alike celebrate Matheny for his warm tone, soaring lyricism and masterful technique.
The San Francisco Chronicle called him “one of the jazz world’s most talented horn players,” and the San Jose Mercury News lauded him as “the first breakthrough flugelhornist since Chuck Mangione.”
Matheny’s discography lists more than 60 compact discs on which he appears as a composer, arranger, producer, annotator or flugelhorn soloist.
He also has released nine albums as a leader.
Among his awards are the “Talent Deserving Wider Recognition” in the 46th Annual Down Beat International Critics Poll and “Best New Artist” honors in the 1999 JazzTimes Readers Poll.
David Jones, director of the Peninsula College Jazz Ensemble, will lend his keyboard skills to the local quartet that will accompany Matheny.
Jones, in addition to filling the piano chair in the Bob Curnow Big Band for a couple of years in the 1990s, has performed with Phat Pharm, Jon Hamar, Michael Bisio, Brad Sheppik and Bob Nell.
His jazz mentors have included William O. Smith, David Baker and Ernie Wilkins.
Jones’s music for large jazz ensembles has been performed across the United States and in England by professional jazz orchestras, including Jazz Police, Jim Cutler Jazz Orchestra, Composers and Improvisers Orchestra (featuring Julian Priester and Hadley Caliman), and Straight No Chaser Big Band (Surrey, UK).
Several college and universities have performed his big band music, including Indiana University, University of Missouri-KC, University of Iowa and Rutgers University at such venues as Reno Jazz Festival, Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival, University of Alaska-Fairbanks Festival and the Society of Composers National Conference.
Jones has conducted the Peninsula College Jazz Ensemble since 2008 and has created more than 50 new compositions and arrangements for them to perform at the Juan de Fuca Festival, Concerts on the Pier, the AmeriCorps Fair and at many on-campus performances.
The rhythm section of Terry Smith (drums) and Ted Enderle (bass) represents several decades of performing, touring and recording.
Enderle, originally from Philadelphia, has performed across the nation with Larry McKenna, Hadley Caliman, Barney McClure, Mark Lewis, Darin Clenenin, the David Jones Trio and other noted musicians.
The fiery druming of Smith, a staff member at Peninsula College, has been heard with Soul Shakers, Olympic Express Big Band, Peninsula College Jazz Ensemble, Haywire, the David Jones Trio and others.
Since he retired as an Olympic National Forest ranger, Kevin MacCartney, has developed his lifelong passion for jazz.
MacCartney is proficient on tenor sax, flute and Latin percussion, and has performed with his own Latin/jazz quartet, Tanga, the Olympic Express Big Band and the Peninsula College Jazz Ensemble, where he has filled the lead tenor chair since 2008.
He also has taught Latin percussion at Peninsula College and continues to volunteer on various community environmental issues.