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Christian McBride
John J. Cali School of Music
Christian McBride is an eight-time GRAMMY-winning bassist, composer, and bandleader. He is the Artistic Director of the historic Newport Jazz Festival, the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC), the TD James Moody Jazz Festival, and the National Jazz Museum in Harlem. McBride is also a respected educator and advocate for youth, and serves as Artistic Director of Jazz House KiDS and the Jazz Aspen Snowmass Summer Sessions. In addition to artistic directing and consistent touring with his ensembles, he hosts NPR’s “Jazz Night in America” and “The Lowdown: Conversations With Christian” on SiriusXM. Whether behind the bass or away from it, Christian McBride is always part of the music. From jazz to R&B, and pop/rock and hip-hop/neo-soul to classical, he is a luminary with one hand ever reaching for new heights, and the other extended in fellowship—and perhaps the hint of a challenge—inviting us to join him.
With over 200 recordings to his credit, the gifted Milwaukee-born, New York-based drummer, sideman, bandleader, entrepreneur, and educator, Carl Allen’s profound and propulsive percolations provided soulful and syncopated support for nearly three decades. Allen maintains an exhaustive schedule of recording, touring and teaching. He remains active as a sideman with Christian McBride and Inside Straight, Benny Golson and others. As a leader most recently leading The Carl Allen Quartet as well as The Art of Elvin, a tribute band dedicated to his two drum influences, Art Blakey and Elvin Jones was started after the passing of Elvin Jones in 2004. Carl Allen’s multifaceted career provides the perfect template for what a modern musician should be. As Sid Gribetz of Jazz Times wrote, “more than just another fine drummer, Carl Allen has it all together as a bandleader, businessman, and producer, becoming a force in today’s jazz world.
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Decoda
John J. Cali School of Music
As an artist-led collective, Decoda seeks to create a more compassionate and connected world through music and training the next generation of musical artists to rethink and reimagine their role in society. As passionate advocates for music in communities crossing standard venues and economic thresholds, Decoda will explore and inspire students and concert attendees.
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Voces8
John J. Cali School of Music
The British vocal ensemble VOCES8 is proud to inspire people through music and share the joy of singing. Touring globally, the group performs an extensive repertoire both in its a cappella concerts and in collaborations with leading orchestras, conductors, and soloists. Versatility and a celebration of diverse musical expression are central to the ensemble’s performance and education ethos.
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Caroline Shaw
John J. Cali School of Music
Caroline Shaw is a musician who moves among roles, genres, and mediums, trying to imagine a world of sound that has never been heard before but has always existed. During this residency, Shaw will bring students of different disciplines together—strings, voice, composers and media; putting them all together like a great chef for a brilliant discovery of just what is possible when you think outside the box.
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Rhiannon Giddens
John J. Cali School of Music
The acclaimed musician Rhiannon Giddens uses her art to excavate the past and reveal bold truths about our present. A MacArthur “Genius Grant” recipient, Giddens co-founded the Grammy Award-winning Carolina Chocolate Drops, and she has been nominated for six additional Grammys for her work as a soloist and collaborator. Giddens’s lifelong mission is to lift up people whose contributions to American musical history have previously been erased, and to work toward a more accurate understanding of the country’s musical origins. Giddens is featured in Ken Burns’s Country Music series, where she speaks about the African American origins of country music. She is also a member of the band Our Native Daughters with three other black female banjo players, and co-produced their debut album Songs of Our Native Daughters (2019), which tells stories of historic black womanhood and survival.
Named Artistic Director of Silkroad in 2020, Giddens is developing a number of new programs for the organization, including one inspired by the history of the American transcontinental railroad and the cultures and music of its builders. She recently wrote the music for an original ballet, Lucy Negro Redux, for Nashville Ballet (premiered in 2019), and the libretto and music for an original opera, Omar, based on the autobiography of the enslaved man Omar Ibn Said for the Spoleto USA Festival (premieres in 2022).
As an actor, Giddens had a featured role on the television series Nashville.
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Cavani Quartet
John J. Cali School of Music
Leading American String Quartet Cavani Quartet is thrilled to shape the musical lives of the next generation through seminars that feature audience engagement and a “team -work” approach to rehearsal techniques. Join us as Cavani motivates all with their dedication to interact with all audiences, striving for empathy and connectivity between cultures and nations.
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Hip Hop and R&B Week
John J. Cali School of Music
Don’t miss this deep dive Hip Hop and R&B Residency week where you will be immersed in beatboxing, rapping, and R&B. Join us as we explore the intersections of Hip Hop in education, activism, and healing through a variety of performances, workshops, lectures, and community cyphers. Join two of the most exciting artists in the Hip Hop and R&B world for this “not to be missed” Kickoff Concert. During this concert, Jon B. and Rahzel will perform not only solo but also with Cali students.
We welcome the greater NJ area community to join us for our second annual reimagined professional residency program at the John J. Cali School of Music at Montclair State University. The seven week-long residencies include a rotation of top-rated artists and ensembles. Each residency will contribute to an ongoing exploration of the ever-changing landscape of music today, introducing students and the community at large to amazing events of today and to a future that will be, at times, less traditional.
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