Gathering of giants

Jazz greats bring two big nights of music to the Flathead Valley

Two special concerts with world-renowned jazz artists are May 5-6 at 7:30 p.m. each night at the Columbia Falls High School auditorium.

Walking In Beauty, a non-profit music education foundation, will bring jazz superstars from New York and Los Angeles including Ernie Watts (saxophone), Abraham Laboriel (bass), Lew Soloff (trumpet) and Ron Feuer (keyboard). Harry Blazer, a Flathead Valley resident and president of Walking in Beauty, will play drums.

The two-evening event will feature a special guest appearance by Glacier Orchestra and Chorale music director and conductor John Zoltek on guitar.

There will be open rehearsals on May 2-4 between 1 and 5 p.m. at Columbia Falls High School. Anyone is welcome to attend these rehearsals at no charge.

Watts is a two-time Grammy award winner and one of the most versatile and accomplished sax players on the music scene today. In a career spanning 35 years, he has been featured on over 500 recordings and countless sessions and appearances with artists such as Frank Zappa, Thelonious Monk, Earth Wind and Fire, The Rolling Stones, Aretha Franklin, and scores of others.

He was a 20-year veteran with the Tonight Show band and is a recipient of multiple NARAS "Most Valuable Player" Awards, including two awards in one year for different instruments - sax and flute. As People Magazine said, few "have what tenor saxophonist Watts has honed to perfection; phrasing as natural as falling water and a sound that is at once steeped in tradition and wholly unique."

Laboriel is a world-renowned bassist who is the most recorded bass player ever with over 4,000 recording sessions to his credit. It is difficult to name someone with whom Abraham has not performed. Some regard him as the most influential bass player alive today.

Soloff is one of the most famous lead and jazz trumpeters alive. Lew's recording and performance credits read like a "Who's Who". To name a few: Dizzy Gillespie, John Abercrombie, Louie Bellson, Randy and Michael Brecker, Steve Gadd, Eddie Daniels, David Sanborn, J.J. Johnson, the Gil Evans Orchestra, The Mel Lewis/Thad Jones Orchestra and Blood Sweat and Tears. It is hard to pick up a contemporary jazz big band album (as well as many other genres) and not find his name among the credits, often as lead trumpet.

Feuer's career spans 30 years and ranges from pianist, keyboardist, B3 organman, composer, arranger and producer. Feuer combines jazz virtuosity with a rich tapestry of harmonic colors.

He is the featured jazz piano soloist for the award-winning movie, "Sideways." His credits include live performances with legends such as Diana Ross, Paul Anka, Elvis Presley and Jazz greats such as James Moody, Frank Rosolino, Randy Brecker, Miroslav Vitous, and many more.

Blazer is currently a resident of Flathead Valley, where he has been visiting since 1969. Before being the CEO of a nationally recognized food store in he Atlanta area, Blazer had an exceptional career in music as an accompanist for Johnny Mathis, Paul Anka, Diana Ross, Dean Martin, Vic Dimone, Doc Severinsen and jazz greats Freddie Hubbard, Gary Burton, Joe Farrell, Lee Ritenour, Mose Allison among others. Blazer returned to music about nine years ago and formed the group GEM with his long-time friends and associates Feuer and Laboriel.

Zoltek, the Glacier Symphony and Chorale's music director and conductor since 1994, is an active orchestra conductor, composer, guitarist and cultural advocate for fine musical arts in northwest Montana. He holds a bachelor's degree from Berklee College of Music in Boston and a master's from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada.

Walking in Beauty is a non-profit corporation formed by Blazer for the purpose of promoting jazz and classical music in Montana and the Northwest.

Tickets for the May 5-6 shows will be sold at the door only and will be $10 for adults and $5 for students. Doors will open at 6:30.

Reserve your tickets online at www.walkinginbeauty.org

For more information, call Olga at Bear's Nest Design, 257-1187.