Williams Jazz Ensemble
Fri, May 1st, 2015
8:00 pm
- This event has passed.
The Williams Jazz Ensemble under the direction of Kris Allen is our premier jazz group, performing works from throughout the big band canon, with a special focus on modern compositions. This concert features Music of the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, with a special guest soloist.
The Williams College Department of Music presents the Williams Jazz Ensemble, featuring trumpeter Tanya Darby performing with the ensemble directed by Kris Allen on Friday, May 1 at 8:00 p.m. in Chapin Hall on the Williams campus. This free event is open to the public.
The Williams Jazz Ensemble gives its major spring concert under the direction of Kris Allen presenting an exciting evening of music inspired by the legacy of the legendary New York jazz club, The Village Vanguard. Once again, the Williams Jazz Ensemble has invited a special artist who speaks to both jazz aficionado and layman.
About Tanya Darby
By the age of 12 Tanya Darby was already expressing the elements of a mature jazz player. An awestruck audience at the Monterey Jazz Festival welcomed this young talent annually and could count on hearing her with the festival’s elite. After being invited to perform with the Festival All-Star Band several times, she was a celebrity with jazz aficionados throughout Japan and the west coast.
Playing lead trumpet with the Grammy All-Star Band brought her to the east coast where she received her Bachelor’s in Jazz Performance at the Manhattan School of Music. She received various awards and accolades in recognition of her talents including the Jon Faddis Award for Musical Excellence for Most Promising Jazz Trumpet Talent of the Year. She gained notoriety for her soulful style and began freelancing throughout the New York metropolitan area.
She has performed with such artists as Jon Faddis, Clark Terry, Frank Foster, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Diane Reeves, Ramsey Lewis, Slide Hampton and many others. She has appeared on the television show BET on Jazz as part of the T.S. Monk Sextet and performed with Aretha Franklin as part of the Arista Records Twenty-five Year Anniversary Special on NBC.
Her fame grows along with her affiliation with the Village Vanguard Orchestra, as well as DIVA Jazz Orchestra, the New York based and internationally acclaimed band. The New York Times calls her “…a virtuoso with remarkable control and power.”
Tanya Darby can be heard on Bobby Sanabria’s Grammy-nominated recording, Live & In Clave (recorded at Birdland), which was voted One of the Top Five Albums of the Year by Jazz Times as well as Best Afro-Cuban Jazz Album of the Year by the Jazz Journalists Association. Other recordings include DIVA’s I Believe in You and commercial studio work.
In addition to a busy performing career, she is active behind the scenes as a producer and writer for various artists. She also maintains a studio of private students.