BELLOWS FALLS — Two world-class musicians - Ali Ryerson, flute and Joe Carter, guitar - have joined forces to perform Brazilian Jazz and other jazz forms at festivals and concerts around the country and globally. And on Saturday, March 2, at 7:30 p.m., you can experience their music live in the Chapel at Immanuel Episcopal Church, 20 Church St.
With a career spanning nearly five decades, jazz flutist Ali Ryerson has consistently ranked among the top flutists in the Downbeat Jazz Poll for well over a decade. Born in 1952 in New York City, Ali grew up in a musical family. Her father, Art Ryerson, was a renowned jazz guitarist who got his start with the Paul Whiteman Orchestra and later became a top studio player in NYC, recording with everyone from Louis Armstrong, Erroll Garner, Charlie Parker, and Sarah Vaughan, to Frank Sinatra.
Ali Ryerson has carried on the family tradition, becoming an international touring/recording artist, with performances ranging from Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. to the Blue Note (NYC and Japan), plus festival appearances worldwide. Ryerson has released more than two dozen albums on major jazz labels, including Concord Records, DMP, Capri, and legendary jazz producer Bob Thiele's final jazz label, Red Baron.
Ali has recorded and/or performed with jazz greats such as Red Rodney, Roy Haynes, Kenny Barron, Frank Wess, Hubert Laws, Stephane Grappelli, Harold Danko, Art Farmer, Mike Mainieri, Joe Beck, and Gene Bertoncini, as well as a recent guest appearance with Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra. She has also performed with classical artists Julius Baker and Luciano Pavarotti, when she was principal flutist with the Monterey Bay Orchestra.
Joe Carter started guitar studies at an early age, eventually focusing on jazz. While earning B.A. and M.A. degrees in jazz performance and starting his jazz Ph.D. studies at New York University, he studied privately with guitarists Sal Salvador, John Scofield, Allan Hanlon, saxophonist Lee Konitz, and pianist Don Friedman.
After several performance and teaching trips to Brazil, his current specialty is Brazilian jazz, combining straight-ahead and bebop styles of jazz with samba, bossa nova, and Northeast styles of Brazilian music.
His latest two CDs showcase his familiarity with Brazilian music.
Um Abraco No Rio (An Embrace Of Rio) was recorded in Rio de Janeiro with Brazilian musicians. Renowned harmonica virtuoso Mauricio Einhom, bassist Luis Alves and drummer Joao Cortez have previously performed with Joe Carter in different group settings on Joe's various performance trips to Brazil.
The Samba Rio Trio CD is Joe Carter's U.S. version of his group utilizing the talents of two of the better known Brazilian artists residing in New York: bassist Nilson Matta and legendary drummer Portinho.