For Immediate Release:Contact: David Kuehn, Executive DirectorCotuit Center for the ArtsPhone: (508) 428-0669Email: David@cotuitcenterforthearts.orgWebsite: ArtsOnTheCape.org

Greg Abate and Trio Go Latin at Cotuit Center for the Arts

Renowned jazz saxophonist Greg Abate will perform at Cotuit Center for the Art on Tuesday, May 24, at 7:30 PM.

Greg Abate. “the prince of bebop,” and his trio—Mike Garvan on piano, Ron Ormsby on bass, and Dave Scandurra on drums—are going Latin for this concert, bringing sambas, bossa novas, and other spicy rhythms from Brazil and transforming American standards with Latin grooves.

“I’ve been playing Latin rhythms for years,” said the versatile Abate. “I love Afro-Cuban rhythms and have collaborated with Latin and Brazilian players for many years. Mike, who is a great pianist, is a real Latin fan too and we get into a comfortable Latin groove. Ron is bringing some music from Brazilian composers, and we’ll do some Afro-Cuban improvisation on some Charlie Parker bebop classics.”

Jazz great Charlie Parker was also a fan of Latin music, releasing “Bird Goes Latin” in 1969. “Parker and Dizzy Gillespie did tunes in the Latin style. It was still bebop, but it was done in the Latin groove,” said Abate.

“Parker wrote a great tune called ‘Barbados’ that I have been playing lately. It’s a 12-bar blues with a busy melody and a Latin feel underneath like a slow Samba, pretty cool.”

Abate is a powerhouse player, composer, arranger, and international jazz recording artist respected for his inventive interpretations and his virtuosity saxophones and flute.

He plays about 150 concerts a year, sharing the stage with local musicians in cities and towns throughout the United States, Europe, Canada, and Japan.

Abate recorded his first CD, “Live at Birdland NYC,” in 1991 on the Candid Jazz label with the trio of James Williams, Rufus Reid, and Kenny Washington, and has since gone on to record many more with a variety of accomplished musicians. In the last four years, he has recorded for Whaling City Sound Records. His latest album is “Greg Abate and Phil Woods with the Tim Ray Trio, Kindred Spirits, Live at Chan’s,” which received four stars from Downbeat magazine.

Abate grew up in Woonsocket, Rhode Island, and graduated from the Berklee College of Music in Boston in 1971, going on to play lead alto sax and flute with the Ray Charles Orchestra for two years.

In 1978, he formed Channel One, which became a favorite band in the New England area, and was also a member of the Duke Belaire Jazz Orchestra in Providence. He played tenor sax with the revived Artie Shaw Orchestra under leadership of Dick Johnson from 1986 to 1987.

Tickets are $28, $25 for seniors and veterans, and $23 for members. Cotuit Center for the Arts is at 4404 Route 28, in Cotuit. More information and tickets are available at artsonthecape.org or by calling 508-428-0669.

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What:Greg Abate and Trio

Where: Cotuit Center for the Arts, 4404 Route 28, Cotuit

When: Tuesday, May 24, 7:30 PM

Admission:$28, $25 for seniors and veterans, $23 for members

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