Composer's Night: Bobby Katz at Sands Point Preserve Thursday

Composer's Night returns to Sands Point Preserve Thursday, July 21, at 8 p.m. when the Bobby Katz Quintet performs at Hempstead House.

Joining Katz, a tenor saxophonist, are Grammy-nominated trumpeter Michael Rodriguez, along with Manuel Schmiedel on piano, Adrian Moring on bass and Tim Rachbach on drums. The evening marks the premiere of Katz's "Still Searching Suite," a three-movement composition. Tickets are $20.

Katz shared his insights about his musical influences and vision.

How do you feel about performing at the Preserve? I’m very excited to be performing at the Sands Point Preserve. It’s only two minutes from my home in Port Washington and I have many memories of visiting it in the past, from prom to nature walks with my mom! I’m very honored to be a part of the Composer’s Night series and thank Solomon Hoffman and the Sands Point Preserve for inviting me.

What can audiences expect from the concert? Audiences can expect to hear two sets of music showcasing my own, original compositions and arrangements of tunes by some of my favorite composers. Since I grew up listening to and playing jazz standards and believe that these pieces have helped craft me as both a composer and musician, I decided to incorporate a mix of my own compositions with those of several of my favorite composers into the performance. We will also be playing a few of my own, modern arrangements of jazz standards. Lastly, I’m very excited to be premiering my “Still Searching Suite,” a three-movement composition that utilizes the same motivic material within various harmonic frameworks. This composition was actually written accidentally. I initially wrote a tune entitled “Still Searching,” and then wrote two subsequent tunes that I realized, after the fact, share many similarities with the melody and harmony of “Still Searching.” After putting these three pieces together, I realized the potential for it to be performed as one, larger composition. Each tune seems to organically build upon the previous one and end with the original theme. I hope the audience enjoys this composition.

How did your group come together? I’m very excited to be joined by four amazing musicians – Mike Rodriguez, Manuel Schmiedel, Adrian Moring, and Tim Rachbach. While I’ve played with each of these gentlemen numerous times in different settings, this quintet has never played together before. As a bandleader, it is a great joy to assemble a band that I believe will work well together, both musically and personally. When the right band is assembled, anything is possible. We are all honored to be joined by world-class, Grammy-nominated trumpeter Mike Rodriguez. Mike was one of my professors at NYU and I was a member of his jazz ensemble there. He is one of the busiest jazz trumpeters in New York City and I am very honored that he accepted my invitation to join the quintet on July 21.

How did you gravitate toward jazz? This is a tough question to answer. I have always known that music is what I was born to pursue, but I’m still unsure as to what my future holds and which direction I will take with my music. I first became exposed to jazz music in middle school. It was there that I joined jazz band, which met at the ungodly hour of 7 a.m. My grandmother supplemented my jazz education, providing me with numerous CDs, including Charlie Parker, John Coltrane, and Miles Davis. I was inspired by these musicians and, at the same time, perplexed as to what exactly was occurring within the music. It was this curiosity that led me to continue listening to the music and studying it with various private instructors. Toward the end of high school, I started to become serious about improvisation/jazz music and joined numerous ensembles including the Nassau-Suffolk Jazz Band and All-County Jazz Band. I think it was these ensembles that helped me realize my passion for jazz music and desire to pursue it in college. Jazz is a language that allows me to express myself though improvisation and communicate in a way that I can solely achieve through my instrument.

Which artists do you most admire? Another very difficult question to answer! It’s hard to make a brief list of the artists I most admire because there are so many. There are small things that I have taken from many different artists that have helped me in my quest to discovering my sound and musical vision. For example, Charlie Parker’s fluidity, John Coltrane’s authenticity, Bill Evan’s touch, and Elvin Jones’ feel. If I had to compile a list of my favorite all-time saxophone players it would include Rich Perry, John Coltrane, Mark Turner, Joshua Redman, Dexter Gordon, and Sonny Rollins. Aside from my various jazz influences, I am also a big fan of classic rock, pop music, classical music, etc. Some of my biggest influences include Eric Clapton, Billy Joel, The Eagles, The Fray, John Mayer, Kacey Musgraves, etc.

What do you find challenging about composing? I think the thing I find most challenging about composing is the process of transcribing what I’m hearing in my head to paper. In other words, sometimes I’ll have what I think is a great idea, whether it be a melody or harmonic progression, but won’t be able to figure out what exactly it is I’m hearing. Other times I’ll be inspired to compose but won’t have the time to sit down at the piano and write. One of my musical goals for the near future is to dedicate more time to composing. It is a great experience sitting down with no time constraints and effectively composing a piece that starts as a concept within my head and ends as a series of notes and chords on a piece of manuscript paper!

What’s the best part about performing? As a musician, the ultimate gift is being able to perform for a responsive and enthusiastic audience. I envision performing as a multi-layered conversation that incorporates myself, the members of the band, and the audience. It is always a wonderful phenomenon when each of these three parties is in sync with one another. The best part about performing, in my opinion, is when I enter what Kenny Werner refers to within “Effortless Mastery” as the “space,” a mental state of being when the ego is blocked out and improvisation stems from a subconscious area of the brain. In other words, a state of being when one is improvising, but not thinking at all. When this occurs, which is not that often, and the audience is responsive to the music and part of the musical conversation, I believe there is no greater feeling!

Composer’s Night is just one of many new cultural arts programs at the Preserve this season. The North Shore Music Festival presents “Madama Butterfly” on July 30 at 6 p.m.; the evening includes dinner and spans both Hempstead House and Castle Gould for a new experience at the Preserve. And the White Party, A Benefit for Education Programming is set for Aug. 18 at 7 p.m.

To purchase tickets for all cultural events, call the ticket line at 516.304.5076. To purchase a 12-month membership, visit www.TheSandsPointPreserve.org, call 516-571-7901 or visit the Gate House at 127 Middle Neck Road, Sands Point, NY, 11050. Open daily from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.