The Folk Project presents
Jazz Violinist Diane Perry
In Concert
WHEN: Friday, June 15, at 8:00 PM
WHERE: Morristown Unitarian Fellowship, 21 Normandy Heights Rd, Morristown
ADMISSION: $7.00 per person at the door. Children 12 and under are free. For further information, call 973.335.9489 or visit www.folkproject.org.
Opening for Ms. Perry will be Japanese guitarist Hiroya Tsukamoto.
The performance is part of The Minstrel Acoustic Concert Series, sponsored by The Folk Project each Friday evening at the Fellowship.
Performing the American Popular Songbook she fell in love with as a teen, Diane Perry delights audiences with new perspectives on old standards. Classically trained at Juilliard, her violin playing combines the tone of the concert-hall virtuoso with the growl of the blues and the weighty swing feel of the big bands. An alumna of Vince Giordano’s Nighthawks as well as symphony orchestras across the eastern seaboard, Diane Perry has performed with Travelin’ Light, John Stubblefield, The DMP Big Band, Quartette Indigo, Jeff Tyzik and Tom Harrell.
A Long Island native, she grew up listening to standards as much as she did classical music, always singing and playing along. After graduating from Juilliard, she took on the life of a freelance musician in New York, playing Lincoln Center concerts, club dates, Broadway shows, operas and weddings. The call to join Vince Giordano's Nighthawks gave her the first experience of playing with a big band. She formed her own jazz group, was interviewed on WNYC's Radio Around New York, helped produce recordings for Scott Whitfield, and co-produced the soundtrack for Woody Allen's Everyone Says I Love You.
Diane Perry's debut solo album was released in May 2011. “Summertime,” from Porgy and Bess, is recast as an upbeat Latin tune. But the richness of the vocals shines throughout the album, from the signature song “Skylark” to the Doris Day standard “It's Magic.” Legendary jazz musician David Amram said of the album, “Diane Perry is a true musician's musician and singer's singer and the jazz artists who have stood the test of time all fit this same definition.......SHE IS THE REAL DEAL!!!”
Opening act Hiroya Tsukamoto is a guitarist and singer-songwriter from Kyoto, Japan. He came to the United States in 2000, upon receiving a scholarship from the Berklee College of Music. He has released three albums: The Other Side of the World in 2004; Confluencia (Confluences) in 2006; and Where the River Shines in 2008. JazzReview.com said of his music: “...chops, passion and warmth. Zealously recommended."
The Folk Project is a non-profit 501(c) Corporation whose mission is to present high caliber folk music performances and instructional workshops for the public and members; to encourage development of musicianship and performance skills in the northern New Jersey area; and to provide interesting social and learning activities relating to traditional and participatory folk music and dance.
Funding has been made possible in part by funds from the Arts Council of the Morris Area through the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts.
