Ellen Rowe’s All About the Trio

with special Guest, Randy Napoleon

A Celebration of Oscar Peterson:

Music from his Canadiana Suite

Sunday, April 16^th, 2023 at 2:00 pm

Ellen Rowe’s popular series returns to the House to pay tribute to the great jazz pianist Oscar Peterson and will play selections from his beloved Canadiana Suite, a celebration of his Canadian homeland. Pieces will include “Wheatland”, “Blues of the Prairie”, “Laurentide Waltz” and “March Past”.

“…The pieces that make up Oscar’s Canadiana Suite, recorded first in 1964, proceed across Canada from east to west, which is the way the country thinks, in the precise sequence of the railway journey from the Atlantic to the Pacific…

…Those pieces are like views from a train window; or perhaps memories of a father’s descriptions of the land when he would come home from his journeys and supervise his son’s piano lessons.”

– Gene Lees, Oscar Peterson: The Will To Swing

Don’t miss another opportunity to be back in Kerrytown Concert House with Ann Arbor’s favorite jazz trio as they highlight the Canadiana Suite by Peterson who was Canadian himself, and considered one of the greatest jazz pianists of all time.

Ellen Rowe (piano), Robb Bickley (bass), and Sean Dobbins (drums), with special guest Randy Napoleon (guitar).

Ellen Rowe, piano
Rob Bickley, bass
Sean Dobbins, drums
Randy Napoleon, guitar
Ellen Rowe, piano

Ellen Rowe, jazz pianist and composer, is currently Arthur F. Thurnau Professor of Jazz and Contemporary Improvisation at the University of Michigan. She is a graduate of the Eastman School of Music, and previously served as Director of Jazz Studies at the University of Connecticut. Winner of the Hartford, CT Advocate Readers’ Poll for Best Acoustic Jazz, Ms. Rowe has performed throughout the U.S., Europe, South Africa, and Australia. CDs out under her own name include “Sylvan Way”, “Wishing Well”, “Denali Pass” and “Courage Music.”  Her latest project, “Momentum – Portraits of Women In Motion”, was released in January of 2019. When not leading her own trio, quartet or quintet, she is in demand as a sideman, having performed with a wide variety of jazz artists. Ms. Rowe’s compositions and arrangements have been performed and recorded by jazz ensembles and orchestras around the world, and she was recently a composer-in-residence at the Eastman School of Music and the University of Wisconsin at Madison.  She is on the Board of the International Society of Jazz Arrangers and Composers and also serves as the Coordinator for the JEN Sisters In Jazz Collegiate Combo Competition, in addition to being an in-demand clinician.

Rob Bickley, bass

Ann Arbor native Rob Bickley received a B.M from Michigan State University and M.M from The Juilliard School. While living in New York Rob served as a teaching artist for Jazz @ Lincoln Center. Rob has performed at such venues as The Blue Note, Dizzy’s Club Coca Cola, Small Jazz Club and Alice Tully Hall. Since returning to Ann Arbor, Rob can be seen performing with musicians Sean Dobbins, Rick Roe, Jesse Kramer, and Mike Malis. Rob has served on faculty for the AAPS summer music programs and is a regular clinician at schools across the district. Rob maintains an active private studio offering private lessons and small group classes.

Sean Dobbins, drums

Sean Dobbins got his start as sought-after Detroit area jazz sideman at a young age, when he would regularly play with Blue Note artist Louis Smith. As Sean’s Career progressed, he found himself the recipient of many awards and accolades including the “Woody Herman Jazz Award”, an award for outstanding musicianship, as well as the Louis Armstrong Scholarship. Due to Sean’s great talent both as a player and an educator, he has been the focus of countless news articles, jazz radio programs, and documentaries.

Though still young by jazz standards, Dobbins has amassed an impressive list of playing companions. He has performed/toured/recorded with Johnny Basset, Benny Golson, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Frank Morgan, Joey DeFrancesco, George Cables, James “Blood” Ulmer, Marcus Belgrave, Larry Willis, Rodney Whittaker, Claude Black, Johnny O’Neal, Paul Keller, Tad Weed, Kurt Krahnke, Jon Hendricks, David “Fathead” Newman, Donald Walden, Cyrus Chesnut, Barry Harris, David Baker, Randy Johnston, Marion Hayden, Mose Allison, and a host of other great musicians.

Sean’s sound can best be described as hard-driving, solid rhythm with refreshing melodic sensibility. Some of Sean’s influences include Art Blakey, Jeff Hamilton, Jeff “Tain” Watts, Ed Thigpen, Sonny Payne, as well as Detroit area greats Gerald Cleaver and the one and only Elvin Jones.

Randy Napoleon, guitar

Known as a forward-thinking musician with a passion for the jazz tradition, guitarist Randy Napoleon is an Associate Professor at Michigan State University. He is currently touring as a leader after twenty years of road apprenticeship with some of the most celebrated musicians and groups of our time.

Napoleon cut his teeth touring with pianist Benny Green, The Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra, Michael Bublé, and a thirteen year tenure with Freddy Cole. He has also performed with artists across the jazz spectrum such as Bill Charlap, Natalie Cole, Monty Alexander, Rodney Whitaker and John Pizzarelli.

Napoleon has performed or arranged on over seventy records. He arranged as well as performed on Freddy Cole’s seven most recent records including the Grammy-nominated releases, Freddy Cole Sings Mr. B and My Mood Is You. He performed on The Clayton Hamilton Orchestra: Live at MCG. Napoleon is featured on Bublé’s Grammy-nominated CD/DVD Caught in the Act.

Napoleon has played on The Tonight Show, Late Night With David Letterman, The View, The Today Show, and The Ellen DeGeneres show as well as TV shows in South America, Europe and Asia. He has performed across the globe at notable venues including Royal Albert Hall, The Sydney Opera House, The Hollywood Bowl, and Lincoln Center.

Guitarist George Benson calls Napoleon “sensational.” Detroit Free Press critic Mark Stryker says Napoleon “plays with a gentle, purring tone that makes you lean in close to hear its range of color and articulation.” Washington Post critic Mike Joyce praises his “exceptionally nimble finger-style technique.” Comparing him to Wes Montgomery, music critic Michael G. Nastos says, “he displays an even balance of swing, soul, and single-line or chord elements that mark an emerging voice dedicated to tradition and universally accessible jazz values.”

Napoleon has four records as a band leader with a fifth, Common Tones, released Oct 4, 2019 on the Detroit Music Factory label.

COVID-19 Safety Policy for Indoor Concerts

• Masks are welcome and available as needed.
• Please do not attend a performance if you are feeling ill or have any symptoms of COVID-19.