fiddleFunk Detroit-born pianist & composer brings exciting amalgam of the Great American Songbook, bebop, Brazilian, & the blues! Featuring Chris Bakriges, Stanley Chepaitis, David Morgan, Ricky Exton.

fiddleFunk is a program of compositions incorporating a cornucopia of idioms: the romanticism of the Great American Songbook, Bebop’s rhythmic elasticity, Brazilian melodies, a variety of jazz styles & popular tunes are all in the mix – so, too, the blues!
 
Don’t miss your opportunity to experience this dynamic group on their tour through Ohio! Pianist Chris Bakriges and violinist Stanley Chepaitis will be joined by the talents of local jazz greats Dave Morgan (bass) and Ricky Exton (drums) for this special night of live jazz.

About Chris Bakriges

Chris Bakriges (piano, composer) the Detroit-born pianist and composer is resident artist at Massachusetts College of Art and Design in Boston. The rich cultural firmament of Motown cultivated his taste for music as an expression of emotion, communication, and social change. His doctorate in ethnomusicology at York University in Toronto afforded him the opportunity to study with the legendary Oscar Peterson. He has also worked with Jimmy Giuffre, Harold Danko, Anthony Braxton, and Nadi Qamar. Bakriges is a founding member of Critical Theory Ensemble, Quartet ‘Til the End of Time, and co-lead the Oikos Ensemble. He was music director for the monthly “Jazz Alive” radio program on Northeast Public Radio broadcast from WAMC Studios in New York and accompanied many artists, including Kenny Burrell, Bernard Purdie, Bobby McFerrin, David Darling, and Dave Holland. Bakriges has performed throughout the United States and internationally in India, Pakistan, Turkey, The Czech Republic, United Kingdom, and France.
 



About Stanley Chepaitis



Stanley Chepaitis (violin) is chair of the string department at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Stanley is a founding member of the Litton Quartet and the Gorell Trio. Chepaitis is one of the rare breed of violinist who can cross easily over classical and jazz terrain. He former concert master of the Arkansas Symphony who learned jazz from the legendary Joe Venuti as well as Floyd Williams, drummer with Duke Ellington. His international performances include engagements at the Academy of Music in Zagreb, Croatia, the Academy of Music in Ljubljana, Slovenia, and a special jazz program for an audience of German music teachers at the Hoechschule in Hanover, Germany. In the states, Stanley has presented concerts at the Eastman School’s Kilbourne Hall, Carnegie Mellon University, and the Krannert Center, in Champagne, Illinois.
 

 
Joining Bakriges and Chepaitis is bassist David Morgan and drummer Ricky Exton. Morgan is Professor of Jazz Studies at Youngstown State University. In recent years, he has shared the stage with many leading jazz musicians including Larry Coryell, James Moody, Frank Foster, Joe Chambers, Benny Green, Joe Lovano, Bob Brookmeyer, Maria Schneider, Bobby Watson, and Mose Allison. Dave performs with the Cleveland Jazz Orchestra, the Jack Schantz Jazz Unit, and with a variety of smaller ensembles. He has also appeared with The Cleveland Orchestra, the Akron Symphony, and the Cleveland Chamber Symphony. Dave received the 2003 Award of Achievement from Northern Ohio Live for transcribing and arranging a concert of the music of Frank Zappa for a Tri-C JazzFest concert that featured saxophonist Ernie Watts.
 
Cleveland drummer Ricky Exton has performed with the likes of Wynton Marsalis, Rufus Reid, Lou Rawls, Cyrus Chestnut, Joanne Brackeen, Kim Nazarian, and Akron guitar virtuoso Neil Zaza.

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