Music - Jazz in March Series
Enjoy the Drawing Room Chamber Series, Jazz in March, Lucky Lemonade courtyard concerts, Fridays on Prouty summer series, Troy, Ohio PorchFest and a rich variety of in-house and community offerings throughout the year.
Jazz in March with the
Carmen Staaf Trio
Saturday, March 30, 2024 at 7:00 pm
The Troy-Hayner Cultural Center will present the Carmen Staaf Trio for the annual Jazz in March concert series on Saturday, March 30, 2024 at 7:00 pm. Carmen Staaf is an important piano voice in the New York. She is known for her improvisational straight-ahead jazz, but her vast experience and rich education allow her to draw upon influences from Afro Cuban, Classical Indian music, West African drumming, klezmer and other world traditions. Elan Mehler of Newvelle Records says, “Carmen’s music is lyrical, melodically driven, fluid and, at the same time, complexly orchestrated. The music almost feels like it has too many moving parts to move so liquidly and feel so free.”
Carmen graduated from the New England Conservatory with a degree in Jazz Performance and graduated from the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Performance, where she studied and toured with Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter and many other jazz masters. She is an active educator and has held positions at the New School, Stanford Jazz Institute, Swarnabhoomi Academy of Music (Chennai, India), Jacob’s Pillow, Litchfield Jazz Camp, Western Connecticut State University and the New York Jazz Academy, and has led masterclasses around the globe. She was one of the youngest faculty members ever hired by Berklee College of Music, joining their piano department from 2005 to 2009.
Herbie Hancock and Wynton Marsalis known to be vocal fans of her music. Herbie Hancock made this statement about her work:
“Carmen Staaf is a consummate jazz pianist with equal talent in composition, orchestration and arranging. I [am] impressed by her consciousness of blending instruments and musical elements from various cultures…She very much displays a complete knowledge of the history of her instrument but more importantly Carmen is constantly reaching beyond history and is not afraid to go into the unknown and challenge herself at every moment.”
Joining Carmen for this concert will be Noah Garabedian on bass and Roberto Giauqinto on drums. Noah Garabedian holds a BA in Ethnomusicology from The University of California Los Angeles, and a Master of Music Performance from New York University. He is a 2022 Calouste Gulbenkian In View Grant recipient; 2021 Fellow with Creative Armenia and AGBU; 2022 and 2016 Fulbright Specialist Grant recipient; and 2011 International Society of Double Bass Competition finalist.
Italian drummer Roberto Giaquinto is currently based in New York City and is involved in a lot of projects such as the Jesse and Forever, Leandro Pellegrino Trio, Yakir Arbib Trio, Daniel Rotem Group, Mike Bono Trio, Adison Evans Quintet and Silvano Monasterios Group. He has formed the band Radio Intro with pianist Yakir Arbib, which is a duo of improvised music that also has a well-received album “Sketches on the Radio: Live in Canada.” Encouraged by his mentor Hal Crook, Giaquinto gave life to his own project in which he plays his original compositions. He recently discussed a thesis on “How to Improve Your Time, Feel and Sense of Rhythm,” for his master’s degree in jazz studies at the Aaron Copland School of Music of NYC, a program directed by Antonio Hart and with Dennis Mackrel.
The concert will include a short interview at 7:00 pm. The host of this series, Keigo Hirakawa will invite Ms. Staaf to share her musical history and inspirations. Join us for this unique musical experience on March 30, 2024 at 7:00 pm at the Troy-Hayner Cultural Center at 301 West Main Street, Troy, Ohio. The concert is free due to the generosity of the citizens of Troy. Learn more about this concert and the Hayner at www.TroyHayner.org.
Carmen graduated from the New England Conservatory with a degree in Jazz Performance and graduated from the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Performance, where she studied and toured with Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter and many other jazz masters. She is an active educator and has held positions at the New School, Stanford Jazz Institute, Swarnabhoomi Academy of Music (Chennai, India), Jacob’s Pillow, Litchfield Jazz Camp, Western Connecticut State University and the New York Jazz Academy, and has led masterclasses around the globe. She was one of the youngest faculty members ever hired by Berklee College of Music, joining their piano department from 2005 to 2009.
Herbie Hancock and Wynton Marsalis known to be vocal fans of her music. Herbie Hancock made this statement about her work:
“Carmen Staaf is a consummate jazz pianist with equal talent in composition, orchestration and arranging. I [am] impressed by her consciousness of blending instruments and musical elements from various cultures…She very much displays a complete knowledge of the history of her instrument but more importantly Carmen is constantly reaching beyond history and is not afraid to go into the unknown and challenge herself at every moment.”
Joining Carmen for this concert will be Noah Garabedian on bass and Roberto Giauqinto on drums. Noah Garabedian holds a BA in Ethnomusicology from The University of California Los Angeles, and a Master of Music Performance from New York University. He is a 2022 Calouste Gulbenkian In View Grant recipient; 2021 Fellow with Creative Armenia and AGBU; 2022 and 2016 Fulbright Specialist Grant recipient; and 2011 International Society of Double Bass Competition finalist.
Italian drummer Roberto Giaquinto is currently based in New York City and is involved in a lot of projects such as the Jesse and Forever, Leandro Pellegrino Trio, Yakir Arbib Trio, Daniel Rotem Group, Mike Bono Trio, Adison Evans Quintet and Silvano Monasterios Group. He has formed the band Radio Intro with pianist Yakir Arbib, which is a duo of improvised music that also has a well-received album “Sketches on the Radio: Live in Canada.” Encouraged by his mentor Hal Crook, Giaquinto gave life to his own project in which he plays his original compositions. He recently discussed a thesis on “How to Improve Your Time, Feel and Sense of Rhythm,” for his master’s degree in jazz studies at the Aaron Copland School of Music of NYC, a program directed by Antonio Hart and with Dennis Mackrel.
The concert will include a short interview at 7:00 pm. The host of this series, Keigo Hirakawa will invite Ms. Staaf to share her musical history and inspirations. Join us for this unique musical experience on March 30, 2024 at 7:00 pm at the Troy-Hayner Cultural Center at 301 West Main Street, Troy, Ohio. The concert is free due to the generosity of the citizens of Troy. Learn more about this concert and the Hayner at www.TroyHayner.org.
Hayner's Jazz in March series is hosted by Keigo Hirakawa
Hirakawa is a complex and diverse talent in his own right. When he came to America from Tokyo at age 11, he was studying classical piano with dreams of becoming an orchestra conductor. Although he began his collage studies majoring in engineering, he discovered jazz and found ways to study under Anthony Branker, Michael Cochrane, Stephen Scott and Walt Weiskopf. Hirakawa would eventually earn masters and Ph.D. in engineering as well as a master's degree in music in jazz piano performance from the New England Conservatory where he studied with Cecil McBee, Bob Moses, Jerry Bergonzi and Danilo Perez, George Garzone and John McNeil. Today, Hirakawa splits his time as an in-demand jazz pianist as well as an engineering professor at the University of Dayton and has done some groundbreaking research in computational imaging. His pursuit of a dual career is a complicated dichotomy between the study of science and the study of music. Its expression is a brilliant creative improvisation.
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Recorded Concerts:
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Online March 13, 2021
Jazz in March Concert - Recorded Concert
with the Brandon Scott Coleman Quartet
Jazz in March Concert at Hayner with the Brandon Scott Coleman Quartet
Hayner’s, “Jazz in March” concert is an annual series that celebrates Jazz. The 2021 concert will feature a group of young Cincinnati artists. The Brandon Coleman Quartet features Brandon Coleman on guitar, Ben Tweedt on piano, Jeff Mellott, percussion and Matt Wiles on bass. These young men have an impressive influence in our area. They are active performers, composers and educators.
Brandon Scott Coleman’s unique guitar voice may have grown from the study of his three biggest influences, Jimi Hendrix, Chet Adkins and Frank Zappa. Though they represent a wide variety of styles the three intersect in terms of creativity and initiative. Coleman studied music at Morehead State University and received his master’s degree from the University of Louisville. He is a composer and an arranger, and has performed across the country with his groups, Fourth Kind, Spherical Agenda and the Brandon Scott Coleman Quartet.
Ben Tweedt is a pianist, composer, arranger and educator who began his training at a young age. He completed his bachelor’s degree in Piano Performance at the University of Nebraska-Omaha at 17. He completed his master’s degree here in Ohio at the University of Cincinnati College - Conservatory of Music. In addition to teaching music, he also performs with Spherical Agenda, and The Original Farm League Big Band, the Blue Wisp Big Band, the Cincinnati Contemporary Jazz Orchestra, and the New Studio Big Band. In 2014 Ben was the winner of the Nebraska Young Jazz Artist competition and in 2019 the American Jazz Pianist Competition.
Jeff Mellott is a fixture of the Cincinnati music scene and incidentally, had performed at the Hayner in 2019 with the Keigo Hirakawa Trio. He is a wildly creative composer who has received national attention through National Public Radio. Jeff completed his undergrad work at The Ohio State University and received his master’s degree in in Jazz Studies from the University of Cincinnati, The College Conservatory of Music.
Matt Wiles received his bachelor’s degree from Northern Kentucky University and is a bass instructor at the Wyoming Fine Arts Center in Wyoming, Ohio. He performs with Spherical Agenda, the Brandon Colman Quartet and has performed with many jazz greats such as Snarky Horns, Gary Versace, Colin Stranahan, Noah Preminger, Fareed Haque, Peter Mazza, Glenn Zaleski, Victor Provost, Bobby Selvaggio and Sam Blakeslee.
The Troy-Hayner Cultural Center is proudly supported by the citizens of the Troy City School District through a local tax levy and generous gifts to the Friends of Hayner. Please consider lending your support in favor of the Troy-Hayner Cultural Center renewal levy on May 4, 2021.
Hayner’s, “Jazz in March” concert is an annual series that celebrates Jazz. The 2021 concert will feature a group of young Cincinnati artists. The Brandon Coleman Quartet features Brandon Coleman on guitar, Ben Tweedt on piano, Jeff Mellott, percussion and Matt Wiles on bass. These young men have an impressive influence in our area. They are active performers, composers and educators.
Brandon Scott Coleman’s unique guitar voice may have grown from the study of his three biggest influences, Jimi Hendrix, Chet Adkins and Frank Zappa. Though they represent a wide variety of styles the three intersect in terms of creativity and initiative. Coleman studied music at Morehead State University and received his master’s degree from the University of Louisville. He is a composer and an arranger, and has performed across the country with his groups, Fourth Kind, Spherical Agenda and the Brandon Scott Coleman Quartet.
Ben Tweedt is a pianist, composer, arranger and educator who began his training at a young age. He completed his bachelor’s degree in Piano Performance at the University of Nebraska-Omaha at 17. He completed his master’s degree here in Ohio at the University of Cincinnati College - Conservatory of Music. In addition to teaching music, he also performs with Spherical Agenda, and The Original Farm League Big Band, the Blue Wisp Big Band, the Cincinnati Contemporary Jazz Orchestra, and the New Studio Big Band. In 2014 Ben was the winner of the Nebraska Young Jazz Artist competition and in 2019 the American Jazz Pianist Competition.
Jeff Mellott is a fixture of the Cincinnati music scene and incidentally, had performed at the Hayner in 2019 with the Keigo Hirakawa Trio. He is a wildly creative composer who has received national attention through National Public Radio. Jeff completed his undergrad work at The Ohio State University and received his master’s degree in in Jazz Studies from the University of Cincinnati, The College Conservatory of Music.
Matt Wiles received his bachelor’s degree from Northern Kentucky University and is a bass instructor at the Wyoming Fine Arts Center in Wyoming, Ohio. He performs with Spherical Agenda, the Brandon Colman Quartet and has performed with many jazz greats such as Snarky Horns, Gary Versace, Colin Stranahan, Noah Preminger, Fareed Haque, Peter Mazza, Glenn Zaleski, Victor Provost, Bobby Selvaggio and Sam Blakeslee.
The Troy-Hayner Cultural Center is proudly supported by the citizens of the Troy City School District through a local tax levy and generous gifts to the Friends of Hayner. Please consider lending your support in favor of the Troy-Hayner Cultural Center renewal levy on May 4, 2021.
March 21, 2020
Jazz in March Concert - Recorded Concert
with the Keigo Hirakawa Trio
The March 21, 2020 concert featured the Keigo Hirakawa Trio.
Keigo is the host of our series and an improvisational pianist in his own right.
In this trio is Keigo Hirakawa on piano, Eddie Brookshire on stand-up bass and Reggie Jackson on drums.
Keigo is the host of our series and an improvisational pianist in his own right.
In this trio is Keigo Hirakawa on piano, Eddie Brookshire on stand-up bass and Reggie Jackson on drums.
Thanks to the support of the local tax levy, these events are presented free and open to the public.
