(PDF) (DOC) (JPG)November 12, 2003

(Mahwah) – Two highly-respected jazzmen, pianist Benny Green and guitarist Russell Malone, who in their recent album pay homage to the late jazz bassist Ray Brown, team up at Ramapo College’s Sharp Theater, Saturday, December 6 at 8 p.m. for a night of jazz.

The performance features songs from their number one hit CD, Jazz at the Bistro, which includes15 tracks including Thelonius Monk’s Ask Me Now,” and John Coltrane’s Moment’s Notice/Lazy Bird.” It also features two original compositions: Green’s Quiet Girl,” and Malone’s “Hand-Told Stories.”

While pianists and guitarists are always in danger of clashing with each other, both Green and Malone…share the lead, engage in close interplay and leave space for each other. The music always swings and is full of subtle surprises and inspired moments,” says Scott Yanow of the L.A. Jazz Scene.

Malone and Green performed as a duo for the first time in the summer of 2001 at the North Sea Jazz Festival in Holland. Malone recently toured with vocalist/pianist Diana Krall, who has released two Grammy-nominated albums. Green has paid his dues with jazz luminaries Art Blakey, Betty Carter and Freddie Hubbard.

Born in New York in 1963 and raised in Berkeley, California, Benny Green began studying classical piano at age seven. At about the same time, he was introduced to jazz by his father. He has recorded with Betty Carter and Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers, toured with Freddie Hubbard, and became a member of Ray Brown’s trio in 1992. In 1993, Green received Toronto’s first Glenn Gould International Protégé Prize.

Green’s other CDs include Oscar and Benny, released in 1998 and featuring Oscar Peterson; Naturally, released in 2000 featuring Malone and bassist Christian McBride; and Green’s Blues, released in 2001, a collection of classics by jazz greats including Fats Waller, Duke Ellington and George Gershwin.

A versatile guitarist, Russell Malone started playing music at the age of five. His first lessons came at church in his hometown of Albany, Georgia. Influenced by everything from swing, rhythm and blues, and gospel, to rock, cabaret and country music, Malone was recognized for his work with Jimmy Smith’s band in the 1980s. Throughout the ’90s, Malone was a solo artist as well as a vital session player for such high-profile artists including Krall, Wynton Marsalis, Harry Connick, Jr. and Ray Brown.

Malone’s CDs include a self-titled debut album released in 1992, followed by Black Butterfly in 1993, Wholly Cats in 1995, Sweet Georgia Peach in 1998, Look Who’s Here in 1999, and his latest, Heartstrings, in 2001.

Tickets are $21 for general admission, $18 for seniors, and $12 for students. The Sharp Theater is located in the Angelica and Russ Berrie Center for Performing and Visual Arts on the Ramapo College campus. For more information call (201) 684-7844.

This program is made possible in part by funds from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts.

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About Ramapo College

Ramapo College of New Jersey is the state’s premier public liberal arts college and is committed to academic excellence through interdisciplinary and experiential learning, and international and intercultural understanding. The comprehensive college is situated among the beautiful Ramapo Mountains, is within commuting distance to New York City, was named one of the 50 Most Beautiful College Campuses in America by CondeNast Traveler, and boasts the best on-campus housing in New Jersey per Niche.com. Established in 1969, Ramapo College offers bachelor’s degrees in the arts, business, data science, humanities, social sciences and the sciences, as well as in professional studies, which include business, education, nursing and social work. In addition, the College offers courses leading to teacher certification at the elementary and secondary levels, and offers graduate programs leading to master’s degrees in Accounting, Applied Mathematics, Business Administration, Contemporary Instructional Design, Computer Science, Creative Music Technology, Data Science, Educational Leadership, Nursing, Social Work and Special Education, as well as a Doctor of Nursing Practice.

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