Summer Music Associates presents two more concerts this summer as part of its 51st season. On Thursday, August 8, at 7 PM, at the First Baptist Church in New London, the five-member Alias Brass Company performs its extraordinary program, PRISM.
The Alias Brass Company demonstrates a broad artistic range by combining diverse elements of classical music, modern pop-culture, and all things in between to create an experience that is both engaging and exciting. Receiving critical acclaim for being captivating, diverse, and innovative, Alias Brass continues to dazzle audiences across the globe.
Committed to promoting an image of music that is inclusive, the Alias Brass Company strives to fulfill their mission of ensuring that music remains sustainable and thriving in today’s society by presenting works that represent a variety of global styles, genders, and cultures. Through setting an example that powerful music can be created by and for anyone, Alias creates a gateway into classical music for future musicians and music lovers alike.
No stranger to the international stage, the Alias Brass Company has performed at such venues as the Banff Centre for the Arts Summer Music Concert Series and the International Horn Symposium in Natal, Brazil. They have also been highlighted as featured artists at the International Trumpet Guild Conference in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Alias has been awarded professional residencies at the Rafael Mendez Brass Institute in Denver and the Banff Centre for the Arts in Alberta, Canada.
The ensemble has performed countless concerts throughout the United States and Canada, touring extensively in such areas as the Pacific Midwest, Midwest, Texas, Georgia, California, and Missouri, in such concert series as the Singletary Center Concert Series and Trinity Concert Series, among others. Additionally, they have performed and given master classes across the United States as performers on the Allied Concert Services roster.
The Uptown Jazz Tentet returns to New London on Thursday, August 22, at 7 PM, at the Sawyer Center Theater at Colby-Sawyer College. The Uptown Jazz Tentet was formed in 2016. The concept of the band was developed by Willie Applewhite.
“The goal was simple, to hire my friends to create the best music we can,” Applewhite says. “I wanted the focus to be only on the music and the collective as a whole, eliminating the trappings of individual ambition and politics. With that in mind, I decided to ask my close friends Brandon Lee and James Burton III to join me in co-leadership of the band.”
Although several members are contributing writers, the three leaders provide the compositional backbone of the UJT. “Between us, there is a commonality of shared influences and experiences.” What’s interesting is that this commonality is filtered through three unique lenses of interpretation. “We all have a personalized compositional sound, but it all complements each other.”
With all its benefits, a co-led structure can have its challenges. James Burton likes to joke, “The triumvirate really worked out well for the Romans. Sometimes there can be dissonance between us, but we always make it through with respect and love. Thankfully we play jazz, where some dissonance is always good!
“The decision of the 10-piece configuration was unanimous and important because it provides a sweet spot for large ensemble orchestration and small group flexibility. Composing for this instrumentation provides the wonderful challenge of writing for each member’s individual voice, because with 10 pieces, everyone’s part is extremely important.
“Speaking of those individual voices, every great band is comprised of great sidemen. We are fortunate that our closest friends in the industry happen to be the most sought-after musicians on the jazz scene. In the words of Brandon Lee, ‘We all have bonded playing in the bands of Christian McBride, Ron Carter, The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, etc., and we love our gigs! This is our opportunity to do our own thing.’
“We try not to overly define our music. The UJT’s style is grounded in the traditions of Duke Ellington, Billy Strayhorn, Gil Evans, Thad Jones, and many others. With that being said, we are inclusive of all of the other flavors of the jazz idiom. Our goal is to create music that is stimulating, inspiring, exciting, and fulfilling.”
Tickets for the concerts are $25 for adults and $5 for students. They are available at the door, online at www.summermusicassociates.org, by phone at 603 526-8234, or at Tatewell Gallery or Morgan Hill Bookstore in New London.