WERNER AND KOPPEL JAZZ UP MILFORD

[Ed Wetschler]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

[MILFORD, PA] -- The Werner/Koppel Jazz Duo will bring their dynamic sound to the Milford Theatre on April 26th. Featuring American pianist Kenny Werner and Danish saxophone luminary Benjamin Koppel, the duo's music ranges from lush ballads to up-tempo exuberance, and they'll play some tunes from their latest CD, Walden. This concert -- the first of a series soon to be announced -- will begin at 7:30 p.m., and tickets cost $15 in advance (see below) or $20 at the box office; children under 15 are admitted free.

 

Werner (right) is a jazz pianist's pianist whom Quincy Jones has described as "Perfection. 360 degrees of soul and science in one human being. My kind of musician.” Reviewing a performance in New York City, Werner's home town, The New York Times reviewer Peter Watrous wrote, "Mr. Werner and his trio took apart two pieces, a swinging original of his own called ‘Jackson Five’ along with ‘You and the Night and the Music,’ and reconfigured them with all sorts of nearly miraculous rhythm and tempo changes….When he solos there’s wit everywhere, with clichés dragged out of the closet to poke fun at.” Downbeat and the Village Voice agree. And as Keyboard Magazine put it, "You never know where he’s going, but every place he takes you is a delight.”  

 

A Colorful Journey

In addition to having performed with the fabled Village Vanguard Orchestra and jazz stars like Toots Thielemans and David Sanchez, Werner has taught A-list artists like Brad Mehidau. His book about improvisation, Effortless Mastery, has influenced jazz artists everywhere.

 

Danish saxophonist and composer Benjamin Koppel (right) doesn't only perform with Werner; the two are also the co-directors of the Valby Summer Jazz Festival. A Washington Post review of one of their recordings, "A Way with Words," describes how "Koppel has charted a colorful journey that begins with the soulful, minor-key excursion 'What Seas, What Shores' and concludes with the brash and swinging 'End of Discussion.' Along the way there are...skittishly animated performances...as well as arrangements that take advantage of the gift these musicians share for creating hauntingly atmospheric interludes."

 

Concert Information

Tickets for the April 26th concert cost $20 at the Milford Theatre, at 114 East Catharine Street, in Milford, PA, or $15 when purchased in advance on Kindred Spirits' website, http://kindredspiritsarts.org/ or at Books and Prints at Pear Alley, 220 Broad Street, Milford. Children under 15 are admitted free.

Kindred Spirits Arts Programs, Inc., the producer of these events, is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization supported in part by local and state agencies, and by business and private donors. For further information contact Yosif Feigelson, 570.409.1269, [e-mail]; or Jan Lokuta, 570.296.6471 or570.296.2181, [e-mail]. 

 

Photos

For high-res versions of the images on this page as well as one of Werner and Koppell performing together, contact [e-mail]. 

Koppell image by Kristine Lykkeberg Thomsen