Spring Jazz Fest Continues At The Parrish

On Friday, April 1, at 6 p.m., the Parrish Art Museum presents its second collaboration of the season with Hamptons Jazz Fest Winter Series, featuring an in-person concert with pianist and Grammy Award Nominee Bill O’Connell with his Quartet featuring Lincoln Goines on bass, Robby Ameen on drums, and special guest saxophonist Craig Handy.

Nominated for the 64th annual Grammy Awards this year for Best Arrangement (Instrumental and A Capella) for “Chopsticks,” O’Connell has a nearly 40-year career as a bandleader, soloist, arranger and musical director. He has performed with some of the most celebrated names in jazz and Latin music including Sonny Rollins, Chet Baker, Mongo Santamaría, Dave Valentin, and Gato Barbieri — as well as vocalists Jon Lucien, Astrud Gilberto, and Kenny Rankin.

Throughout his career, O’Connell has earned a reputation as a piano virtuoso and was named four times as “Jazz Writer of the Year” from SESAC for his compositions. His 13 albums have drawn universal critical acclaim while his talents as a pianist and arranger have been tapped by a diverse range of noted soloists. Today, O’Connell is both a respected educator and leader of The Latin Jazz All-Stars.

Saxophonist Craig Handy joins O’Connell for this special performance. Born in Oakland, California, as a music-hungry youngster, Handy experimented on guitar, trombone, and piano before settling on his first true love, the saxophone. At the age of 11, while listening to the radio, Handy fell under the spell of the transcendent saxophone playing of jazz legend Dexter Gordon. He enrolled in Berkeley High School’s elite jazz program, joining the ranks of stellar saxophone graduates including David Murray, Peter Apfelbaum, and Joshua Redman, among others. He attended North Texas State University and won the coveted Charlie Parker Scholarship which enabled his early college experience as a psychology major and front runner in the school’s exceptional One O’Clock Jazz Ensemble.

Tickets for the concert are $20 ($15 for Parrish members). The Parrish is at 279 Montauk Highway, Water Mill. Visit parrishart.org for details.