JAZZ SINGER & PIANIST IN CONCERT AND WORKSHOP ON JUNE 20

CHAMBERSBURG.  The Cumberland Valley School of Music will present jazz singer J.D. Walter and the Steve Rudolph Trio in a 5:00 PM workshop and 8:00 PM concert on Friday, June 20, at Thomson Chapel, Wilson College, Chambersburg, PA. 

The “Jazz Piano and Vocal Workshop” starts at 5:00 PM and is free and open to the public.  This is a rare opportunity to explore the intricacies of jazz singing and piano playing with two acknowledged masters of their craft.  There is no charge for admission and reservations are not required.

The concert will begin at 8:00 PM and will feature the quartet featuring Walter (vocals), Rudolph (piano), Hassan J.J. Wiggins (bass), and Clyde Lucas (drums) performing jazz standards and songs from a new CD the group has just recorded.  Admission to the concert is $9 in advance, $10 at the door, and $5 for students (K-12).  Currently enrolled CVSM students are admitted free.  For more information or to purchase tickets, call the Cumberland Valley School of Music at (717)-261-1220.

Vocalist and scat sensation J.D. Walter has become a singular phenomenon on the music scene, garnering rave reviews around the world for his live performances and CD’s.  Often compared to jazz greats Betty Carter, Nat King Cole, Mark Murphy and Milton Nascimento, Walter has been featured at numerous jazz festivals and clubs throughout the United States, Europe, and Russia.  In addition, he is a highly regarded  vocal coach and is in demand as a clinician at schools and universities.  Singers he has coached include MCA recording artists “The Jazzy Fatnastees”, jazz singer Roseanna Vitro, and “American Idol” runner up, Justin Guarinni.

Jazz pianist Steve Rudolph has recorded numerous CD’s and performed internationally as a leader and with such jazz greats as Louis Bellson, Clark Terry, Paquito D’Rivera, Joe Lovano, Buddy Tate, Al Grey, Scott Hamilton, Helen O’Connell, Buddy DeFranco, the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, and countless others.  Winner of the 1999 Jazziz Magazine - Seven Springs Jazz Festival Piano Competition, he has been voted “Best Musician” in the Harrisburg Magazine “Best of Central PA Poll” five years in a row, and received the 2002 Harrisburg Arts Awards.  His career is also highlighted by five European tours, three appearances as soloist with the Harrisburg Symphony, soloist with Miami’s New World Symphony, and receiving a  Pennsylvania Council on the Arts Jazz Fellowship in 1995 and Jazz Composers Fellowship in 2001.  In addition to the just recorded CD with J.D. Walter, he recently released “In Our Prime” (with saxophonist-flutist Tom Strohman) and “That Was Good” (with guitarist Cal Collins).

This project is made possible with support from the Pennsylvania Partners in the Arts (PPA) program is a partnership initiative between local arts organizations and the PA Council on the Arts (PCA), a state agency.  State government funding for the arts comes through an annual appropriation by PA’s General Assembly and from the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency.  PPA is administered in this region by Chambersburg Area Council for the Arts.

In addition, this project is partially supported by a grant from Pennsylvania Performing Arts on Tour, a program developed and funded by the Vira I. Heinz Endowment; the William Penn Foundation; the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, a state agency; and The Pew Charitable Trusts; and administered by Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation.