The Vince Lewis Jazz Trio will perform a jazz guitar concert at Bluefield University on Tuesday, November 19 at 7:30 p.m. in Harman Chapel.
Open and free to the community, the concert is comprised of popular music taken from The Great American Songbook and will feature jazz musicians Vince Lewis on guitar, Bob Bowen on bass, and Chris Hudson on drums. Special guest vocalist, Maddy Winer, will also join the group for an evening of swing tunes and Jazz Standards. This is a return engagement for the same group that performed to introduce Vince Lewis to the community in April of last year.
A veteran performer, composer, recording artist, and instructor with more than four decades of teaching experience, Lewis is a member of the Bluefield University music faculty who has headlined jazz festivals with industry legends like Dave Brubeck, B.B. King, Ellis Marsalis, Lou Rawls, Mundell Lowe, John Pizzarelli, and Melissa Manchester. Considered “one of the leading active jazz artists” and named among The Great Jazz Guitarists…The Ultimate Guide, he has also been a featured artist at the Smithsonian Jazz Cafe and the Kennedy Center and has recorded 20 critically acclaimed CDs.
Bluefield University Music Department Chair, Dr. Charles Priest, commented, “We are privileged to have an artist of Mr. Lewis’ caliber on faculty at Bluefield University and are excited for him to bring his trio back to our campus.”
Bowen, the trio’s bass player, has played and recorded with many jazz artists, including Lewis, Royce Campbell, and Hod and Stephanie Nakasian O’Brien. As an orchestra bassist, he has performed with the Lynchburg Symphony Orchestra since 2000 and at The Homestead Resort since 1996. He has also played at The Greenbrier Resort and with the University Shenandoah Symphony Orchestra, Waynesboro Symphony Orchestra, and Roanoke Symphony Orchestra. Originally from McLean, Virginia, now living in Charlottesville, Virginia, Bowen also teaches at Bridgewater College.
Hudson, the trio’s drummer, is a professional drummer, educator, and clinician living in Charleston, West Virginia, where he performs with the Blue Notes, C2J2, Central Standard Time, Ryan Kennedy Trio, Steve Himes Connection, Stuart Hill Band, Tastes Like Chicken, and The Society Pages. A graduate of the Manhattan School of Music, he has also appeared with Lewis, Frank Gambale, Ed Uribe, Mike Richmond, Bob Thompson, and Robert Shafer.
Winer, joining the trio as a special guest vocalist, holds three decades of performance experience. In fact, a native of New York, she performed first at the age of three at the Winter Garden Theatre in New York City. Since then and following a short stint with contemporary pop music after college, she has become known for her passion for and effortless interpretation and jazz styling of the Great American Songbook. She has recorded and performed with pianist/composer Loonis McGlohon, host of the Peabody award-winning radio series “American Popular Song,” in jazz concerts throughout the eastern United States, including a sold-out performance at the Lincoln Center in New York City. She has also headlined the stage show “North Carolina Is My Home” and concerts at the Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami, Florida, the Saint Louis Symphony, and the Saint Lawrence Centre in Toronto. Among the musicians to open for Winer: Dave Brubeck, Lou Rawls, David Sanborn, George Shearing, Al Jarreau, and Ellis Marsalis. Now living in Asheville, North Carolina, Winer’s latest CD, “Crossroads,” features Lewis, Rick Simerly, Todd Wright, Bill Covington, Tom Hildreth, and River Guerguerian.
For more information on this upcoming event, please contact Vince Lewis by email at [email protected].