UW Jazz Festival Concert to Feature Whee3trio and Ben Markley Quintet Feb. 26

University of Wyoming Department of Music faculty-led Whee3trio and the Ben Markley Quintet are the UW Jazz Festival double-feature concert headliners. They will perform Monday, Feb. 26, at 7:30 p.m. in the Buchanan Center for the Performing Arts concert hall.

Tickets are $12 for the public, $8 for senior citizens and $6 for students. A nominal processing fee will be charged for each ticket. To purchase tickets, visit the Performing Arts box office, call (307) 766-6666 or go online at www.tix.com/ticket-sales/uwyo/6984.

Led by UW Assistant Professor Andy Wheelock, drums, and featuring Walter Gorra, piano, and Gonzalo Teppa, bass, Whee3trio will perform alongside guitarist Gilad Hekselman. Whee3trio is a collaboration of close friends whose unique voices “seamlessly blend into joyfully captivating musical experiences that invite listeners into an intimate space where friendship and artistry can be felt as one.”

With a rhythmic foundation rooted in Afro-Latin and West African traditions, the trio builds percussive grooves that “sculpt undulating landscapes where melodies, which make you feel like home, soar effortlessly above.”

Native Israeli Hekselman has established himself as one of the leading voices in jazz guitar, making his mark on the New York City scene after his move in 2004. He has performed alongside many well-known artists and is known for consolidating and expanding the classic guitar trio sound. Hekselman has recorded five solo albums and has toured internationally, playing at top jazz clubs and performing at noteworthy jazz festivals, including Montreux, North Sea and Montreal.

Pianist, composer, arranger, author and educator Ben Markley, a UW Department of Music associate professor, heads up a star-studded quintet featuring Steve Kovalcheck, guitar; Kyle Swan, drums; and Wil Swindler, saxophone, with world-renowned bassist Rodney Whitaker. Markley and Whitaker are collaborating on a set of performances and recordings in Colorado and Wyoming.

Origin Records recording artist Whitaker currently holds the titles of professor of bass and director of Jazz Studies at Michigan State University, where he has built one of the leading jazz degree programs and performing faculty.

With a reputation as one of the top jazz double bass performers, Whitaker was bassist for seven years with the Wynton Marsalis Septet and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra. He has toured around the world the past 25 years, collaborating and performing with legendary jazz artists, including Jimmy Cobb, Jimmy Heath, Branford Marsalis and Eric Reed.

For more information, call Kathy Kirkaldie, UW Fine Arts coordinator, at (307) 766-2160 or email kirisk@uwyo.edu.