2009-2010 Season
Tom Knific Quartet - February 6, 2010 - 8:00 p.m. -Ross Stoakes Theatre at CTAC
Otis Murphy - March 6, 2010 - 8:00 p.m. -Ross Stoakes Theatre at CTAC
Tickets: https://www.crookedtree.org/tickets.phtml?catid=6&subid=20
Performing Arts Committee: Chair Mike Isermann, Co-Chair Barbara Freiberg, Christine Brown, David Chaffee, Mary Driggs, , Nancy Kohler, Christopher Koury, Scott Stillings, David Wassenaar, Bill Millar, Chris Morley
CTAC Staff on Committee: Mary Grace Otis, Elizabeth Ahrens, Robert Dudd
Tom Knific Quartet!
Saturday, February 6 - 8:00 pm
Ross Stoakes Theatre - CTAC
Tickets: $15 members - $20 non-members
$5 student members - $10 student non-members
Bassist, composer, and educator, Tom Knific, presents his newest band on tour and on record. The Quartet marks a new approach for Knific who has assembled a younger band, whose vitality, energy, and musical perspective are nothing less than explosive.
After several years on the bandstand, Tom Knific was excited at the prospect of recording the Quartet. The Quartet member’s span a generation of in-demand jazz musicians, who are on the cutting edge of creative music making.
Tom Knific, has made a life from his diverse musical passions. Classically trained on two continents, and having been drawn to jazz since childhood, he has navigated and flourished in these worlds, performing with jazz greats such as Dave Brubeck, Art Farmer, and John Abercrombie , Randy Brecker, Eric Marienthal, Kenny Werner, and many more. Drummer Keith Hall currently tours the globe playing concerts, festivals and appearing on numerous television and radio shows with singer/saxophonist and Concord Recording Artist Curtis Stigers. He has performed with Marcus Belgrave, Betty Carter, Sir Roland Hanna, John Hicks, David Kikoski, Wynton Marsalis, Michael Phillip Mossman, Claudio Roditi, Hilton Ruiz, Terrell Stafford, Joe Wilder and Steve Wilson. Saxophonist Chris Beckstrom is active as a composer in the concert, club and film industry. He has performed with Bobby McFerrin, Fred Hersch, Stefon Harris, Slide Hampton, and horn virtuoso Arkady Shilkloper, Pianist and composer John Knific is founder and CEO of Citizen Groove, an internet based media platform which stands to revolutionize how music and musicians works on line. Watch for it to come on line soon! John has performed with Billy Hart, John Hollenbeck, Paul Ferguson, and others, and is releasing a solo CD in 2010 featuring his own compositions. As leader of the band Nexus, John won several Down Beat awards.
Ryan Andrews is a recent graduate of the jazz studies program at Western Michigan University where he studied with Keith Hall and Billy Hart. He has performed internationally, including venues such as Carnegie Hall and Jazz @ Lincoln Center. Ryan has appeared on over a dozen recordings encompassing a wide variety of genres as a drum set player, percussionist, guitarist and composer. His first CD as a leader, entitled Requiem, was released in 2009 and featured all original compositions. Musicians Ryan has worked and/or studied with include Tom Knific, Fred Hersch, Stefon Harris, Terreon Gully, Billy Drewes, Jamey Haddad, Ari Hoenig, Darmon Meader, Rohan Krishnamurthy and Edu Ribeiro, among others.
Otis Murphy - classical saxophonist
Saturday, March 6 - 8:00 pm
Ross Stoakes Theatre - CTAC
Tickets: $15 members - $20 non-members
Otis Murphy is recognized as being among the world’s best classical saxophonists and is in great demand as a solo recitalist, orchestral soloist, and clinician. He has made numerous solo appearances at prestigious musical events throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia. In addition to his frequent appearances with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, he performs actively with orchestras and wind ensembles throughout the world.
The winner of many awards and prizes, Otis Murphy has also had numerous full page and cover articles written about his career in leading professional journals. He has appeared on numerous recordings, and his latest solo compact disc, Fantasy, has received critical acclaim.
Otis Murphy is currently Assistant Professor of Music at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. He holds a Doctor of Music degree from Indiana University and earned the Prix de Perfectionnement at the Conservatoire National Régional de Musique in France. He is a Yamaha Performing Artist and a Vandoren Performing Artist. Otis Murphy resides in Bloomington, Indiana with his wife, Haruko Murphy, a professional pianist, and their four children.