Tuesday, April 5, 2011 Exeter, NH (March 29, 2011)—OnTuesday, April 5, at 7 p.m., Phillips Exeter Academy will present the Annual Tommy Gallant Memorial Jazz Concertin Phillips Church at Tan Lane and Front Street. The concert is free and open to the public. This year’s event will feature jazz saxophonist Grace Kelly, who will perform with the PEA Faculty Jazz Ensemble of Les Harris Jr., drums;Charlie Jennison, saxophone;Mark Carlsen, bass; and Ryan Parker, piano. At just 18, Kelly—the youngest-ever alto saxophone player twice-named "Rising Star" in DownBeatMagazine’s 2009 and 2010 Critics’ Poll—began studying the saxophone when she was 10 years old. Critically acclaimed for her mature sound and adept interpretation of the music, Kelly has performed in well-known venues in the U.S., Europe and Asia such as Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Birdland, Dakota Jazz Club, the Kennedy Center’s Eisenhower Theater, Boston Symphony Hall, Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival, and the 50th Grammy Awards, among many others. She has recently released her fifth jazz album, Mood Changes, an album made of standards and original works. Currently a student at the Berklee College of Music, Kelly now balances classes and schoolwork with touring with her band. The event’s namesake, Tommy Gallant, was an inspirational teacher, gifted musician and devoted mentor who taught jazz improvisation, piano, and directed the Stage Band at PEA for 30 years. He died in 1998, but his legacy thrives in the local jazz scene. Gallant had a long career as a jazz musician, promoter and educator, studying piano at the University of New Hampshire and music theory at Berklee College of Music, and later joining the faculty at both schools. He also co-founded the annual Seacoast Jazz Festival, directed the Seacoast Jazz Society, and for two decades performed with the Tommy Gallant Trio at the Press Room in Portsmouth, NH. Through his commitment to locally promoting jazz, Gallant organized the annual Harry Jones Memorial Scholarship Concert, held each year at Portsmouth’s Music Hall; performed and led jazz workshops and clinics at local schools; and participated in the UNH Traditional Jazz Series. Following his death, the Portsmouth Summer Jazz Festival was renamed the Tommy Gallant Jazz Festival in honor of his service to the community, as a musician and an educator. For more information, please call Patrice Baker in the Music Department at 603-777-3453, or visit its webpage for a complete listing of upcoming musical events. For other events, you may visit the Academy’s community calendar, contact the Phillips Exeter Academy public events line at 603-777-4309, or visit the Academy website at Phillips Exeter Academy. —Famebridge Witherspoon
Free