Jazz Pianist D. Joe Utterback Returns

Posted August 21st, 2009 by admin

The Worship & Music committee of the First Presbyterian Church of Cazenovia presents the return of Dr. Joe Utterback, Celebrated Jazz Pianist, in a Free Concert at the Presbyterian Church in Cazenovia, New York on Sunday September 13th at 4:00 pm. In case you can’t make the afternoon performance, he will also be playing during the morning worship service at 10am.

Utterback has delighted audiences in the U.S. and Europe with his astonishing virtuosity and deeply personal music-making for over three decades. Utterback’s piano style was influenced by such keyboard greats as Oscar Peterson and Art Tatum. The artist also counts Sarah Vaughan and Charlie Parker among his favorite influential jazz musicians. He infuses familiar blues, ballads, Broadway, and jazz classics with a captivating, dynamic style.

A native of Wichita, Kansas, Dr. Utterback received classical training at Wichita State University and the University of Kansas, where he earned his Doctor of Musical Arts degree in piano performance and is in continuous demand as adjudicator and improvisation seminar presenter for local and national piano and organ guilds throughout the US and Canada .

After long-term gigs in the jazz centers of San Francisco and St. Louis, Joe is now centered in the NYC area, with periodic performances at restaurants such as 2nd Avenue’s La Mediterranee, the celebrated Tony Awards Gala Reception and in the lobby of the Empire State Building during the Christmas season.

The 2008-2009 season has witnessed a flurry of Joe’s compositional activity leading to the Spring 2009 publication of his 300+ published compositions: Including his choral jazz mass – MISSA JAZZIS for choir, trumpet, and piano; a lengthy organ mass Jazz Mass for Organ; and Celebrations!- a collection of piano/organ duets, which will be premiered by pianist David Allen Wehr and English organist Dr. Andrew Shenton for Joe’s 65th Birthday Bash Concert, October 4 at 4PM at the First Congregational Church, Main Street, Stratford, CT.

Additionally, on the recording scene, Connoisseur Society has lately released Joe’s most recent CD So Many Stars, a compendium of numbers from The American Songbook. A few of these titles will be the subject of Joe’s improvisations during the afternoon concert. The CD will be on the sale table, and Joe will gladly autograph them for you. Piano scores for three numbers in the concert and morning service are also on the table, along with other CDs.

Dr. Joe is actively involved in studio recordings with cabaret singers: the latest, a Christmas CD with the tenor soloist Michael Jovovich (for a November release), and a recent jazz CD with the Columbus, Ohio jazz singer Dwight Lenox, release scheduled for Cool Mondays jazz series at Lincoln Center, Barnes & Noble, NYC.

Dr. Utterback teaches at Sacred Heart University, Fairfield, CT, where he was recently honored for 15 years of service. He directs the Stratford Sister Cities Chorus, and serves as Director of Music and Organist at the First Congregational Church, Stratford, CT. You won’t want to miss the jazz pianist, composer, and recording artist “Dr. Joe” Utterback in this free concert at the Cazenovia Presbyterian Church Sunday, September J 3th at 4:00 pm.

For more information on Dr. Joe Utterback, visit his website at www.joeutterback.com.