KINGSTON, R.I. – October 6, 2010 – The University of Rhode Island will present “A Slice of Jazz Guitar History with John Monllos” on Tuesday, October 26, at 7:30 p.m., offering a program that should appeal to jazz lovers of all kinds. Grammy-nominated pianist Joe Parillo will perform with Monllos in the second concert of the 2010 University Artist Series. The performance will be held in the URI Fine Arts Center Concert Hall, 105 Upper College Road, Kingston, with general admission $10, students with ID $5, available at the box office on a first-come basis starting 45 minutes before the concert.
“The guitar has a long history in jazz music, as both an ensemble and solo instrument. This concert will feature the music of select jazz artists such as Louis Armstrong, Charlie Christian, Django Reinhardt, Wes Montgomery, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Dizzy Gillespie, Joe Pass and a few original twists,” says Monllos, a well-known Newport-based artist who teaches at both URI and Salve Regina. “From early swing to the bossa nova style of Brazil, Latin Jazz, and modern jazz of today, this concert will have something for everyone!”
Monllos and Parillo will be supported by a rhythm section provided by Bryan Rizzuto on bass and Rick Andre on Drums. The concert will be narrated by URI jazz brass faculty artist Mark Berney.
After 20 years honing his chops in the Navy Band, Monllos is a recording artist and a fixture on the Newport music scene. He plays regularly around Rhode Island with saxman and woodwind specialist Art Manchester, as part of the Jazz Candy Duo. Parillo, who is well-known to RI jazz fans as both pianist and composer, helped to found URI’s jazz program and was recently named the new chair of the URI Department of Music. Bryan Rizzuto has been a member of Roomful of Blues and has played on many of Joe Parillo’s recordings. He is a well known freelance bass player in RI. Drummer Rick André also has recorded with Joe Parillo and on John Monllos’s CD “Shadow’s Dance.” He currently performs with The X Isles.
“Monllos is a versatile, high-energy guitarist whose sound has absorbed quality portions of rock, funk, Latin and contemporary jazz (a la Pat Metheny and Mike Stern, not the jazz smoothies or instrumental popsters),” according to Ken Franckling’s Jazz Notes. The name of guitar great Carlos Santana has also been invoked at times to describe John Monllos’s guitar work.
The URI Concert Hall is handicap-accessible, and parking is available in the lot behind the Fine Arts Center, off Bills Road.
For more information, please contact the URI Department of Music, 874-2431, or check the website: www.uri.edu/artsci/mus.