University of Akron JazzWeek returns to campus and community venues with acclaimed acts
The University of Akron will host its second JazzWeek under the leadership of jazz program directors Chris Coles and Theron Brown April 9-12 at the University of Akron and other local venues.
Performances and talks will feature several guest artists as well as a finale concert featuring a jazz collaboration with the University of Akron Dance Ensemble.
UA JazzWeek 2024 schedule
7:30 p.m. April 9: UA jazz faculty Brown and Coles perform with local artists Anthony Taddeo (drums) and Aidan Plank (bass), featuring pianist Martha Kato and UA jazz guitar lecturer Dan Wilson at Edgar's Restaurant, 530 Nome Ave., Akron. Cost is $20. Pay at the door.
12:55 p.m. April 11: Discussion at Guzzetta Recital Hall, 157 University Ave., featuring guest artists Martha Kato (piano), Shanyse Strickland (jazz horn) and Emma "EJ" Donkin (piano), along with UA jazz guitar lecturer Dan Wilson. Free.
7:30 p.m. April 11: Concert at Blu Jazz+ features UA Jazz Combos, the UA student Birth of the Cool Ensemble and UA Jazz Ensemble at 47 E. Market St., Akron. Cost is $20. See blujazzakron.com.
7:30 p.m. April 12: "JazzFest Finale Concert: Evolution" at E.J. Thomas Hall, 198 Hill St., Akron. Featuring the UA Dance Company (UADC) with UA Piano Trio Jazz Combo and guests Dan Wilson (guitar), Martha Kato (piano), Emma Donkin (piano) and Shanyse Strickland (French horn). Jazz ensembles will present new commissioned works by Strickland and Donkin. Cost is $20, free for UA students with ID. See uakron.edu/ej, ticketmaster.com or call 330-972-7570.
Background on UA JazzWeek's guest artists
● Martha Kato, born and raised in Nagoya, Japan, is a pianist, composer and arranger who's been based in New York since 2009. She has performed across the world as a bandleader and collaborator at major venues including Blue Note, Jazz Standard, Blue Note Tokyo, Cotton Club Japan, The Jazz Gallery, Dizzy’s Club, Smoke Jazz & Supper Club and Smalls Jazz Club.
In 2022, she performed as a headliner with her trio at the Tel Aviv Jaffa Jazz Festival. Her debut album, "Tales from The Trees," was elected for the new stars category of Jazz Life Disc Grand Prix by Japanese magazine Jazz Life. She earned her bachelor's degree from The New School.
● Emma "EJ" Donkin is a Northeast Ohio jazz, classical and contemporary composer and pianist. She has composed music for solo instrumentalists, chamber ensembles, wind ensembles and jazz ensembles. She has been a featured composer in the Cleveland Local 4 Fund “She Scores” concert series and was a featured local artist in the 2018 Sundance Film Music Festival in Akron.
Donkin received her bachelor's degree in music composition in 2018 from Youngstown State University, where she now teaches composition and theory. She earned her master's degree in music from the University of Akron in 2021.
● Growing up in Akron, jazz guitarist Dan Wilson spent the majority of his youth within the church community. His musical identity has been shaped by everything from gospel and blues to traditional jazz, hip-hop and horn players including Sonny Rollins and Joe Henderson.
Wilson, who graduated from Hiram College, made his recording debut with pianist Joe McBride and performed to worldwide acclaim with Joey DeFrancesco and jazz bassist Christian McBride’s Tip City. He earned a Grammy Award nomination with DeFrancesco for DeFrancesco's Project Freedom album.
● Akron native Shanyse Strickland started her musical journey on wind instruments, beginning as a flutist, and then switched to French horn and other brass instruments. She is a graduate of Youngstown State University.
Strickland was winner of the 2016 Jazz Solo Competition at the International Horn Symposium (IHS). In 2023, she won a spot as a composer in the Music by Women International Festival.
Now based in New Jersey, she has written and published seven original works, including commissioned works for the horn section of the Seattle Symphony, the brass faculty at the University of Texas and DC Strings in Washington, D.C.
● Anthony Taddeo is a Cleveland-based drummer who leads projects including Alla Boara, Alba Trio, TMT Trio and his solo project, featured on his "Self Portraits" album. He received a master's degree in composition from Youngstown State University and a bachelor of fine arts in music performance from New School for Jazz & Contemporary Music. He is a percussion instructor at Tri-C Jazz Fest Camp and Jazz Prep Program.
● Aidan Plank is a Northeast Ohio bassist who plays with the Cleveland Jazz Orchestra, Cleveland Jazzworks, Dan Bruce's Beta Collective and his own ensemble, Pulse. He is a jazz bass instructor at Kent State University and at Cuyahoga Community College's Jazzfest Academy. Plank is a graduate of Cleveland State University.
Arts and restaurant writer Kerry Clawson may be reached at 330-996-3527 or kclawson@thebeaconjournal.com.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Who is performing during UA JazzWeek 2024? Here's the list
