"...Rex's inspired vision of jazzing up the Great White Way with sass, sophistication and a dash of the sublime!"

Dr. Chuck Berg, University of Kansas February 2003

 

...is a jazz quartet co-led by flutist Ali Ryerson and pianist Rex Cadwallader, with bassist Mike Asetta and drummer Arti Dixson.

 

...performs music from favorite musicals and their composers, with a contemporary jazz flair.

Here are some of their concerts :

music from West Side Story

Fresh and intense as when it was written, Leonard Bernstein's music still portrays the life of the streets of New York. Hip new arrangements by Cadwallader and Ryerson give audiences a contemporary walk through the streets of New York's Upper West Side.

 

music from My Fair Lady

Surely one of the most fondly remembered of musicals, the score by Frederick Loewe and Alan Jay Lerner is filled with happily hummable melodies. The quartet's playful renditions of these timeless tunes are faithful to the originals, but with a contemporary Caribbean flavor.

 

A Star-Spangled Tribute to the music of Richard Rodgers

2002 marked the 100th aniversary of the birth of Richard Rodgers, one of America's most prolific and most beloved songwriters. With lyricists Lorenz Hart and Oscar Hammerstein II he wrote more than 900 songs, many of which have become part of the repertoire we call "jazz standards." The quartet celebrates his life and music with a concert of audience favorites.

 

music fromThe Fantasticks

The Fantasticks, with a remarkable 42-year run, secured an unprecedented place for itself in the history of American musical theatre. The charming score by Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt is sweet inspiration for the quartet's unique blend of tenderness and humor.

 

Music, By George! (Gershwin, that is)

More than any of his contemporaries, George Gershwin knew the place of jazz in American music. He knew its sounds and rhythms, and many of his songs are found regularly in the set lists of contemporary jazz musicians. For this concert the quartet has chosen some of their favorites.

 

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