May 5 | 7:30 pm
$15 adults / $10 students
For the last four years, Alan Ferber has been recognized as one of the leading trombonists of his generation in Down Beat magazine’s International Critics’ Poll and Readers’ Poll. He has released five albums as a bandleader, all of which blur traditional boundaries through an intriguing mix of influences. The Wall Street Journal affectionately describes his music as “somehow both old school and cutting edge.” Alan’s 2010 release, Chamber Songs, on Sunnyside Records features his nonet and string orchestra. According to WNYC, the album creates an “instantly transcendent musical experience that floats effortlessly and beautifully between jazz and classical music” and was named one of the best CDs of the year in Down Beat Magazine. Alan’s newest release, March Sublime, features stunning new music for big band and was nominated for a 2014 Grammy award in the ‘Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album’ category. Additionally, it has received rave reviews including an editor’s Pick of the Week on eMusic which stated, “This is one of those albums where I just want to forgo the synopsis and just say go buy the damn thing. Just stellar.”
Ferber’s music draws from a broad stylistic base considering the array of artists with whom he has closely worked: Esperanza Spalding, Charlie Hunter, Sufjan Stevens, the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, Peter Gabriel, Toshiko Akiyoshi, The National, Harry Connick Jr, Lee Konitz, Dr. Dre, Kenny Wheeler, John Hollenbeck, Don Byron, and They Might Be Giants. His discography lists over 100 CDs on which he has played trombone. As a composer and arranger, Alan has written for the Atlantic Brass Quintet, Paul McCandless, Sara and Rachel Caswell, the Asphalt Orchestra, Sarah Darling, Steel Magnolia, and Jon Gordon. He is also the recipient of a 2013 Chamber Music America New Jazz Works grant, funded by the Doris Duke Foundation. Alan is currently an adjunct professor of jazz trombone and composition at New York University’s Steinhardt School, Johns Hopkins University’s Peabody Conservatory, and Montclair State University’s John J Cali School of Music.