Ben Harris Quartet

Name: Ben Harris Quartet
Start: 2024-10-02T19:00:00-07:00
End: 2024-10-02T22:00:00-07:00
Location: 124 W Broadway, Eugene, OR, United States, Oregon 97401

Schedule

Wed Oct 02 2024 at 07:00 pm to 10:00 pm

UTC-07:00

Location

124 W Broadway, Eugene, OR, United States, Oregon 97401 | Eugene, OR

Saxophonist Ben Harris open this season's One Set Wednesdays. This set will primarily comprise of jazz standards, in addition to contemporary jazz repertoire and original compositions. Afterwards, pianist Keith Brown will host a Second Set Jam Session.

Ben Harris alto saxophone, flute
Keith Brown piano
Tyler Abbott bass
Ken Mastrogiovanni drums

7:00 PM - 10:00 PM | $10

Originally from San Jose, CA, Ben Harris attends the University of Oregon, where he received his Bachelor’s of Jazz Studies in 2023. While at the university Ben has studied with Idit Shner, Steve Owen, Joe Manis, and Keith Brown, as well as Jacqueline Cordova-Arrington on flute. As a member of the Oregon Jazz Ensemble and Jazz Arts Oregon, UO’s top large ensemble and combo respectively, Ben has been fortunate to perform alongside Omar Thomas and Braxton Cook, among others.
Ben returned to the University of Oregon in the fall of 2023 as a graduate employee, fulfilling teaching duties in the jazz department while earning a Master’s in Jazz Studies. In the winter of 2024 Ben was invited to compete in the North American Saxophone Alliance Jazz Competition during NASA’s biennial national conference. After competing live in Stillwater, Oklahoma against college students across North America, Ben placed as a semi-finalist. Later that summer of 2024 Ben was invited to the Carinthian International Jazz Award, a worldwide competition drawing from saxophonists under the age of 26. After competing live in Arnoldstein, Austria, Ben was awarded second place.
Keith L. Brown is an accomplished composer, educator, and pianist, who has established himself as one of the most sought-after pianists in contemporary jazz. He was born in Memphis, TN, and raised in Knoxville, TN, where he began playing piano and bass at a young age. Keith grew up in a musically inclined family, where both his parents were musicians, and many of his aunts and uncles possessed exceptional musical talent. His father, Donald Brown, is a world-renowned jazz pianist, composer, and educator who was a part of Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers and has performed with many greats. His mother Dorothy is also a pianist who plays various woodwind instruments. Keith is currently the Assistant Professor of Jazz and Contemporary Piano at The University of Oregon.
Keith's musical journey began by learning to play the songs of R&B artists like Stevie Wonder by ear. He then started taking classical piano lessons at the age of eight. His father played a pivotal role in nurturing Keith's musical ambitions by teaching him how to play his original compositions and jazz standards. Keith and his brothers, Kenneth and Donald Jr., were deeply into hip-hop music during their formative years. However, Keith began to study jazz seriously after graduating from high school. It was during this time that he was significantly influenced by other great Memphis pianists such as Phineas Newborn Jr., James Williams, and Mulgrew Miller.
Since he began seriously playing at the age of 18, Brown has performed and recorded with a who’s-who of jazz luminaries. He currently tours as the pianist for Kenny Garrett. His tours and performances with artists such as Stefon Harris, Russell Gunn, Jazzmeia Horn, George Coleman, Greg Tardy, Camille Thurman, Terreon Gully, Willie Jones III, Endea Owens, Charles Tolliver, Buster Williams, Lenny White, Steve Turre, John Clayton, and more have captivated audiences worldwide. Drawing on his roots in R&B, Funk, Classical, Jazz, and Hip-Hop, Brown's unique composition and piano style seamlessly integrates these influences. He possesses an exceptional understanding of the language of jazz piano masters and can effortlessly transition between hard swing, funk, and free styles, while also showcasing his own distinct voice. With his innovative approach to jazz piano and his ability to seamlessly blend different musical styles, Keith L. Brown is a true standout in the world of contemporary jazz.
Tyler Abbott teaches double bass, jazz bass, and music theory at the University of Oregon School of Music and Dance in Eugene, Oregon, and has taught at Walla Walla College and Willamette University. He maintains a private teaching studio in Eugene, Oregon. He maintains an active performance schedule as an orchestral bassist, chamber musician, jazz bassist, clinician, and soloist, and has performed nationally and internationally with some of the finest musicians in both the classical and jazz music worlds. He has recently performed with, or is a member of, the Eugene Symphony, Oregon Symphony, Aspen Festival Orchestra, Oregon Bach Festival, Spokane Symphony Orchestra, Oregon Festival of American Music’s “American Symphonia,” Eugene Opera Orchestra, Yakima Symphony Orchestra, Oregon Mozart Players, Salem Chamber Orchestra, and several other professional orchestras throughout the region and country. As a chamber musician, he has performed with the Oregon String Quartet, Chamber Music Amici, Pacifica Trio, Beta Collide, Aspen Contemporary Ensemble, Orli Shaham, Sharon Robinson, Vladamir Feltsman, Jamie Laredo, acclaimed contemporary soprano Lucy Shelton, and Hundreth Monkey, a contemporary ensemble based in Eugene, of which he was co-director.
As a jazz bassist, Tyler has performed with Steve Wilson, Ben Monder, Randy Porter, Roswell Rudd, Danilo Perez, Billy Childs, Chris Botti, Dave Pietro, Scott Wenholdt, Billy Kilson, Nancy King, Marcus Whitfield, George Mitchell, Arnie Caruthers, Ryan Keberle, Randy Halberstadt, Dick Hyman, Howard Levy, Warren Rand, Tom Grant, John Stowell, and many others. He performs regularly in jazz festivals and on radio broadcasts and has performed with a touring Broadway show. His recording with Toby Koenigsberg, Sense, was released on Origin Records and was met with favorable reviews in several publications. Tyler has presented master classes at several universities and high schools, and presented at the 2011 International Society of Bassists Convention in San Francisco, CA. His playing can be heard on the soundtrack to the documentary Fly Away Beetle, released in 2011. He performed on Hashem Assadullahi’s project Pieces (featuring Ron Miles, and also including James Miley, Justin Morell, and Ryan Biesack), to be released in 2012.
Tyler studied double bass with Roma Vayspapir (former principal bass of the Leningrad Philharmonic), Bruce Bransby (former principal bass of the Los Angeles Philharmonic), Jeff Bradetich (international soloist and pedagogue), Don Hermanns (Oregon Symphony), Lynn Seaton (Professor of Jazz Bass, University of North Texas), Dave Captein (Portland-based freelance jazz musician), Ken Baldwin (former assistant principal of Oregon Symphony), Curtis Daily (Seattle Baroque Orchestra, Portland Baroque Orchestra), Eugene Jablonsky, and has studied briefly and/or participated in master classes with Hal Robinson, Edgar Meyer, Al Laszlo, and Eugene Levinson. He traveled to Gorizia, Italy to study with Christina Hoock, bass professor of the Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria. He attended the Aspen Music Festival and School for five years and attended the Atlantic Music Festival, where he was the only fellowship recipient on bass.
Oregon-based drummer, Ken Mastrogiovanni, brings a unique sensibility and modern voice to the drums and music, making him a rising musician of his generation in his scene.
The very early years of his music environment was shaped by his older brother’s j-pop, ska, and electronic bands, as well as listening to the latest jazz and avant-garde music his father played at home. This would subconsciously influence his musical interests and vocabulary going forward.
Starting drum set at the age of eleven, his musical adventure was fueled by many important mentors, eventually leading him to recent performance opportunities as a sideman with such artists as Jaleel Shaw, George Colligan, Dick Oatts, Jim Rotondi, Roxy Coss, Clay Jenkins, Bruce Williams, Geoffrey Keezer, John Raymond, Remy Le Boeuf and the Redshift Trio.
He completed his M.M. in Jazz Studies at the University of Oregon, and is now the drum set instructor at his alma mater in addition to maintaining his own private lesson studio.
Producing under the title, “kenthemaestro”, he creates beats that transcend genre, often collaborating with MCs and other creative musicians.

Click the link below to buy tickets
https://thejazzstation.org/get-tickets/upcoming-shows/#!event/register/2024/10/2/one-set-wednesday
Online ticket purchases close one hour before showtime. If the show is NOT sold out, and tickets remain, they can be purchased directly at the box office door. Doors will open 30 minutes prior to showtime.