THE FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY
College of Music presents
Faculty Recital
Jazz Faculty Sextet
Scotty Barnhart, Trumpet
David Detweiler, Tenor Saxophone
Kevin Jones, Trombone
Bill Peterson, Piano
Rodney Jordan, Bass
Leon Anderson, Jr., Drums
with special guest
Rod Harris, Jr., Guitar
Wednesday, October 4, 2023
7:30 p.m. | Opperman Music Hall
The Soulful Mr. Timmons
James Williams
Cheek To Cheek Irving Berlin arr. Kevin Jones
Samurai Bill Peterson
Let’s Go To The Beach (Escapitoria)
Minor Revelation
Rodney Jordan
Harold Ousle
One Take Scotty Barnhart
To Ensure An Enjoyable Concert Experience For All…
Please refrain from talking, entering, or exiting during performances. Food and drink are prohibited in all concert halls. Recording or broadcasting of the concert by any means, including the use of digital cameras, cell phones, or other devices is expressly forbidden. Please deactivate all portable electronic devices including watches, cell phones, pagers, hand-held gaming devices or other electronic equipment that may distract the audience or performers.
Recording Notice: This performance may be recorded. Please note that members of the audience may at times be included in this process. By attending this performance you consent to have your image or likeness appear in any live or recorded video or other transmission or reproduction made in conjunction to the performance.
Florida State University provides accommodations for persons with disabilities. Please notify the College of Music at (850) 644-3424 at least five working days prior to a musical event to request accommodation for disability or alternative program format.
GUEST ARTIST
Grammy nominated jazz guitarist Rod Harris Jr. has become a prevalent musical force and well known amongst jazz guitarists and musicians within the U.S and abroad. After spending much of the previous decade (2009-2019) recording, touring, and performing with various legendary artists spanning multiple musical genres, RHJ has emerged as a notable recording artist and jazz guitarist. In 2016, RHJ released his debut jazz-funk album The Counsel of Elders, which pays homage to jazz guitar luminaries Wes Montgomery, Grant Green, George Benson, and Kenny Burrell. In March 2018, Rod released his well-anticipated hip-hop/jazz EP entitled Exits & Options. The “X/O” EP features renditions of classic songs as well as original material. In 2018, RHJ received a Grammy nomination for his guitar work and musical contributions on Neo-Soul legend artist Musiq Soulchild’s album Feel The Real.
Rod can also be seen performing in the hit film biopics Cadillac Records (starring Beyoncé and Adrian Brody), Bessie (starring Queen Latifah), and most recently season 2 of BET’s American Soul (Feb 2020), the National Geographic series The American Genius: Aretha Franklin (starring Cynthia Erivo), and The Color Purple Musical Film (Dec 2023).
Most recently, Rod released a duo album entitled The Duo Sessions: Celebrating the Music of Jazz Piano Legends and an EP collaboration with two-time Grammy Award winning vocalist and trombonist Saunders Sermons entitled Midnight Sky.
ABOUT THE FACULTY ARTISTS
Leon Anderson, Jr., Associate Professor and Director of Jazz Studies, joined the Florida State University faculty in 1998. His musical experience includes that of a classical and jazz percussionist, educator, clinician, and composer. Anderson earned the B.A. degree in Music Education at Louisiana Tech University and the M.A. degree in Percussion Performance from Southeastern Louisiana University. His mentors have included Ellis Marsalis, Willis Delony, and Victor Goines of the New Orleans jazz scene, as well as the late bassist Ben Tucker. Anderson currently teaches drum set, jazz ensembles, jazz combo, and jazz history at the FSU College of Music.
In 1997 Anderson was a featured soloist with The Marcus Roberts Trio’s performance with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra at the Hollywood Bowl, and he was the selected drummer for the “Great Saxophone Legends” concert at the Jacksonville Jazz Festival, featuring Jimmy Heath, David Sanchez, Javon Jackson and Red Holloway.
Anderson also has performed with the Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra and the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra in roles of drummer and percussionist. Additionally, he has performed with the Czech National Symphony Orchestra with the Ellis Marsalis Trio; National Orchestra de France with the Marcus Roberts Trio conducted by Seiji Ozawa; Umbria Jazz Festival, Perugia Italy; Ingolstadt Jazztage in Ingolstadt Bavaria; Switzerland Jazz Festival in Basel, Switzerland; North Sea Jazz Festival in Rotterdam, Netherlands, and Ascona Jazz Festival in Ascona, Switzerland.
His professional recordings include Victor Goines’s Joe’s Blues (1998) and To Those We Love So Dearly (1999), Marcus Roberts’s Cole After Midnight Vol. 1 (1998); Sunrise to Midnight (2000) with The Victor Goines Quartet; Five By Design’s Club Swing (2001); Richie Summa’s Tear It Down (2001); Etienne Charles’s Culture Shock (2006); David
Detweiler’s New York Stories (2009); Melvin Jones’s (Grammy nominated) Pivot, (2011); Larry Panella’s The Gestures Project (2012); and Joy Road Vol 2 (The Complete Works of Pepper Adams) with the Kevin Bales Quartet (2017).
His professional collaborations include performances with numerous artists: David Sanchez, Red Holloway, Donald Brown, Wynton Marsalis, Mike Wolf, Nathen Page, Allan Harris, Stephanie Nakasien, Phyllis Hyman, Barry Greene, Dianne Reeves, Harold Baptiste, Donald Harrison, Mary Stallings, Judy Collins, Wessell Anderson, Wycliffe Gordon, Kent Jordan, Oliver Lake, James Moody, Deborah Brown, Rufus Reid, Henry Mancini, Art Farmer, Jason Marsalis, Eric Reed, Sean Jones, Oliver Lake, Delfeayo Marsalis, Victor Goines, Ellis Marsalis, Lou Donaldson, Hank Jones, Ben Tucker, Terence Blanchard, Bunky Greene, Carmen Bradford, Byron Stripling, Jon Faddis, Rodney Whitaker, Terrell Stafford, Marcus Printup, Larry Panella, Melvin Jones, Mace Hibbard, Gary Motley, Nicholas Payton, Alvin Batiste, and many others.
Anderson has also performed at the International Association of Jazz Education Conference with Bunky Green, Ellis Marsalis and the New Orleans Jazz All-Stars, and has served as an artist/clinician for several jazz festivals in the United States, including the Bill Evans Jazz Festival; Savannah Music Festival (Swing Central Jazz); Loyola University (New Orleans) Jazz Festival; Governor’s Honors Jazz Camp; Broward County All-City Jazz Ensemble; “Jazz in the Schools” program in Jacksonville, FL; Florida Music Educators All-State Jazz Ensemble; Louisiana Music Educators All-State Jazz Ensemble, and numerous All-County Jazz Ensembles throughout the state of Florida.
Anderson has also been featured in a review of the jazz composition “Afro Blue” for the text Teaching Music Through Jazz (December, 2007) and an article entitled “JazzEd Scene” by Steve MacQueen, published in Research and Review (Vol. XIV, No. III, Fall, 2004). He also occupies the drum chair in The Jazz Orchestra at the Dr. Phillips Center in Orlando, Florida.
At FSU, Anderson continues to implement innovative ways in an effort to enhance and expand the Jazz Program. Since its inception, the program has grown exponentially and yielded numerous successful students, many of whom have solidified careers nationally in Jazz performance and education.
Scotty Barnhart is an internationally acclaimed Jazz trumpeter, composer, arranger, educator, author, and is the Director of The Legendary Count Basie Orchestra. A featured trumpet soloist with the orchestra for over twenty years, he’s a two-time Grammy Award winner, appears on three critically acclaimed recordings with pianist Marcus Roberts, and over fifteen others with artists as diverse as Tony Bennett, Diana Krall, Ray Charles, and Tito Puente. Acknowledged as an authority on the history of Jazz trumpet, he has given two keynote lecture-demonstrations at The International Trumpet Guild Conference and continues to give lectures and seminars at universities in South America, Japan, China, Europe, South Africa, and all across the United States. Hal Leonard published his groundbreaking book, The World of Jazz Trumpet – A Comprehensive History and Practical Philosophy worldwide in December 2005 to rave reviews.
As Professor of Jazz Trumpet at Florida State University since 2003, two of Scotty’s former students won First place in the National Jazz Trumpet Competition. He was also trumpeter for the Marcus Roberts Quintet in the late 80s and early 90s and garnered critical acclaim for his playing and sound of which The New York Times wrote: “Barnhart bears watching…laid out assured melodic lines in a singing, silvery tone.” He has also performed or recorded with Frank Sinatra, Wynton Marsalis, Herbie Hancock, Quincy Jones, The Duke Ellington Orchestra, Ray Brown, Take 6, Lena Horne, Max Roach, Nat Adderley, Aretha Franklin, Lalo Schifrin, Natalie Cole, Jane Monheit, Jon Hendricks, Hank Jones, Freddie Hubbard, Clark Terry, Nancy Wilson, George Benson, and Barbara Streisand among others.
Additionally, Scotty has been featured in the Asian Wall Street Journal, performed at The Academy Awards, and is in demand as a soloist and lecturer on jazz history.
In April of 2008, Unity Music signed Scotty to his first recording contract as a leader and released his long anticipated debut CD, Say It Plain, to critical acclaim on May 19, 2009. Of Say It Plain, Bill Cosby states “Scotty Barnhart’s soulful work combines a mastery of tradition with vibrant originality. I love it!” An unprecedented lineup of musicians appearing with Scotty on his solo recording are Wynton Marsalis, Clark Terry, Ellis Marsalis, Marcus Roberts, Herlin Riley, Todd Williams, Leon Anderson, Jr., Bill Peterson, and Rodney Jordan. It reached #3 on the Jazz Charts.
A graduate of Florida A&M University with a degree in Music Education, he is profiled in the book Trumpet Kings, which places him with the most important Jazz trumpeters in history, from Louis Armstrong to Miles Davis and others.
David Detweiler, Assistant Professor of Jazz Saxophone, previously served as Director of Jazz Studies at Nazareth College (Rochester, NY). He has performed at many of New York City’s premiere live-music venues, such as The Blue Note, Birdland, The Knitting Factory, and The Iridium. His first record as a leader, New York Stories, recorded in Tallahassee with Leon Anderson, Clarence Seay, Chris Pattishall, and Rick Lollar, received a favorable review by Scott Yanow. His second record as a leader, The Dave Detweiler Trio featuring Fumi Tomita and Alex Patrick, was released in August 2015. Detweiler studied at both the University of North Texas and William Paterson University, receiving the BM degree from William Paterson. He received the MM degree from Florida State University in 2010 and the DMA degree from the Eastman School of Music in 2015. His teachers include Ramon Ricker, Charles Pillow, Bill Kennedy, Gary Smulyan, and Steve Wilson.
Kevin Jones, Associate Professor of Jazz Trombone, joined the Florida State University College of Music faculty after previously holding teaching appointments at the University of Texas at Austin, the University of South Carolina, Lander University, and Presbyterian College.
As a performing artist, Jones has numerous performing credits with jazz and commercial artists, including James Brown, Kenny Loggins, the Ringling Bros. Circus, the Temptations, Bucky Pizzarelli, Aretha Franklin, Joshua Redman, Joe Lovano, David Sanborn, Bill Holman, Jeff “Tain” Watts, Jim McNeely, Burt Bacharach, and Barry Manilow, and was a featured artist for Princess Cruise Lines. Jones is also an accomplished saxophonist, having performed with the South Carolina Philharmonic, as well as at the North American Saxophone Alliance biennial conference.
As an academic, Jones has performed and presented research at the Jazz Education Network (JEN) Conferences, the International Society of Jazz Arrangers and Composers (ISJAC) Symposia, the International Artistic Jazz Research Symposium, the Florida Music Education Association, the Texas Music Educators Association, and the South Carolina Music Educators Association. Dr. Jones has served as an adjudicator and/or clinician at various schools throughout the United States and internationally. At FSU, he teaches undergraduate Jazz History, Jazz Ensemble II, Graduate Improvisation and applied lessons.
Jones’s duo album Singularity with pianist Bill Peterson was released by Centaur Records in 2021.
Kevin Jones is a Conn-Selmer performing artist and clinician. He plays King 3B trombones with Butler carbon-fiber outer slides.
Professor of Jazz Studies Rodney Jordan joined the FSU faculty in 2001. He received the Bachelor of Music degree in Music Education from Jackson State University in Jackson, Mississippi where he studied with Dr. London Branch, Alvin Fielder, and Andy Hardwick. Jordan was the Assistant Principal bassist with the Mississippi Symphony Orchestra and Principal Bassist with the Albany Symphony Orchestra (Albany, GA) and served as string instructor in the Dougherty and DeKalb County School Systems in Georgia. He has also served as the bass instructor at Darton College in Albany, GA and Georgia State University in Atlanta, GA.
Jordan continues to maintain an active performance schedule here in the United States and abroad and has performed and recorded with some of America’s finest jazz musicians. Recent performances include: Wigmore Hall with the Marcus Roberts trio in London, England; The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts with Rene Marie in Washington DC and The Monterey Jazz Festival with the Scotty Barnhart Band in Monterey, California.
Recent recordings include: Pivot with Melvin Jones (Turnaround Records, 2011); Celebrating Christmas (2011) and Jazz at Lincoln Center Presents Higher Ground: Hurricane Relief Benefit Concert (2005) with the Marcus Roberts Trio; Black Lace Freudian Slip, Voice of My Beautiful Country (Motema Records, 2011), and Experiment in Truth (Independent Release, 2007) with Rene Marie; Say It Plain with Scotty Barnhart (Unity Music, 2009); Keep it Simple with Curtis Fuller (High Note Records, 2005); When Cooler Heads Prevail with Bill Anschell (Summit Records, 2002) and Ethnomusicology Volume 1 with Russell Gunn (Atlantic Records, 1999), which received a Grammy nomination for best contemporary jazz recording in 2000.
Bill Peterson is Professor of Music in Jazz Studies and Music Theory/Composition at Florida State University where he teaches jazz piano, jazz arranging and jazz combo. He holds the M.M. degree from the Eastman School of Music and the B.M. from the University of Cincinnati. He has released his own jazz trio recording on Summit Records and has also recorded on the Unity label. He has performed at the Monterey Jazz Festival, Blue Note Jazz club NYC, Paraguay International Jazz Festival and Savannah Music Festival. He has been a clinician and performer at the University of Miami, University of Denver, the Lafayette Jazz Workshop (California), the University of Alabama, and Eastern New Mexico University.