TURNER — Jazz flutist, pianist and vocalist Barbara London will perform with her quartet Sunday, Sept. 26, at the “Music for Mavis” community gazebo.
The concert will feature original compositions, jazz standards and popular tunes done in the group’s improvisational style.
London’s original music is varied in style, ranging from straight-ahead jazz instrumentals and classical chamber works to songs influenced by her interests in a variety of popular styles, past and present.
Other quartet members are guitarist Woody Allen, bassist Jim Lyden and drummer Rick Kress.
London, an award-winning musician and composer, is also a watercolor artist, educator and writer. She received three National Endowment for the Arts jazz performance grants as a flutist, vocalist and pianist, and has appeared in festivals, schools and clubs across the country. She taught at the University of Maine, Augusta, from 1982-86, and nearly 20 years at Berklee College of Music in Boston, where she became the first female chair in 1994.
While at Berklee, London co-created a course on the blues with colleague Bruce Katz, which reinforced her interest in roots music, including early blues and gospel.
London grew up in Aroostook County and performed throughout the state in the late 1970s with the fusion group Morning Sky. Recently, she performed a benefit concert for her latest CD, “Maliseet Dreams,” with Rick Kress in Houlton, her home town.
After 18 years in the Key West, Allen moved to New Hampshire in 1995. He freelances with a variety of musicians in diverse styles and performs with Larry Garland and River City Jazz Tuesday nights at the Press Room in Portsmouth.
Lyden, of Portland, has been performing for more than 40 years both locally and abroad. He works in local musical theater productions and a variety of musical ensembles ranging in style from folk to rock, western swing and jazz. He has performed and recorded with Bobby Watson and Tiger Okoshi in the Mark Kleinhaut Trio.
Kress is a drummer, composer and educator. He is currently an associate professor at Berklee College of Music, where he teaches theory, advanced modal harmony and arranging. His new composition for soprano and piano premiered at the Berklee Performance Center last year.
The concert will be from 1 to 3 p.m. at the gazebo on Route 117 across from Turner Center Church. In the event of inclement weather, the concert will be held at the church. Free-will donations will be accepted.
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