A Little Latin, A Lot of Jazz BRJS Presents Oscar Perez Trio at Meadowbrook Inn Sunday By Jeff Eason The bar will be raised on the jazz scene this weekend when one of New York City’s favorite sons brings his talented band to Blowing Rock. The Oscar Perez Trio will perform selections from the pianist and composer’s outstanding new jazz album Nuevo Comienzo at a special concert at the Meadowbrook Inn in Blowing Rock on Sunday, April 9th. The Oscar Perez Trio will perform at the Meadowbrook Inn in Blowing Rock on Sunday, April 9th from 7 to 9 p.m. The show is being presented by the Blowing Rock Jazz Society and admission is $15 per person for the general public and free for all BRJS members in good standing. Queens, New York native Perez has been expressing himself with the black and white keys of the piano since he was seven years old. Growing up his household was always filled with the sounds of his father’s Cuban folk music, pop music of the day, and church music. His musical education was further enhanced with his enrollment to the LaGuardia High School for the Performing Arts—a school made famous by the movie Fame. His other training has included studying under pianists Robert Harris and Edgar Roberts before graduating from the University of North Florida with a degree in Jazz Performance. He completed his Masters Degree at the Aaron Copland School of Music at Queens College. From his early twenties onward, Perez has been thrust into the limelight playing with such jazz luminaries as Bunky Green, George Russell, Curtis Fuller, Ira Sullivan and George Garzone. He has also played the piano backing such non-jazz stars as Michael McDonald and Phoebe Snow. He has toured the United States, South America, Costa Rica, the Azores Islands, the Dominican Republic, Russia and Siberia. Perez has experience leading both a large “big band” and an intimate trio, all the while maintaining high standards on both traditional jazz compositions and his own Latin-tinged originals. His latest album, Nuevo Comienzo, featuring eleven Perez-composed jazz tunes, is one of those rare albums that successfully combine Latin rhythms with aggressive jazz tunes and skillful improvisation. Perez instinctively knows how to present each of his tunes and also allows his talented side players the chance to put their own stamp on the music. “As a musician, I feel that our sole purpose is to communicate with the hope of entertaining, inspiring and uplifting those who grace us with their attention,” said Perez. “The truly great artists have spoken volumes through both their instruments and their pens. “The idea of finding our voice is congruous with speaking a language we first listen to. Like a child who learns to communicate by emulating and later refining his or her skills, I also have embraced my musical guardians.” Nuevo Comienzo features Perez on piano and Fender Rhodes, Greg Glassman on trumpet and flugelhorn, Stacy Dillard on saxophone, Anthony Perez on upright acoustic bass, and Geoff Clapp on drums, with Wycliffe Gordon on trombone and Peter Bernstein on guitar. Classic and timeless, the album is full of challenging jazz compositions and intriguing lead playing without being “messy” or discordant. “It is true that everything an artist experiences shapes the art they create,” said Perez. “This nascent excursion into the discovery of my own compositional voice, regardless of genre, has been enlightening.” For more information on the Oscar Perez Trio concert, call Blowing Rock Jazz Society president Fred Germann at (423) 727-0795.