For the second concert of this year’s Printempo series, resident musicians Samuel Gaskin and Jonathan Mutel are joined by alumnus William Cravy, forming a trio not to be missed. Join them for a program mingling blues, jazz, classical works and improvisation. The next concerts will take place in June, see the full Printempo schedule here.
From Charlie Parker to Bach, this program features improvisations, music inspired by jazz, and everything in between. The “Three Preludes for piano” of George Gershwin begins with a fantastical first movement that mixes the major blues scale with Brazilian rhythms. This is followed by a ballad that follows the 12-bar blues form while emphasizing the flattened “blues note” of the previously mentioned blues scale. The final movement Gershwin described as “Spanish,” and features a rhythm that may make listeners think of the later “Take Five” of Dave Brubeck, written 30 years later. “Ornithology” is a reference to the nickname of bebop saxophonist Charlie Parker, “Bird.” As with many of his compositions, “Ornithology” is a contrafact, that is, an original melody superimposed onto the harmonic progression of an existing song, “How High the Moon.” “For A.B.” is an homage to a quirky but profoundly inspiring professor. “Rondo,” by Brad Mehldau, is a 8-minute journey of languishing melodies and thick harmonies, composed as a reflection on Bach’s sprightly “Prelude in C# major.” The program finishes with excerpts from “Porgy and Bess,” George Gershwin’s most well-known opera, arranged by the infamous violinist Jascha Heifetz.
Practical Information
Date Tuesday, April 30 | Time 7:30 PM | Facebook Event
Program
George Gershwin
Three Preludes for piano
Samuel Gaskin, piano
Charlie Parker
Ornithology
Jonathan Mutel, violin
William Cravy, bass
Samuel Gaskin
for A.B.
Jonathan Mutel, violin
Samuel Gaskin, piano
William Cravy, bass
Johann Sebastian Bach
Prelude in C# major (Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1)
Samuel Gaskin, piano
Brad Mehldau
Rondo (After Bach)
Samuel Gaskin, piano
Impro libre
Jonathan Mutel, violin
Samuel Gaskin, piano
William Cravy, bass
George Gershwin (arr. Heifetz)
extraits de Porgy and Bess Suite
Jonathan Mutel, violin
Samuel Gaskin, piano
The Resident Musicians
Keyboardist and improviser, Samuel Gaskin is interested in all kinds of music. As an improviser, he won the 1st prize at the International Organ Competition of St. Albans (UK) 2023 and received the 2nd prize in the National Organ Improvisation Competition of the American Guild of Organists (AGO) 2021. As a composer, his recent creations include Chase, for the ~Nois Saxophone Quartet, In memoriam, created by the Unheard-of Ensemble, and Psalm 118, for choir and organ. Samuel was an assistant organist at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in San Antonio, Texas before receiving a Fulbright scholarship in France (2022-23), where he is currently pursuing artist diplomas in organ and jazz studies at the Versailles Conservatory.
Jonathan Mutel is a recognized classical violinist, open to various musical horizons. His passion for chamber music and symphonic repertoires led him to perform in France (Philarmonie de Paris, Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, Salle Gaveau) as well as in Germany, the Netherlands, Italy and China. At the Amsterdam Conservatory of Music, he studied with Peter Brunt, where he explored new musical horizons, such as Baroque repertoire on periodic instruments, modern repertoire and musical improvisation. Jonathan Mutel studies jazz violin at the conservatory and teaches violin at the Fontenay-le-Fleury School of Music.
William Cravy graduated Summa Cum Laude from the University of Southern California where he was a recipient of a Presidential Scholarship, the String and Orchestral Departmental Awards for Outstanding Graduate, was a three-time Provost’s Undergraduate Research Fellow, and is on the 2013-14 Colorado Young Musician’s Foundation Roster. His primary teachers include David Allen Moore, Susan Cahill and Ken Harper, and additional studies with Paul Ellison, Hal Robinson, Ben Hong, Albert Laszlo, and Chris Hanulik. Will has appeared as a concerto soloist with the Colorado Symphony, the Culver City Symphony, the Diamond Bar High School Symphony Orchestra, and the Denver School of the Arts Orchestra. Will has participated in the Aspen Music Festival, the Lake George Music Festival, Domaine Forget, the Wabass Institute, and the Colorado College Summer Music Festival. William is an alumnus of the FEU (2016-2017).