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LAS CRUCES – Grammy winner Gordon Goodwin will be headlining this years’ 51st annual New Mexico State University Jazz Festival and Jump Start concert at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 16, at the Atkinson Recital Hall in the Music Center at NMSU.
The festival will be held, Nov. 15 and 16, and will be filled with hour clinics for each ensemble, masterclasses and culminating with the final concert.
Twenty-three jazz ensembles will participate in clinics by all star artists/clinicians. Joining Goodman, from the Los Angeles recording and movie studios is Andy Martin, Las Cruces native, Antonio Perez, who will be working with jazz string ensembles, and Al Mendez, celebrated music educator, will be presenting workshops as well.
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Tickets are $15 and are available in the Music Center Band Office or by calling 575-646-5341.
Clinics and masterclass are free of charge and open to the public. Festival schedule available at https://music.nmsu.edu/index.php/en/blog/41/51st-annual-jazz-festival-and-jump-start
Even for a successful composer and arranger in Hollywood, Goodwin’s numbers are impressive: A 2006 Grammy award for his instrumental arrangement of “Incredits” from the Pixar film “The Incredibles,” three Emmy Awards, and 13 Grammy nominations.
Here’s another impressive number to add to the list: 18. As in the number of musicians in Goodwin’s Big Phat Band, one of the most exciting large jazz ensembles on the planet. Populated by L.A.’s finest players, the Big Phat Band takes the big band tradition into the new millennium with a contemporary, highly original sound featuring Goodwin’s witty, intricate, and hard-swinging compositions in a veritable grab bag of styles: swing, Latin, blues, classical, rock and more.
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Established in 2000, the Big Phat Band’s debut recording, “Swingin’ For The Fences” (Silverline Records), featured guest artists Arturo Sandoval and Eddie Daniels. It made history as the first commercially available DVD-audio title ever released and the first DVD-audio title to receive two Grammy nominations.
The band’s second album, “XXL” (Silverline Records), was released on DVD-audio and compact disc in 2003. Charting its first week, “XXL” garnered three Grammy nominations for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album, Best Instrumental Composition (“Hunting Wabbits”) and Best Instrumental Arrangement with Vocals (“Comes Love” with Brian McKnight and Take 6), while winning the Surround Sound Award for “Best Made for Surround Sound Title.” The list of guest artists matched the high quality of the first release and featured, among others, Johnny Mathis and the incomparable Michael Brecker.
The Big Phat Band’s third album, “The Phat Pack” (immergent Records), with guest stars Dianne Reeves, David Sanborn, Eddie Daniels and Take 6, received a Grammy nomination and spent 31 weeks on the Billboard jazz charts.
Released in September 2008, the Big Phat Band’s fourth recording, “Act Your Age,” far outsold every other big band record in its path. Produced by acclaimed guitarist Lee Ritenour, it featured a host of terrific guests including Patti Austin, Chick Corea, Dave Grusin and even Ritenour himself, plus a special appearance by the late pianist Art Tatum on a stunning performance that had jaws dropping right and left. The critically acclaimed “Act Your Age” garnered three Grammy nominations.
A keyboardist and woodwind player, Goodwin has built a larger-than-life reputation throughout the music industry for his composing, arranging and playing skills. Ray Charles, Christina Aguilera, Johnny Mathis, Toni Braxton, John Williams, Natalie Cole, David Foster, Sarah Vaughan, Mel Torme, Brian McKnight and Quincy Jones are just a few of the artists with whom he has worked. Goodwin has also conducted world-renowned symphony orchestras in Atlanta, Dallas, Utah, Seattle, Toronto and London.
Goodwin’s cinematic scoring and orchestration craft can be heard on such films as “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice,” “Escape to Witch Mountain,” “Get Smart,” “Glory Road,” “National Treasure,” “The Incredibles,” “Remember The Titans,” “Armageddon,” “The Majestic,” “Con Air,” “Gone In 60 Seconds,” “Enemy of the State,” “Star Trek Nemesis” and even the classic cult film “Attack Of The Killer Tomatoes.” Goodwin’s soundtrack to Looney Tunes’ “Bah HumDuck!” – a wacky Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck riff on the classic “A Christmas Carol” – also features the Big Phat Band’s patented sound.
Gordon Goodwin’s Big Phat Band joins Telarc International, a division of Concord Music Group, with the April 12, 2011 release of “That’s How We Roll.” The band’s first CD in over two and a half years features 10 new Goodwin originals and the Gershwin classic “Rhapsody in Blue.” Special guests include Gerald Albright, Dave Koz, Marcus Miller and Take 6.
Andy Martin
Coming from a musical family, trombonist Martin launched his career while still in his teens. His technique and virtuosity quickly established him on the Los Angeles music scene. As an instructor, Martin has influenced countless young players. He has appeared at many colleges and universities throughout the country as a guest artist and clinician.
A world-class jazz musician, Martin is featured as leader or co-leader on 12 albums. These albums showcase his collaboration with other top jazz artists such as the late Carl Fontana, Pete Christlieb, Bobby Shew, and Eric Marienthal. He has also collaborated as a sideman with jazz greats such as Stanley Turrentine and Horace Silver. Martin had a long association with British bandleader and jazz promoter Vic Lewis, and was the featured soloist on many of Vic’s CDs.
Martin is well known for his work as a lead player and featured soloist with virtually every big band in L.A. Martin is the lead trombonist and featured soloist with Goodwin’s Big Phat Band, the lead trombonist and soloist for The Tom Kubis Band, and was a featured soloist for the Bill Holman Big Band for 15 years. He has appeared in bands led by Jack Sheldon, Louis Bellson, Quincy Jones, Matt Cattingub, Bob Curnow, Patrick Williams, and Sammy Nestico, among others.
Martin has long been one of L.A.’s most prominent trombonists for commercial recordings, television and motion picture soundtracks and live theater. He has contributed on albums for many popular artists, including the Pussycat Dolls, Coldplay, and Michael Bublé. His television credits include the Grammys, the Emmys, the Academy Awards, the Golden Globes and the Screen Actors Guild Awards. Martin has been the lead trombonist on television shows “Dancing With The Stars and American Idol,” and has appeared regularly on the soundtracks of major television series such as “Family Guy,” “American Dad,” and “King of the Hill.” His motion picture credits span the soundtracks of over 150 major films.
Antonio Perez
Perez was born in Las Cruces to a family of musicians. Perez got his start playing violin through the Zia Middle School orchestra program at age 11, but quickly got off the ground supplementing his education playing around the community.
His interests branched out upon his discovery of love for the application of violin in fiddle, jazz, blues, funk and rock styles. He began performing in a string duo under the name ViCello at age 12, but continued to participate in multiple bands like The Coolside Collective, A Lifetime to Overcome, Echo, and Smoove Groove as he continued through high school.
Under the direction of Miranda Ludemann, Perez began to explore traditional Celtic and Bluegrass styles of playing that included extended rhythmic bow techniques and elements of improvisation. He then moved to briefly study under Daniel Vega-Albela (violin professors at NMSU and a founding member of La Catrina Quartet) and Roberta Mezo Arruda (currently a first violinist in Orquestra Filarmonica de Minas Gerais) to prepare for his move to Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, Arizona.
In Flagstaff, Perez has continued to expand his arsenal of musical skills by participating in many groups on and off campus.
Under the direction of Dr. Louise Scott (concertmaster of the Flagstaff Symphony Orchestra and the Arizona Opera), Perez has spent the past four years working to reform his technique. With a newly-established foundation, he participated in the Northern Arizona University Symphony and Chamber Orchestras under the direction of Dr. Daniel O’Bryant, and in the Northern Arizona University Jazz Combo program under the direction of Chris Finet.
He also has continued to participate off campus by collaborating with, recording with, and performing with multiple local bands including Tiny Bird (punk), Earthtones (folk), Pelvic Trust (alternative), and Sun Elk Deer (commercial country). In addition to frequent performances, Perez also continues to help facilitate community events like Wednesday Jazz and Poetry Night and weekly jazz jams for community members and students. Perez composes and arranges music to play with his students at The Eastside Show – a Flagstaff School of Music event where he and his studio regularly perform. He has been teaching there since 2017, and his private studio has grown to 20 students on six different instruments including cello, violin, viola, guitar, mandolin, and piano. He also continues to teach subjects like composition, music theory, improvisation, and ear training to students of the Flagstaff School of Music and to students of NAU.
Al Mendez
Mendez is retired Director of Fine Arts for the El Paso Independent School District. He was band director at Andress High School in El Paso where his bands were recognized widely as award winning groups.
He received his Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Texas at El Paso and his Master’s degree from Long Island University. He was a member of the United States Military Academy Band at West Point.
Mendez holds membership in the International Association of Jazz Educators, Texas Orchestra Directors Association, Texas Music Educators Association, Texas Bandmasters Association and Phi Beta Mu. During his tenure as administrator for Fine Arts, EPISD ensembles have performed at TMEA, the Midwest Clinic, and the Texas Association of School Administrators Conference. Further, through his efforts, members of his music faculty have toured extensively through Germany and Turkey as members of the El Paso Symphony Orchestra.
He is an active adjudicator, clinician and conductor throughout the United States. Mendez has been music director for the Sun Bowl, Liberty Bowl, Gator Bowl, Nokia Sugar Bowl, San Francisco Bowl, and for the City of Philadelphia’s “Millennium Celebration.”
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