A concert to benefit The Link Project

THE NAT REEVES TRIO
Friday, May 25
7:00  p.m.

Smith Hall Theatre
on the campus of Randolph College in Lynchburg

Tickets:  Adults $30
Students $10

Legendary Lynchburg-born jazz bassist Nat Reeves will headline An Evening of Jazz on May 25, 2012, at Randolph College. The concert will benefit The Link Project administered by The International Trends and Services Committee of The Lynchburg Chapter of The Links Incorporated.  Currently, performing in New York City and many locations around the world, Nat Reeves will perform with his Jazz Trio featuring Rick Germanson, a highly in-demand pianist on the New York scene, and a new star on the jazz horizon, Billy Williams on drums from Virginia Beach.  The E.C. Glass Jazz Band will be the featured front-liner, under the direction of Larry Seipp, Directors of Bands.

Currently residing in Hartford, Connecticut, Nat Reeves’s musical career spans four decades and has been seen performing in every major jazz venue in the world, including major cities in the U.S., Europe, Asia, Africa, the Middle East, the Caribbean.  Upon returning from a series of jazz performances in Japan, An Evening of Jazz in Lynchburg will be his next stop.  Reeves, having performed and recorded with living jazz legends, such as Jackie McLean, Kenny Garrett, Pharaoh Sanders, Donald Byrd, and Wynton Marsalis, serves as assistant professor at the Hartt School at the University of Hartford’s Jackie McLean Institute of Jazz.  Nat’s discography now numbers over 60 recordings.

Rick Germanson has been a sideman with many of the top names in jazz and appears on over a dozen recordings.  Currently working with the Cannonball Legacy Band, Germanson won the 1996 Grand Prize at the American Pianists’ Association Jazz Piano Competition and has taught at the Julliard School, Jazz at Lincoln Center Outreach program and the American Piano Museum.  His hometown in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Billy Williams, a native of Virginia Beach and graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University, has had the opportunity to work professionally with master musicians.  Having performed for countless high ranking political figures, he has performed at the Kennedy Center, Smithsonian Jazz Cafe, and the Duke Ellington Jazz Festival.  In addition to international touring with various musicians, he is the leader of the Billy Williams Quartet/Trio that has performed at the Richmond Jazz Society’s Guest Educator’s Series, Jazz in the Park in Staunton, and the Chrysler Museum of Art.

The E.C. Glass Jazz Band is a product of the E.C. Glass Jazz program that consists of a Jazz improvisation Lab Class and an after-school Jazz Ensemble.  Composed primarily of juniors and seniors, the Jazz Lab plays throughout the year and regularly performs for civic events, fundraisers, and private parties.

Hermina Hendricks, Chair of the Links International Trends and Services Committee notes that this is a great opportunity for Central Virginians to re-kindle their love for live jazz performances while also supporting a project that helps area high school students prepare for careers in the 21^st century and serve communities with greater skills and knowledge from a global lens perspective outside of their own identities. The Links Intercultural Leadership Institute at Randolph College sponsors an annual project that provides experiences that enable youth to become aware of international affairs and global career opportunities. High School students are selected for participation in a curriculum that includes intercultural workshops with the college’s Davenport Student Leaders, exposure to a global studies program including faculty and staff, and a travel study trip.

An Evening of Jazz is scheduled for Friday, May 25, 2012, 7:00 P.M. Randolph College Smith Hall Theatre. Ticket price: Adult-$30.00 Student- $10.00. Further information contact 434-386-6555 or 434-385-0614. Tickets are available at Lynchburg Music Center and Hunton-Randolph Community Center.