Jazz quartet to hold scholarship benefit concert

By Alyssa Herter
Western Herald

(Photo courtesy of Tom Knific) Tom Knific

The Vincent Herring Quartet will play a scholarship benefit concert on Dec. 3 at 9 p.m. at the Union Cabaret and Grille in downtown Kalamazoo.

Admission is $5 for students and $20 for the general public. All proceeds from the event will help fund the Billy Hart Jazz Studies Scholarship.

The Vincent Herring Quartet features Vincent Herring on saxophone, renowned jazz drummer Billy Hart, New York pianist Peter Zak and Kalamazoo’s Tom Knific on bass.

“It should be incredible. I’ve played with Billy for 15 years so we have a real camaraderie but I’ve never played with Vincent Herring, so I’m really excited; I’ve always wanted to play with him,” said bassist and WMU jazz studies program director Tom Knific.

“[Herring] hired one of my very first students from the beginning of my teaching career so I’ve always had respect for him so it’s a full circle now, we’re coming around full circle,” he said.

Billy Hart was honored in March of 2008 for 15 years of being a visiting artist in residence at the WMU School of Music, which was when Knific had the idea to establish the Billy Hart Jazz Studies Scholarship.
“Billy Hart is one of the legends of the jazz drum set. We’re actually doing a four-city tour and for the
Kalamazoo stop I wanted to host it as a benefit for the Billy Hart Scholarship Fund. It’s primarily directed for drummers but doesn’t have to be, but because Billy Hart is a drummer we wanted to use it to help drummers,” Knific said.

The Union Cabaret and Grille, a partner of the WMU College of Fine Arts who has featured WMU student and faculty artists weekly, is pleased to host the benefit concert.

“In the time that I’ve been here, I’d say four or five years, we’ve had maybe five benefit shows.” said Union Cabaret and Grille General Manager James Hoffman

”It’s gonna be amazing, basically. Billy Hart, he’s my drum teacher. He’s been on over 600 records, he’s a living jazz legend; he’s played with Herbie Hancock, Miles Davis, Stan Getz,  everybody. He’ll come sit in for a week once a semester. He’s such a great teacher,” said Ryan Andrews, WMU jazz studies major.

With a concert so studded with renowned musicians playing for such a worthy cause, attendees might want to get there early.

“I just want to get as many people there to celebrate the music and the event, to help students, help them in their careers,” Knific said.

“All the proceeds,  every nickel goes to the scholarship. So we’re hoping for a big turn out. It’s just such a great venue for jazz.”

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Posted by HeraldAdmin on Dec 1 2008. Filed under A & E. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry

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