CONCORA TO OFFER “WINE & JAZZ” IN FARMINGTON

CONCORA (Connecticut Choral Artists) will leap out of the classical music box to offer up live jazz with the Sir William Trio at a private home in Farmington on Saturday, January 23, 2010 from 6:30 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.  (Snow date:  Sunday, January 24, 2010 at 4:00 p.m.)

      Select CONCORA singers team up with bassist Bill Stillinger, pianist Alex Nakhimovsky, and drummer Gregory Caputo on jazz standards and selections from the Great American Songbook.  The extraordinary live jazz will be interspersed with plenteous hors d’oeuvres and tastings of three wines from California, presented by sommelier Raymond Petke.  The three wines, all Cabernet Sauvignon, include a Reserve Napa Valley from Solaris (2000), a Nun’s Canyon Reserve from St. Francis (2002), and a Foley Santa Ynez, La Cuesta Vineyard (2001)

        “Wine & Jazz” is a fund-raiser for CONCORA presented by the CONCORA Friends of Bach.  Seating is limited, and reservations are required. Admission is $50 per person.Please call (860) 224-7500 or order online at www.concora.org. Directions to the event will be mailed with tickets. 

      The Sir William Trio is a “classic” jazz trio of piano, bass, and drums.  Bill Stillinger, bass, (“Sir William”) leads the trio, performing in support of art gallery openings, fundraisers and events for nonprofit organizations such as CONCORA, the Klingberg Family Center, Horizon Village, and the New Britain Museum of American Art.

      Alex Nakhimovsky, piano, is a Russian-born pianist and a graduate of the Hartt School in Hartford. He travels globally performing jazz, cabaret, Broadway, world music and classical music, with concert appearances at the Village Gate, and Town Hall in NYC. He has performed with Valery Ponomarev (trumpet), Benny Golson (sax), Curtis Fuller (trombone), and Jimmy Cobb (drums). Alex teaches at the Greater Hartford Academy for the Arts, and recently returned from Japan where he toured with jazz vocalist Sheila Jordan.

      Gregory Caputo, drums, is a graduate of Hartford Conservatory and an inductee into the Hamilton College Jazz Archives. He has toured with Gene Krupa, Count Basie, Harry James, Artie Shaw, Jimmy Dorsey, and the Benny Goodman big bands. Gregory conducts frequent clinics and master classes for percussionists. The National Drummers Association says, “Gregory is a master drummer who speaks volumes in refined sensibilities with superb technique.”