Nick Di Maria Quartet July 9, 2010

Nick Di Maria Quartet

Friday July 9, 8:00 PM
$8 Suggested Donation

“Trumpeter Nick Di Maria may be a local musician but a musician with a connection to jazz past and present.”

Tonight’s show will feature original material composed by Nick and other material written by some of Nick’s strongest influences. The Nick Di Maria Quartet features:

Andrew Kosiba on Fender Rhodes Electric Piano

Dan Biancini Bass

Michael Dick Drums

Nick comes from the school of Miles Davis…literally. For the last 7 years Nick has studied with one of jazz’s most original voices: Dr. Eddie Henderson who made a name for himself playing in Herbie Hancock’s Sextet of the early 1970’s, who was a student of Miles Davis. Nick has received and gained the knowledge that Miles handed to Eddie Henderson personally throughout their time together and it has influenced Di Maria in developing his own sound that he describes as “Himself, with a touch of his heroes.”

“Eddie has been a major influence in my life as a musician and human being, I could never of asked for someone to guide me in this art the way he has.”

Nick first came to jazz when he heard Kind of Blue by Miles Davis and like many un-experienced younger players did not care for it. It was in fact Lee Morgan’s The Sidewinder that caught the attention of the 17 year old at the time. Lee’s funky and bluesy vibe is what got Nick into jazz faster. Eventually through study did Nick come around and accept Kind of Blue for the masterpiece it is. Around this time Nick bought a copy of Nefertiti from his close friend: “When I heard Nefertiti I completely did not understand what I was hearing but I became obsessed with the strangeness of it and it really got me into Miles’ sound.” Nick credits Miles Davis, Freddie Hubbard, Kenny Dorham and Lee Morgan as his primary influences but has also been influenced by Eddie Henderson, Jeremy Pelt, and Dave Douglas. Nick finds Pelt’s and Douglas’s compositional style very influential on his own writing.

The music you will hear is right out of Nick’s working quartet’s repertoire. These compositions were written over a 3 year period and have been showcased during many of the band’s performances.