Brass Band of Battle Creek
Spring 2024 Fundraising Event
Saturday, May 11 - 6:00 to 9:00pm
Join us for an evening of great jazz, great food and great fun at the Battle Creek Country Club! Entertainment for the evening will feature a combo of great BBBC musicians including:
JENS LINDEMANN- As the first classical brass soloist to ever receive the Order of Canada, Jens Lindemann is hailed as one of the most celebrated artists in his instrument’s history and was recently named “International Brass Personality of the Year” (Brass Herald). Jens has played both jazz and classical in every major concert venue in the world: from the Philharmonics of New York, Los Angeles, London, Berlin, Moscow, and Tokyo to Carnegie Hall and even the Great Wall of China. His career has ranged from appearing internationally as an orchestral soloist, being featured at the 2010 Olympics for an audience of 2 billion people, national anthems at the Rose Bowl and for the San Francisco Giants on Memorial Day, performing at London’s ‘Last Night of the Proms’, recording with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir to playing lead trumpet with the renowned Canadian Brass and a solo Command Performance for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
REX RICHARDSON- Renowned as champion of new, genre-busting music featuring the trumpet as a solo voice, Yamaha Performing Artist Rex Richardson was named the 2008 Brass Herald International Personality of the Year and has been called “One of the finest virtuosos of our time." A veteran of the acclaimed chamber ensemble Rhythm & Brass, jazz legend Joe Henderson's Quintet and Sextet, William Russo's Chicago Jazz Ensemble, and the world-renowned Brass Band of Battle Creek, his hundreds of soloist appearances include festivals and ensembles on six continents, such as the Phoenix Symphony, U.S. Army Field Band, Tokyo Symphonic Winds, England's Fodens Brass Band, and the U.S. Air Force Airmen of Note. His latest CD Freedom of Movement was named a top-ten finalist for 4barsrest.com’s 2018 Solo CD of the Year. Rex has taught at Virginia Commonwealth University since 2002, served as International Tutor in Trumpet at England’s Royal Northern College of Music from 2012-2015 and at Austria’s JAM Music Lab University since 2018.
DENNIS WILSON currently serves as an Associate Professor of Music in Jazz and Contemporary Improvisation at the University of Michigan. He has a significant association with the legendary Count Basie and his Orchestra that began in 1977 as trombonist and arranger. He continues to serve as musical production manager and educational director with the Basie Band. Wilson is the lead trombonist for the Carnegie Hall Jazz Orchestra and has toured, performed, and recorded with the Dizzy Gillespie Big Band, the Lionel Hampton Orchestra, the New Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, the American Jazz Orchestra, the Benny Carter Orchestra, and Slide Hampton’s World of Trombones. He received a GRAMMY Award nomination for vocal arrangements for Manhattan Transfer and performed on GRAMMY Award-winning recordings with Ella Fitzgerald, Count Basie, and Diane Schurr.
EDYE EVANS HYDE has been singing jazz, blues, and pop music for over 30 years in West Michigan, Los Angeles, Asia, and Europe. Edye was named the 2011 West Michigan Jazz Society Musician of the Year, and in 2012 she was voted “2012 Best Regional Artist” by the fans of WEMU radio. Edye has shared the stage with world-renowned blues singer Linda Hopkins, pop singer Michael Bolton, the late Ray Charles, and Cuban trumpet player Arturo Sandoval. She also appears as narrator for the Grand Rapids Symphony “Lollipops” and has appeared in numerous stage, film, and television productions. Edye is the executive director and founder of Ebony Road Players, a Grand Rapids theatre company whose mission is to inspire educate and engage the cultures of the community with high-quality productions based on the Black experience.
TERRY LOWER is a virtuoso jazz pianist with his own sound. After studying at Berklee College of Music, Terry returned to Michigan, where he has worked with such notables as Benny Golson, Frank Morgan, David “Fathead” Newman and Kevin Mahogany. Also earning the reputation as a wonderful accompanist, Terry played 2 Jazz tours in Italy with vocalists Betty Joplin and Edye Evans Hyde. But it is at the head of his own trio and quintet that Terry’s playing and writing are best showcased. Inspired by Oscar Peterson, Monty Alexander and Art Tatum, Terry is also a prolific composer and arranger. Some of his writing projects include full symphony orchestrations, first performed in 2016 with Terry’s quartet, vocalist Edye Evans Hyde, and the Rochester Symphony Orchestra.
RAY TINI- In over fifty years of performing as a professional upright bass player, Ray Tini has performed with many stars of stage and screen. Ray graduated from Cooley High School where he began playing professional jazz jobs. Ray studied bass privately with professional bass players in the Metro Detroit area. He studied music at Wayne State University. Ray's storied career has included concerts with many of the world's finest ensembles and solo artists including Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Tonight Show Band, Doc Severinsen, Oprah Winfrey, Merv Griffin, Andrea Bocelli, Luciano Pavoratti, Arturo Sandoval, The Three Tenors, and Broadway shows including Grease, Jesus Christ Superstar, White Christmas, and Cinderella. Ray lives in Detroit but is a regular in the Battle Creek area. He can frequently be heard performing with BBBC pianist Terry Lower at Clara's on The River on summer evenings.
LARRY OCHILTREE has performed with many internationally-known jazz artists including Mark Murphy, Ira Sullivan, Bobby Watson, Phil Woods, Larry Nozero, Frank Mantooth , Clair Fisher, Vincent Dimartino, and Rodney Whittaker. He has toured with the Drifters and the Coasters, and has played on CDs recorded with Jim Cooper, Terry Lower, and many more. Larry attended Michigan State University and The Berklee College Of Music and is on the music faculty of Hillsdale College where he serves as Director of Drumset Studies and performs with the faculty jazz quartet. He has appeared with the Battle Creek, Jackson and Kalamazoo Symphonies, and is the primary drum set performer with the Lansing Symphony Orchestra. Larry is a clinician for Ludwig Drums, Zildjian Cymbals, Pro Mark Sticks, Stellar Drum Hoops and Remo Drumheads.
All proceeds from the evening benefit the programs and operation of the mighty Brass Band of Battle Creek. Don't miss it!
