Grammy Award-winning jazz pianist, composer and arranger Bill Cunliffe will be the guest artist for the 2016 Art Tatum Memorial Jazz Scholarship Concert Monday, Feb. 15, at 7 p.m. in the UT Center for Performing Arts Recital Hall.
Cunliffe, who is known for his innovative and swinging recordings and compositions, began his career as pianist and arranger with the Buddy Rich Big Band. He has worked with Frank Sinatra, Joe Henderson, Freddie Hubbard, Benny Golson and James Moody, to name a few. He has since established himself as a solo artist and bandleader, with more than a dozen albums under his name.
Cunliffe
Recent recordings include the Bill Cunliffe Trio 2013 album titled River Edge, New Jersey, with bassist Martin Wind and drummer Tim Horner, and a 2015 solo disc titled Playground Swing, which features “Wheels on the Bus,” “The Flintstones,” “Over the Rainbow” and “Happy.”
Cunliffe is a professor of music at California State University at Fullerton, where he was recognized as a distinguished faculty member in 2010. He also has written several books, including Uniquely Christmas (2012) and Jazz Piano Inventions (2005), for Alfred Publications.
The concert is presented by The University of Toledo Department of Music Jazz Studies Program. Proceeds from ticket sales support the Art Tatum Memorial Jazz Scholarship, which benefits minority students who want to study jazz at UT.
Advance tickets are $15 for general admission, and $10 for UT faculty, staff, alumni and students, as well as seniors 60 and older and members of the military. Visit utoledo.tix.com or call 419.530.ARTS (2787). Tickets also will be available at the door.
To support the Art Tatum Memorial Jazz Scholarship, visit https://give2UT.utoledo.edu and search Tatum.
