La Luna Nueva: “Latin Jazz Night” and “Guitarra Apasionada” with Alfredo Muro

La Luna Nueva: “Latin Jazz Night” and “Guitarra Apasionada” with Alfredo Muro

• Latin Jazz Night with Alfredo Muro Trio
One performance: 7:30 p.m. • Friday, Sept. 23, 2011 • $20 advance, $23 door
Tickets: 503-236-7253 • Online Box Office

Savor the music of Antonio Carlos Jobim, Paulinho Nogueira, José Feliciano, Luiz Bonfa and more when Latin Grammy-nominated guitarist Alfredo Muro is joined onstage by Todd Strait (drums) and Brian Healey (bass), with special guest Lynn Darroch.

• “Guitarra Apasionada (Passionate Guitar)” with Alfredo Muro
One performance: 7:30 p.m. • Saturday, Sept. 24, 2011 • $20 advance, $23 door
Tickets: 503-236-7253 • Online Box Office

Latin Grammy-nominated Alfredo Muro brings together his three great musical passions – the rich folkloric traditions of Latin America, classic Spanish guitar and the signature styles of Brazil for an evening of passionate music to stir the heart. Music by Piazzolla, Falu, Jobim, Powell and more. “A highly refined technique and artistic expression of a virtuoso classical maestro” -Guitar Foundation of America. “Richly eloquent” -José Feliciano. 
              
Alfredo Muro was born in Lima, Peru. At the age of 10, he began teaching himself to play the guitar and he progressed rapidly. He was soon awarded a scholarship to study with Maestro Jose Pepe Torres at his Guitar Academy. At 13, Mr. Muro took the top prize in a nationally televised competition, featuring musicians from more than one hundred schools. In 1971, he won the year-long TV program, “Trampoline to Fame”. Mr. Muro continued his studies with two of the greatest Peruvian guitar masters, Octavio Ticona and Carlos Hayre, gaining mastery of harmonic theory and the rich variety of Peruvian folklore. After four years of intense studies he moved to the United States to broaden his musical skills studying with great masters Manuel Lopez Ramos, Frank Costa and John Doan. Mr. Muro had the honor of representing Peru at the 16th Annual International Guitar Festival -2005 in Lima and for the second time at the 5th Annual International Guitar Festival-2007 in Arequipa. These juried events featured artists from 13 countries, including Spain, Germany, Sweden, the United States, Argentina and Japan. In 2008, Mr. Muro was invited to participate at the Entre Cuerdas International Guitar Festival in Chile and at the First International Guitar Festival in Junin de los Andes in Argentina. In April of 2009, he performed in Brazil at the Federal University of Rio do Janeiro and later in the July he was featured in three concerts in the cities of Numberg and Berlin, Germany. While on tour in Europe, Mr. Muro played with his group Oro Del Peru for the late Pope John Paul the Second at a “Special Audience” at the Vatican. Over the years he has been invited to participate in many international guitar seminars, and has been selected for Master Classes with some of the World’s premier guitarists, such as Manuel Lopez Ramos (Argentina), Carlos Barbosa-Lima (Brazil) and Alfredo Escande (Uruguay). In addition, Mr. Muro has appeared on numerous recordings, stage, radio, and television programs. Mr. Muro has presented concerts in Germany, Italy, Canada, Brazil, Peru, Argentina, Chile and in many venues throughout the United States. In 2007, he had the privilege to be the featured artist at the Kennedy Center for the Millennium Concert Series in Washington D.C. and at Benaroya Hall in Seattle. Mr. Muro is not only an accomplished soloist, but is also an arranger and composer. His work as an accompanist has also won critical acclaim. In 1999, Mr. Muro released a solo CD, “Journey Through The Strings” to rave reviews, with the honor of having international artist Jose Feliciano endorse the CD. Mr. Muro has released five other CD’s: “The Musical Sea”, “Alfredo Muro and Friends Live at St. Gertrude Monastery”, “Alma Brasileira, Volume 1”, “Alma Brasileira, Volume 2″and his latest solo guitar works “Latin Impressions”, released June 2009. Another important project in progress is the publication of his transcriptions of selected Brazilian solo guitar works. His Repertoire ranges from classical music to Latin American and Spanish music, and from the Beatles, Baden Powell and Jobim, to Bach and Handel. Mr. Muro has a special love of Brazilian music. He has studied and mastered the intricate styles of Choro, Samba, Frevo, Bossa Nova and Afro-samba and interprets many South American composers such as Villa-Lobos, Barrios and Lauro with aplomb. In March of 2005, Mr. Muro was selected for the Jack Rosenberg Memorial, Musician of the Month Award, by the Jazz Society of Oregon in their Jazzscene magazine. The Centinela Newspaper in Portland, Oregon, featured Mr. Muro as the “Hispanic of the Month”. The Hispanic Yellow Pages Directory introduced him as the “Pride of the Hispanic Community”. Mr. Muro and his wife reside in Boulder, Colorado.
Todd Strait was raised in Topeka, Kansas, and became involved in music in elementary school playing trumpet and drums. Eventually braces pushed the trumpet out of the picture and it’s been drums ever since. Todd began gigging locally while still in 7th grade, mainly with his father’s group. During his last year of high school he became involved in the 1979 “Louie Bellson/Slingerland National Drum Contest” where he eventually finished in second place at the Las Vegas finals. The scholarships gained from this experience enabled Todd to pursue his dream of moving to the NYC area and studing with Ed Soph in 1980. Upon relocating to the east coast Todd free-lanced in and around NYC and the Tri-State area, then joined Marian McPartland’s trio in 1982 playing in New York City clubs and traveling occasionally with her across the country. In 1984 he also began playing with guitarists Tal Farlow and Barney Kessel. In ’86 he joined Woody Herman’s Thundering Herd for a 3 month cross-country stint before returning to NYC. 1990 found Todd relocated to Kansas City where a string of important connections were born. Besides gigging in KC and St. Louis with local favorites and visiting “stars”, Todd toured nationally and internationally with Kevin Mahogany from 1995 until 2000, with Karrin Allyson 1995 until 2009, and with Eldar from 1999 until 2008 (See the discography page for related recordings, 3 of which were Grammy Nominees). In 2002 Todd relocated again, this time to Portland. A typical year of travel consisted of between 200-250 days on the road (between tours with either Eldar or Karrin) so Todd was not around Portland much those first 7 and a half years. But in mid 2009 he finally decided to change gears and stay put for awhile. Now he is enjoying being away from airplanes and playing with local greats such as PDXV, Greg Goebel’s Trio, Warren Rand, Dan Balmer, and Randy Porter, among many other wonderful musicians in Portland and Seattle. Todd is also building a student base here in Portland. Besides serving as adjunct drumset instructor for UMKC in Kansas City,MO, from 1990-2002, Todd has been a faculty member for several summer jazz camps across the country over the last 20 years and is looking forward to his 10th consecutive year at the KU Jazz Camp in Lawrence, Kansas, this summer. Last year he joined the staff of YMA (Young Musicians and Artists) which holds two week sessions on the campus of Willamette University in Salem, Oregon. He will continue to serve as one of several adjunct drumset instructors at Mount Hood Community College in Gresham, Oregon, during the school year as he has since 2003.
New York native Brian Healey has played bass professionally for more than two decades. Healey is a graduate of the Hartford Camerata Conservatory and has studied privately with acclaimed musicians Dave Santoro, Dave Holland, Michael Moore and Joey Baron. As a chameleon sideman, Healey has performed both nationally and internationally in a wide range of musical styles ranging from symphonies, Caribbean steel bands, bluegrass to avant-garde jazz. Before relocating to Portland, Healey performed with such notable east coast musicians as Carmen Leggio, guitarist Ken Wessel (Ornette Coleman’s Prime Time), singer Giacomo Gates, drummer/band leader Sherrie Maricle (DIVA Jazz Orchestra) and Todd Strait (Marian McPartland). Recent festival performances include 2003 Vancouver Wine & Jazz Festival, 2004 Portland Jazz festival and the Australian 60th Jazz Convention 2005. Currently residing in Portland, Healey has recorded and/or performed with some of the area’s finest talent in town.
A music journalist and regular contributor to The Oregonian, Lynn Darroch has lived and taught in Spanish-speaking countries and edited the anthology, Between Fire and Love—Contemporary Peruvian Writing. His musical stories about jazz figures appear on his latest CD, “Local Heroes/American Originals,” and he hosts a weekly jazz show on KMHD FM. He has contributed articles on music figures to The Encyclopedia of United States Popular Culture and to the Oregon Encyclopedia. He taught literature and writing at Mt. Hood Community College for 18 years and currently edits the monthly magazine, Jazzscene. For more, visit the artist’s website at www.lynndarroch.com