Guitarist Richard Nelson is known from New York to Maine for his compositional prowess. For this event he is bringing his Imaginary Ensemble for an evening of his own exploratory contemporary jazz compositions, elements of South African jazz, music by Bud Powell and other jazz masters, and jazz-tinged takes on blues and Americana classics featuring Maine’s outstanding jazz vocalist Marcia Gallagher. With Frank Mauceri, saxophones; Peter Herman, guitar; Scott Kiefner, bass; and Brian Shankar Adler, drums.

Described as “an ambitious and daring composer” who has “come up with a distinctive synthesis of modern jazz, and contemporary orchestral music” (Dave Wayne, All About Jazz), composer/guitarist Richard Nelson fosters a healthy creative interplay between the spontaneity of improvisational explorations and notated contemporary composition. His works have been performed widely by ensembles such as the Portland Piano Trio, the Charleston Symphony Orchestra, and his own New York-based Makrokosmos Orchestra, among many others. He has written commissioned works for a number of notable groups including the Aardvark Jazz Orchestra, the flute and harp Duo 2, and the Resinosa Ensemble. He has been awarded residencies and fellowships from MacDowell, Yaddo, Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, and the Charles Ives Center, and numerous additional grants to support his creative work.

https://www.richardnelsonmusic.com/

Program:

Softly, as in a Morning Sunrise  (Romberg and Hammerstein)

Crawler  (Richard Nelson)

The Seventh String  (Steve Grover) 

Dance of the Infidels  (Bud Powell)

Julianna  (Richard Nelson)

Madiba  (Alvin Dyers)

You Don’t Know What Love Is  (de Paul and Raye)

Stillness  (Richard Nelson)

Origin Story  (Richard Nelson)

Trouble in Mind  (Richard M. Jones)