Jazz saxophonist Bruce Swaim with Paul Langosch on bass, Jay Cooley on piano and Dominic Smith on drums.
The College of Southern Maryland will showcase the Bruce Swaim Jazz Quartet as part of the Ward Virts Concert Series beginning at 3 p.m., Nov. 2.
Swaim’s performance is the second of six in the series, all which are held at the Prince Frederick Campus, 115 J.W. Williams Road, Prince Frederick in the Multipurpose Room of Building B.
The quartet, which consists of Swaim on saxophone, Paul Langosch on bass, Jay Cooley on piano and Dominic Smith on drums, are recognized as one of Washington, D.C.’s premier jazz quartets.
Swaim attended the University of North Carolina at Greensboro as a performance major in saxophone. Since moving to Washington, D.C. he has had the opportunity to work professionally with many notable musicians, including the Four Tops and the Temptations.
Langosch began his college studies at Montgomery College’s School of Music in Rockville and then attended American University. He resides in the Washington, D.C. area and has worked with many leaders in the jazz world including Herb Ellis, Al Cohn and Bud Shank.
Cooley studied music at Montgomery College’s School of Music as well as Catholic University’s School of Theory and Composition. Cooley has appeared with Charlie Byrd, Chuck Redd and Ethel Ennis and has been the musical director and guest accompanist for many musicians.
Smith attended Towson University where he earned a bachelor’s degree in jazz performance. He has studied in New York City with musicians such as Kenny Washington, Ralph Peterson and Kim Plainfield and has played with jazz musicians Buster Williams, Mark Elf and Dennis Erwin.
The quartet has received Washington Area Music Association awards for Jazz Group of the Year as well as the Jazz Recording of the Year for “Winter’s Waltz.”
The Ward Virts Concert Series celebrates the life and talent of Ward Virts, a Southern Maryland pianist who passed away suddenly in 1993. A group of his friends and classmates conceived the Ward Virts Piano Project in order to bring the love of life, beauty and music that Virts embodied to a new generation of Southern Maryland students, performers and appreciative audiences.
The Ward Virts Concert Series is presented by sponsors Dr. and Mrs. Henry Virts, Edward and Patricia Mehosky, The Southern Maryland Chain Chapter of The Links, Inc., Stovy and Anne Brown, Exelon Generation-Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant and the CSM Foundation.
Admission is free and seating is open but limited. For information, contact 443-550-6011, rfleming@csmd.edu or www.csmd.edu/Arts.The remaining schedule for the 2014-15 Ward Virts series is Eliza Garth (piano), Feb. 8; Holly Roadfeldt (piano), March 1; Jeremy Koch (saxophone) and Yu-Husuan Liao (piano), April 12; Blue Mountain Ensemble, May 3.
