Jazz Showcase

Featuring the Jazz Ensemble and a special performance by The Loyola University Faculty Jazz Ensemble:
Anthony Molinaro (piano) is the 1997 winner of the prestigious Naumburg International Piano Competition and one of the most versatile pianists of his generation. Acclaimed for his “edge-of-the-seat brilliance” and “musically imaginative mind,” Mr. Molinaro has appeared as soloist with over fifty symphony orchestras, headlined at major jazz clubs throughout the world, and composed and arranged music in both the classical and jazz genres. He has released five albums including, The Bach Sessions, featuring J.S. Bach’s Goldberg Variations and F Minor and A Major Concertos with the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields Chamber Orchestra; and Here, There and Everywhere, a solo piano album exploring music of The Beatles. In aChicago Tribune feature story, critic Howard Reich wrote of the latter, “an exceptional new solo album… He transforms these works creating a distinctive world of sound for each one… In effect, Molinaro has brought to these famous songs a harmonic sophistication, rhythmic complexity and textural intricacy that far surpasses the originals.” Mr. Molinaro has been featured in the Chicago Tribune, the New York Times, Downbeat magazine and in the 2010 book, The New Face of Jazz. He is an Associate Professor of Music at Loyola University Chicago and was recently awarded The Edwin T. and Vivijeanne F. Sujack Award for Teaching Excellence, “the very highest honor that the Loyola University College of Arts and Sciences bestows for the very best in teaching and research.” For more information please visit his website here)Scott Burns (tenor sax) is the Director of the Loyola University Chicago Jazz Ensemble, instructor of applied jazz saxophone, and jazz history lecturer. A native of Dayton, OH, Mr. Burns has been a fixture on the Chicago jazz scene since moving to the city in 1998, as well as an in-demand educator. He is a graduate of the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (B.M in Jazz and Studio Music) and DePaul University (M.M. in Jazz Studies). As an established performer on the Chicago jazz scene, Mr. Burns frequently shares the stage as a leader and sideman with the area’s finest jazz musicians. His wide range of performing credits include appearances with international jazz artists Harry Connick Jr., Ahmad Jamal, Clark Terry, Ira Sullivan, McCoy Tyner, performances with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Cincinnati and Milwaukee Pops Orchestras, and theChicago Jazz Orchestra. He has performed at the Newport Jazz Festival, JVC Jazz Fest, Chicago Jazz Fest, Chicago Symphony Center, Ravinia Festival, and the Kennedy Center. An active recording artist, Mr. Burns has been a featured sideman on over a dozen jazz recordings. His debut CD as a leader, Passages, was released on Origin Records to critical acclaim and features his original compositions. Mr. Burns is also a dedicated jazz educator to students of all levels. In addition to Loyola University, he has served on the faculty of DePaul University and Columbia College, and has been a clinician and guest soloist at numerous high schools and colleges in the Midwest region. He has worked with students in the Thelonious Monk Jazz Institute’s Chicago chapter, the Northwestern University High School Music Institute, and is currently a faculty member at Birch Creek Music Performance Center’s summer jazz program in Wisconsin. To check out his professional website, click here.Victor Garcia (trumpet) has been performing with his group, CALJE, and freelancing in Chicago and beyond for over 10 years. He has performed with artists from a wide variety of genres including, Aretha Franklin, Arturo Sandoval, Spoon, Victor Manuelle, Nicholas Payton, Bobby Rush, La India,Fred Hersch, The Temptations, Steve Turre, Tito Puente, Jr., Keb’ Mo’, Paquito D’Rivera, Randy Brecker, Lucky Peterson and a multitude of others. His travels have taken him to Europe, Central America, and South America. In addition, he has recorded dozens of albums, two of which garneredGrammy nominations in 2005 (Angel Melendez & the 911 Mambo Orchestra) and 2008 (Sones de Mexico), and one which was nominated for a Latin Grammy in 2007 (Sones de Mexico). Victor maintains a busy teaching schedule at Loyola University, the Music Institute of Chicago, UIC and atRoosevelt University. The link to his professional website can be found here.Matt Ulery (bass) is a Chicago-based bassist/composer and bandleader and has developed an instantly recognizable sound. Known for his sweeping lyricism, unconventional phrase structures, expressionistic emotionalism, Ulery’s music is informed by the entire spectrum of jazz, classical, rock, pop, and folk– specifically American, South American, Balkan, and other European folk styles. He performs not only on upright and electric bass, but doubles on tuba. For a decade, Ulery has been the leader of his own groups and frequent collaborator. Ulery has produced and released six albums of all original music under his name including his three most recent releases of critical acclaim, “By a Little Light,” “Wake an Echo,” and “In the Ivory,” on Dave Douglas’s Greenleaf Music record label in 2012-2014. Ulery earned a Master of Music degree at Depaul University and Bachelors degree in music composition at The Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University and has played in bands with Kurt Rosenwinkel, Phil Markowitz,Jimmy Chamberlin, Fareed Haque, Howard Levy, Patricia Barber, Goran Ivanovic, Jeff Parker, Zach Brock, and many others. As a composer, Ulery has collaborated with ensembles such as eighth blackbird and the New Millennium Orchestra of Chicago. When not touring parts of the U.S. and Europe, Matt appears regularly in the Chicago area music venues and has performed with his groups at prestigious venues such as Carnegie Hall, Chicago Orchestra Hall, Millennium Park Pritzker Pavilion, Chicago Cultural Center, The Krannert Center, Blues Alley, Jazz Showcase, The Metro and countless other fine music listening rooms. Click here to see his professional website.

Jon Deitemyer (drums) has quickly earned his place among a new breed of creative, expressive jazz drummers. Mr. Deitemyer graduated summa cum laude from the esteemed University of North Texas and spent substantial time at the Banff Centre for the Arts. In only a short professional career, he has collaborated with Patricia Barber, Matt Ulery, Zach Brock, Grazyna Auguscik, Phil Markowitz, Ben Paterson, and countless others. Mr. Deitemyer’s performances have taken him all over the United States, as well as South Korea, Brazil, Poland, Germany, Lithuania, the Czech Republic, and Canada. Recordings of his drumming can be heard on the Concord, Greenleaf, Origin, and MaxJazz labels. He is also an active educator, with teaching positions at Loyola University Chicago and the Chicago Academy for the Arts. Grammy-winning singer Patricia Barber raves: “Jon Deitemyer is the drummer everybody wants right now…” and Chicagojazz.com says: “Jon Deitemyer has earned a reputation as a must-hear drummer and doesn’t disappoint.” To check out his professional website, click here.