The Rita Collective, known for their creative jazz approach to world music, will be joined by Melissa Gardiner, an emerging jazz trombonist from Syracuse, NY that has been heralded by Curtis Fuller as “…creative and emotionally powerful.” The program for this evening of collaborative creative music making will include original and world jazz selections from the Rita Collective repertoire, Gardiner’s jazz favorites, and some surprises for everyone.
About Melissa Gardiner: Throughout her career, Melissa Gardiner has shared the stage with notable musicians Aretha Franklin, The Tempatations, Dave Matthews Band, Geri Allen, Wycliffe Gordon, Steve Turre, Gerald Wilson, Patti Austin, Tia Fuller, Ingrid Jensen, Arturo O’Farrill and the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra, and Vulfpeck.
As a bandleader, she performs regularly with her internationally recognized jazz organ trio, MG3, and the SAMMY Award winning New Orleans style brass band, Second Line Syracuse. She is a member of the CNY Jazz Orchestra and frequently joins other local and regional ensembles. Gardiner is active in theater as a pit orchestra musician and has also worked with Carnival Cruise Lines and the Disneyland All-American College Band.
Gardiner is an artist for BAC Musical Instruments and plays on a BAC Custom Trombone.
About The Rita Collective: The Rita Collective is a chamber group from Rochester, NY that plays original and world music with a jazz slant. Performances by the Rita Collective include original compositions written for the group’s unusual instrumentation - bass clarinet, marimba, acoustic bass, and percussion - melodies from the Middle-East or Africa, re-invented jazz tunes from one of the masters like Miles, and re-imagined pop tunes from Rage Against the Machine or the Beatles. The unifying thread for this group is the improvisatory approach to the music, and the deft playfulness of the musicians that create it.
The Rita Collective is Dean Keller (bass clarinet, Kristen Shiner McGuire (marimba), Kyle Vock (acoustic bass), and Joe Parker (percussion).
