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PIANIST YOSUKE YAMASHITA BRINGS NEW YORK TRIO TO CFA, FEB 26

Middletown, CT, February 7, 2005 – Wesleyan University's Center for the Arts brings jazz pianist Yosuke Yamashita and his New York Trio, often praised as an outstanding example of cultural exchange between Japan and the United States, to Middletown for an evening of music featuring Cecile McBee on bass and Wesleyan Private Lessons Instructor Pheeroan akLaff on drums.   A household name in Japan, Yamashita is well known for his “rash, theatrical energy” ( The New York Times ) which he will bring to Crowell Concert Hall on Saturday, February 26, at 8pm.   Tickets are $12 for the general public and $10 for non-Wesleyan students and seniors. More information is available by calling the box office at 860-685-3355. Advance ticket purchases are recommended.

Yosuke Yamashita's performance at Wesleyan is co-sponsored by the Freeman Asian / Asian American Initiative, and coincides with the Initiative's two-day conference, Traffic and Diaspora: Political, Economic, and Cultural Exchanges between Japan and Asian America (February 25 & 26). For more information about the conference, visit http://www.wesleyan.edu/aaai/conference.htm.

 Yamashita began his professional career as a jazz pianist at the age of 17 and has since graced the stages of the world's most prestigious international jazz festivals, including Berlin, Montreaux, and Newport. Beyond jazz, Yamashita has expanded his repertoire and creative collaboration to include work with classical orchestras, traditional Japanese musicians, and Korean percussionists.   Active in the United States since the 1979, Yamashita has worked with such American jazz legends as Max Roach, Elvin Jones, and Lester Bowie, and recorded with members of the Art Ensemble of Chicago. Critics admire Yamashita's explosive playing style, often compared to that of Cecil Taylor, as his own unique contribution to jazz.

Yamashita has collaborated with McBee and akLaff since 1988, and the Trio has remained active in both the studio as well as on stage. akLaff has headlined and performaned internationally with artists including Jay Hoggard and also Oliver Lake's Jump Up band. McBee has worked, recorded and traveled with musicians including Miles Davis and Alice Coltrane. The Trio recently completed a worldwide tour celebrating their fifteen-year anniversary as a group, which also commemorated the 150th anniversary of U.S.–Japan relations.

 The Center for the Arts is an 11-building complex on the Wesleyan campus   (convenient parking for Crowell Concert Hall is located on Wyllys Avenue) that houses the departments of art and art history, film studies, music, theater and dance. It serves as a cultural center for the region, the state and New England. The CFA includes the 400-seat Theater, the 260-seat Cinema, the World Music Hall (a non-Western performance space), the 414-seat Crowell Concert Hall and the Ezra and Cecile Zilkha Gallery.

Tickets for Yosuke Yamashita's New York Trio can be purchased via phone or in person at the University box office. The box office is located on the first floor of the Davenport Campus Center (222 Church Street).   For more information about CFA performances and events, call (860) 685-3355, or visit www.wesleyan.edu/CFA .

Box Office Phone: (860) 685-3355
Box Office Fax: (860) 685-3935
E-mail: boxoffice@wesleyan.edu
Address: Wesleyan University Box Office, 222 Church Street, Middletown, CT 06459-0001

*Performers and schedule are subject to change.