Ariel Kasler Quintet

About This Event

David Bixler-alto sax, Andrew Bishop-soprano & tenor sax, Ariel Kisler-piano/guitar, Chris Finet-bass, Rob Wallace-drums

The Ariel Kasler Quintet is a jazz ensemble that performs original compositions and arrangements and recorded the album Above the Sound (2015). Kasler is an Israeli-North American musician whose music represents his diverse cultural and musical background. Primarily a jazz musician, Kasler’s music is also influenced by his experience growing up in Israel, hearing Western, Middle Eastern, and Jewish music. In addition to playing jazz, Kasler has also performed Contemporary Classical Music and various genres of Rock and Popular Music, all of which inform his compositions and improvisations. Kasler currently serves as an Assistant Teaching Professor of jazz guitar and jazz piano at Bowling Green State University.

“David Bixler is an artist who manages to take much of the best of the jazz tradition and push it in new directions—push, but never shove. He is original, but his originality is not what I would call radical. He works within the tradition. He is not looking to destroy it. The Nearest Exit May Be Inside Your Head is an album filled with inventive ideas and exciting artistry. Most importantly, it is filled with music you’ll want to hear and hear again.” Jack Goodstein

Saxophonist, composer, and educator David Bixler is a multi-faceted artist, having received critical acclaim for both his playing and his writing. He actively leads several projects that serve as platforms for his diverse musical interests. As a sideman David has performed and toured the world with the orchestras of Chico O’Farrill, Lionel Hampton, and Toshiko Akiyoshi. He is also active as a composer in both the jazz and classical worlds, and recently premiered The Hughes Project, musical ruminations on the poems of Langston Hughes for jazz quintet and string quartet. He is the host of Liner Notes with David Bixler, a new podcast centered on conversations with jazz musicians. Bixler is the Director of Jazz Studies at Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio. As both a Selmer and Vandoren Artist he is active as a clinician throughout the world. A new recording, In the Face of Chaos, with his group, Bixler, Boccato, Cowherd, and Sturm was released June 6^th, 2019 on Red Piano Records. Blended Lineage, a work for nonet featuring Mike Rodriguez on trumpet will be released spring of 2020.

Andrew Bishop is a versatile multi-instrumentalist, composer, improviser, educator, and scholar comfortable in many musical idioms.  He maintains an international career and serves as an Associate Professor and Chair of Jazz and Contemporary Improvisation at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.  Bishop’s three recordings as a leader have received widespread acclaim from national and international journals.  As a composer and arranger he has received over 30 commissions; numerous residencies and awards and recognition from the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP); the Chicago Symphony Orchestra; the Andrew W. Melon Foundation; the National Endowment for the Arts; and a nomination from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. He earned five degrees in music including a DMA in music composition from the University of Michigan.  Bishop is a Conn-Selmer and Vandoren artist.

Chris Finet is active as a bassist and educator throughout Arizona and nationally. He is the professor of bass and jazz studies at Northern Arizona University in addition to maintaining an active performing schedule. Chris plays regularly with many of the state’s top jazz artists and has also performed with jazz luminaries such as Jerry Bergonzi, John Riley, Roy Hargrove, Dave Douglas, John Tchicai, Irvin Mayfield, and many others. He is also in demand in the theater and commercial music worlds, playing for numerous Broadway touring productions and commercial productions such as the Latin Grammy Awards, Game of Thrones Live Concert Experience, and more.As a classical musician Chris is the Principal Bassist of the Flagstaff Symphony and performs often with the Phoenix Symphony, Arizona Opera, and freelance orchestras throughout Arizona. He has appeared as a soloist with the Flagstaff Symphony Orchestra and North Valley Symphony Orchestra.

Writer, musician, and teacher Rob Wallace holds a Ph.D. in English Literature from the University of California, Santa Barbara. His recordings can be found on the pfMentum, Ambiances Magnétiques, and Nonessential record labels. He is the author of Improvisation and the Making of American Literary Modernism (Bloomsbury) and co-editor (with Ajay Heble) of People Get Ready: The Future of Jazz is Now! (Duke). Rob is a Lecturer in the Honors College at Northern Arizona University, and he also co-curates the Interference Series, which features internationally-renowned performers from the worlds of improvised and experimental musics.

$25, $11 Students (25 & under w/ ID)
Plus processing costs