JAZZBIRD NIGHTS: RUSSELL SCHMIDT & nuVI

Friday, October 27th at 7:00 pm, Ravenscroft welcomes Russell Schmidt & nuVI back to the Jazzbird stage. Featured artists include Jesse Deems–Trumpet, Ethan Buck–Alto Sax, Brice Winston–Tenor Sax, Russell Schmidt–Piano, Scott Black–Bass, and Rob Moore–Drums. nuVI (rhymes with “groovy”) is Russell’s latest creative venture, an intergenerational sextet featuring musicians from across the country. nuVI will perform a mix of original compositions and familiar jazz classics.

Pianist/composer Russell Schmidt has performed with such celebrated artists as Carl Allen, John Hollenbeck, Joe Lovano, Gerry Mulligan, Arturo Sandoval, and Clark Terry. Additionally, he has served as a keyboard soloist with more than thirty professional orchestras, including the National Symphony Orchestra and the San Francisco Symphony. Among his recordings as a leader are Anachromysticism, which highlights Russell’s wide-ranging efforts as a jazz composer; Jazz Triptych, Volume I – The Sacred, a collection of hymns and spirituals reimagined in the jazz language; and his most recent release, the companion album Jazz Triptych, Volume II – The Secular.

As a composer and arranger, Russell has written for artists as varied as saxophonists Bob Berg and Michael Brecker, the Ying Quartet, and the chamber music group Rhythm & Brass. His compositions and arrangements have been released by Advance Music, GIA Publications, the Penfield Commission Project, and VJC Publications.