Jazz for the Soul, Russell Schmidt Quartet @ JAZZBIRD

The Russell Schmidt Quartet returns to the JAZZBIRD stage to perform a wide-ranging program featuring jazz classics, songbook standards, and original compositions.  Featuring Mary Petrich - Saxophone, Russell Schmidt - Piano, Ben Hedquist - Bass, Ryan Anthony - Drums

100% of donations from this concert benefit "Kitchen On The Street" www.kitchenonthestreet.org

Russell Schmidt As a performer, composer, conductor, and educator, Russell Schmidt has been collaborating with world-class musicians while also shaping future artists for more than three decades. A deeply creative pianist, he has shared the stage with such celebrated performers as Carl Allen, Roxy Coss, Eddie Daniels, Nick Finzer, John Hollenbeck, Gerry Mulligan, Lucas Pino, Arturo Sandoval, and Clark Terry. He has been featured as a guest soloist with Caleb Chapman’s Crescent Super Band in a performance at Carnegie Hall, as well as with the Eastman Jazz Ensemble at an alumni tribute concert to famed jazz pedagogue Rayburn Wright. Russell has also headlined jazz events with his own groups at such venues as the MIM Music Theater, Kilbourn Hall, and The Nash. Additionally, he has served as keyboard soloist with more than 30 professional orchestras, including performances with the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center and the San Francisco Symphony at Davies Symphony Hall.

Mary Petrich: Saxophonist Mary Petrich enjoys a vibrant career as performer and teacher. Her deep love for creativity and improvisation has led her to explore traditional and non-traditional approaches which have developed into a very personalized style of playing and teaching music. Her education focus includes improvisation for all players and saxophone study in both jazz and classical repertoire. Along with being the director of the Women’t Jazz Initiative at the Nash, she is founder of Nash Jazz DivAZ, a project in collaboration with The Nash, that supports youth education for girls. Mary also teaches jazz improvisation and jazz combos at Phoenix College. As a performer, Mary has been pursuing her own vision in large and small group settings. She performs with The Phoenix Symphony, The Jazz Women All-Stars, The Temptations, AZ Festival Orchestra, The Phoenix Chorale, among others. She leads her own group “OpenHand Quartet”. Her most current projects are The Jazz Women Collective, featuring the works of female composers and performers, and The Nash Little Big Band, a nine-piece ensemble comprised of a woman majority.

Ben Hedquist teaches jazz and popular music ensembles at Glendale Community College(GCC) as well as double bass and electric bass lessons. Prior to GCC, he served on the faculty at Arizona State University and as the Education Program Coordinator at The Nash, Phoenix’s jazz performance and education center. He holds a doctorate in double bass performance from ASU where he studied under double bass virtuoso Catalin Rotaru. He performs regularly with Phoenix-based musicians such as Michael Kocour, Jeff Libman, Eric Rasmussen, and Dom Moio, and also with the adventurous jazz sextet Running from Bears. He has performed with a growing number of jazz notables, including Joe Lovano, Joe Locke, Peter Bernstein, George Garzone, Miguel Zenon, Glenn Zaleski, John Hollenbeck, Chris Cheek, Harold Maybern, John Clayton, and Lewis Nash. Ben Hedquist performs throughout the valley with his own projects including HedBand, Sleigher, and his own straight-ahead trio and quartet.  He is also active in the popular music scene performing with Kim Weston, and the Lucky Devils. In 2019 Hedquist released his first album titled “The Mists of Uncertainty” featuring all original compositions.

Ryan Anthony is a jazz percussionist with an active career as a live performer, recording artist, composer, arranger, and educator in the greater Phoenix area. A versatile musician conversant in a wide range of styles, Ryan has worked with Bob Mintzer, Andrew Rathbun, George Colligan, Rick DellaRatta, Ron McCurdy, Michael Kocour, and many others. He is also a performer and composer in the Phoenix-based bands Running From Bears, Open Hand, and Union32. Ryan has an abiding interest in many forms of popular music and enjoys working with students who are new to improvisation.

ALL JFTS CONCERTS ARE FREE and open to the public and all donations received will benefit local and international humanitarian causes. You do not need to register for this event, but if you haven't done so, please join our mailing list so we can keep you posted with Jazz for the Soul updates and reminders. Doors open at 5:30PM.