TICKETS are $10 General/$5 Student.

Concerts and events made possible, in part, with support from the Wells Philanthropic Services provided by grants from the John, Anna, and Martha Jane Fields Memorial Trust Foundation, Stanley A. and Flora P. Clark Memorial Community Trust Foundation, and the Florence V. Carroll Charitable Trust, The Esther and George Jaruga Charitable Foundation, the Community Foundation of St. Joseph County's ArtsEverywhere initiative, and the Arts Project Support Grant and Arts Recovery Grant through the Indiana Arts Commission. Concert support provided by the Arts Midwest Grow, Invest, Gather (GIG) Fund grant (2022-2023 season).

Touring from NYC and Michigan...

David Berkman - piano

Andrew Rathbun - saxophone

Carlo De Rosa - bass

Keith Hall - drums

“Berkman doesn’t rely on old formulas, and he isn’t risk-averse. In his tunes, harmonies flow in unanticipated directions, silences open suddenly like trap doors, and quirky rhythmic displacements keep both listeners and bandmembers on their toes (His) music is also full of romance, mystery, and good spirits.” — Ed Hazel, JazzIz magazine

VIDEO

WEBSITE

David Berkman has been an essential part of the New York jazz scene for over 30 years, as a creative and swinging voice on the piano and as a gifted composer, arranger, and bandleader. Originally from Cleveland, Ohio, he currently divides his time between teaching in N.Y. and performing with world renowned jazz artists at home and abroad. Berkman has performed with numerous jazz luminaries including Sonny Stitt, Tom Harrell, Brian Blade, the Vanguard Orchestra, Cecil McBee, Dave Douglas and Chris Potter. Berkman is an award-winning composer/bandleader, a recording artist whose 10 recordings as a leader have appeared on numerous best records of the year critic’s lists (the New York Times, the Village Voice, Downbeat, JazzIz, Jazz Times and others) Berkman is a tenured professor at the Aaron Copland School of Music, C.U.N.Y. in New York and has published three books on jazz with Sher Music Publishing which are used in jazz schools worldwide.

“Berkman is a scintillating composer and improviser…” —Steve Futterman, Entertainment Weekly

“…an often stunning collection of great melodies and intelligent improvisations.” — Richard Kamins, Hartford Courant on Berkman’s “Handmade”

Saxophonist, composer, bandleader, and Toronto native Andrew Rathbun has achieved a rare depth of lyricism, authoritative swing, and compositional intelligence in nearly 20 years as a recording artist. His work is rooted in modern jazz but also deeply informed by classical composition — his recordings have included adaptations of Ravel, Mompou and Glück, among others. He has written big band commissions for the Danish Radio Jazz Orchestra, the Brussels Jazz Orchestra, the Metropole Orkest and other ensembles, and performed and composed commercial music for roughly 10 years as well. Another of Rathbun’s inspirations is poetry: his recordings Jade and True Stories set to music the verse of Cathy Song and Margaret Atwood, respectively (both albums featured acclaimed Brazilian vocalist Luciana Souza). His 2002 release, Sculptures featured trumpet legend and Toronto native Kenny Wheeler in a set that “cloak[s] subtle avant-garde proclivities in soft light and open air” (JazzTimes). Rathbun has also tackled political subjects with his large-ensemble work “Power Politics Suite” and his 2007 quintet session Affairs of State. His other recordings of note are Renderings (duo with pianist George Colligan), Days Before and After (co-led with drummer Owen Howard), Shadow Forms (featuring George Garzone), Where We Are Now (featuring Billy Hart), The Idea of North and Numbers & Letters. Rathbun earned a master’s in performance from Boston’s New England Conservatory, where he studied with George Garzone, Jimmy Giuffre and George Russell. He became a fixture on the New York jazz scene during his years in Brooklyn, helping to shape the sound of the music in the new millennium as he earned a Doctorate in Jazz Arts from Manhattan School of Music. He is currently Professor of Saxophone and Jazz Studies at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, where he lives with his family. He continues to perform in New York and internationally.

Since moving to New York City in 1993, Carlo De Rosa has had the opportunity to work with many great artists in the Latin and Jazz World. This has led to diverse musical and cultural experiences and has allowed Carlo to work with a wide variety of artists such as Ray Barretto, Ravi Coltrane, William Cepeda, Vijay Iyer, Bruce Barth, Ed Thigpen, Nick Brignola, Mickey Roker, Steve Turre, Miguel Zenon, Hilton Ruiz, Ralph Alessi, Candido Camero, Jason Moran, Papo Vasquez and the NYC Ballet. He currently collaborates and performs with many other great artists including: Allison Miller, Ingrid Jensen, Sam Newsome, Rudresh Mahanthappa, Mark Shim, Luis Perdomo, Dave Allen, Chembo Corniel, Lucian Ban, Andrea Brachfeld, Amir ElSaffar, and Victor Prieto. As a US Jazz Ambassador in 1999 Carlo traveled to South Africa, Mauritius, Madagascar, Kenya, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe. Other performances abroad have led him to countries as varied as France, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Estonia, Russia, Switzerland, Italy, Austria, Holland, Belgium, Czech Republic, Argentina, Chile, Romania, Slovenia, Denmark and Ireland.

Keith Hall has established himself as a joyful performer and a passionate educator over the last 25 years and is the Professor of Jazz Drum Set at Western Michigan University. For 12 years, Keith spent much of his time touring worldwide and recording with singer and Concord Recording Artist Curtis Stigers. Hall has also performed with the likes of Betty Carter, Wycliffe Gordon, Sir Roland Hanna, Michael Phillip Mossman, New York Voices, Andrew Rathbun, Janis Siegel, Terrell Stafford, Joe Wilder, and Steve Wilson among others. He has recorded five albums with his critically acclaimed trio TRI-FI.

Hall lived and worked in New York City for nine years performing in a multitude of musical contexts. Although most of these were jazz, he was also a regular sub for Tommy Igoe on Broadway’s Lion King. Hall was a member of the Latin-jazz quartet, Grupo Yanqui, chosen by the United States State Department and Jazz at Lincoln Center to represent the U.S. in the American Music Abroad Program. Hall was also a member of the prestigious Betty Carter’s Jazz Ahead in 1997.

Hall is the Artistic Director of the Keith Hall Summer Drum Intensive, a one-of-a-kind jazz drum camp that celebrated its 16th year. He is also the Executive Director of TUNED IN, a nonprofit organization, which focuses on supporting the power of music education to change lives. Hall is the author of two instructional jazz drum set books: Jazz Drums Now! Vol. 1 and Jazz Drums Now! Vol. 2 and is the radio host for Jazz Currents on WMUK, the NPR affiliate in Kalamazoo, Michigan and hosts The Real Music Talk Podcast. Hall presents clinics worldwide and is a proud endorser for Remo Drumheads, Yamaha Drums, Vic Firth Drumsticks, Zildjian Cymbals, Cympad, Big Fat Snare Drum, Cympad, Rhythm Tech, and Protection Racket Drum Cases.