Charlie Porter Jazz Quartet: Events in Hyderabad

REVIEW FOR CHARLIE PORTER JAZZ QUARTET

Painting the Taj blue is this set of musicians armed with all things jazz.

The Public Affairs Section of the US Consulate General Hyderabad, in association with the Hyderabad Western Music Forum and Taj Krishna, is presenting The Charlie Porter Quartet, a popular jazz band based in New York. The concert is being held on 22nd May, at the Grand Ball Room Lawns at Taj Krishna.

Formed in 2005, the quartet includes Charlie Porter (trumpet), Adam Birnbaum (piano), Scott Ritchie (bass) and Jon Wikan (drums). The quartet has performed across the world. It is part of The Rhythm Road: American Music Abroad program, a partnership between Jazz at Lincoln Center (JALC) and the US Department of State Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.

Charlie Porter has performed and recorded with notable musicians that include Paquito D'Rivera, David Taylor, Kenny Drew Jr., Peter Erskine, Daniel Schnyder, Ira Sullivan, David Liebman and Lew Soloff. He was the first ever to be awarded the 1st prize in the National Trumpet Competition in both Jazz and Classical divisions, and was recently a competitor in the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Trumpet Competition in Los Angeles.

Adam Birnbaum's first album, "Ballade Pour Adeline", received a Gold Disk award from Swing Journal as one of the top albums of 2006. He has performed and recorded with Carl Allen, Wycliffe Gordon, Rodney Green, Victor Lewis, Wynton Marsalis, Lewis Nash, Ira Sullivan, Peter Washington and Ben Wolfe, among others.

Scott Ritchie has performed with the Sarasota Opera Orchestra, Ebony Ensemble and Jazz Mandolin Project, among others. Ritchie attended the Cincinnati College Conservatory Of Music and completed his graduate work at the University of Southern California.

Currently based in New York, 39-year old Jon Wikan is a jazz drummer who has accompanied a cross-section of leaders - ranging from singers Ernestine Anderson, Mark Murphy and Freddy Cole, to established horn players Bud Shank, Ingrid Jensen, and Pete Cristlieb. Wikan is an active clinician/instructor who teaches at The New School, and also privately in Queens, New York.

Entry is free for everyone. Please contact 4033-8483 for further details.