The fifth concert in the 2007 Summer Concert series will present music by the New England Jazz Connection, featuring Les Harris, Jr., drums, Chris Humphrey, vocals, Keala Kaumeheiwa, bass, and Ryan Parker, piano. Sponsored by the Friends of the Academy Library, the concert will be on Wednesday, July 25 at 7:00 p.m. in Rockefeller Hall, on the main floor of the Class of 1945 Library. The event is free and open to the public.
Ryan Parker is a pianist, recording artist, and educator and lives in Somersworth, NH. He performs regularly as a leader and sideman in the New England area with such artists as Gray Sargent, Les Harris, Jr., Herb Pomeroy, and Dick Johnson. An instructor at Phillips Exeter Academy, he teaches improvisation, jazz piano, and stage band. Parker received his Masters degree from New England Conservatory and his Bachelors degree from the University of New Hampshire.
Ryan's most recent recording, "Deep Oceans," is a jazz outing that features Boston trumpeter Herb Pomeroy. Other recordings include "Ryan Parker plays Maurice Ravel," featuring the solo piano works of the French composer. He continues to perform and record actively, most notably with the Jim Howe Trio, based in the New Hampshire Seacoast, which plays and promotes the legacy of jazz every Sunday night at the Press Room in Portsmouth, NH. Ryan fills in the spot that opened with the unfortunate early passing of the great pianist Tommy Gallant. In 2001 Ryan was featured in an interview on the New Hampshire Public Radio program, "The Front Porch," which recognized him for his most recent accomplishment — becoming the youngest recipient of an Artists Grant from the New Hampshire State Council on the Arts.
Les Harris, Jr. has a Bachelors degree in Music Education from Boston's Berklee College of Music and studied extensively with Alan Dawson. From 1983 to 1995, Les was the drummer for the jazz vocal group, The Ritz, performing at clubs and jazz festivals worldwide and appearing on seven recordings with the group. Les has also performed with the Artie Shaw Orchestra, Clark Terry, James Williams, Diana Krall, and Scott Hamilton and is a busy sideman throughout New England. He currently teaches drum set techniques at Phillips Exeter Academy, the University of New Hampshire, and the University of Southern Maine.
A jazz vocalist, whose primary focus is the use of the voice as an instrument, Chris Humphrey is an improviser and composer as well as an interpreter of song. He is a veteran jazz singer, having worked with Denon recording artists The Ritz and vocal jazz quintet Vocalease. With The Ritz, he recorded the CD Almost Blue, which featured his singing, composing, and arranging talents. As a soloist, Mr. Humphrey has been dubbed an “outstanding talent” (Sheila Jordan) and “a creative force” (Roberta Davis) by critics and performers who have heard his work. He has performed at Blue Note Jazz Clubs in New York, Tokyo, Jakarta, and Fukuoka, Japan. He has also appeared at numerous jazz festivals throughout the United States and abroad. His debut CD, with Matt Wilson, drums, Martin Wind, bass and Mark Shilansky, piano will be released this summer on Cadence Jazz Records.
Bassist Keala Kaumeheiwa received a Bachelor's of Music degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he studied both jazz and classical music with renowned bassist Richard Davis. From Wisconsin, Keala moved to New York City, where he performed with Betty Carter and Billy Pierce, as well as the New York String Orchestra at Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center.
In 1995 he was offered the bass position at the Thelonious Monk Institute at New England Conservatory. There, Keala studied jazz bass and improvisation with Miles Davis' legendary bassist Ron Carter. Meanwhile, he continued his classical bass studies with virtuoso bassist Donald Palma. While at the Monk Institute, Keala performed with Jimmy Heath, Jackie McLean, Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, T.S. Monk, Wynton Marsalis, Bobby Watson, Harry "Sweets" Edison, and James Moody and made a trip to India and the Playboy Jazz Festival. In 1997, Keala finished at New England Conservatory with the first graduating class of the Monk Institute. Currently, he is freelancing around Boston, frequently performing at Sculler's Jazz Club, Ryle's, Wally's Jazz Café, and the Regattabar.
For further information, please contact Academy Librarian Jacquelyn Thomas at (603) 777-3328.
Learn more about the 2007 Summer Concert Series.
