Columbus-based, Canadian-born saxophonist Pete Mills will debut his latest CD, “Sweet Shadow,” with several concerts this weekend in the central Ohio region. On Friday, September 20th, the Pete Mills Quintet will perform in Jemison Auditorium in Ohio Wesleyan’s Sanborn Hall, 23 Elizabeth St., Delaware. The musicians also will present a free jazz master class at 3 p.m. Sept. 20 at the concert venue. Tickets may be purchased online at www.ticketweb.com, by phone message at (740) 368-3629, or by email at paseries@owu.edu. The quintet concert also will be streamed live online at http://stream.owu.edu.
The quintet features Mills and New York City-based musicians Matt Wilson (Grammy nominated drummer), Pete McCann (guitarist), and Martin Wind (bassist), and Erik Augis (Columbus-based pianist).
The Pete Mills Quintet will perform again at 8 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 21, in the Recital Hall of Denison University’s Burke Hall (240 West Broadway). Before the concert, the quintet will hold a meet-and-greet/clinic at 3 p.m. in the Rehearsal Room of Burke Hall. Both events are free and open to the public. For more information, contact Pam Hughes at 740-587-6220 or visit www.denison.edu.
“Sweet Shadow,” Mills’ fourth solo CD, marks his first release on the Vancouver-based label Cellar Live Records. The CD includes original music written by Mills to showcase the full band. According to The (Columbus) Dispatch, Mills’ compositions are “impressive with solos that are ear opening … [and] with a tone that is big and rich.”
The CD also features music by Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn (“The Star-Crossed Lovers”); a standard made famous by Marilyn Monroe, (“Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend”); and a quirky tune by Columbus native, and recent inductee to the Lincoln Theatre Walk of Fame, Rahsaan Roland Kirk (“Serenade to a Cuckoo”).
Read more about Pete at: www.petemills.com.