Miami, Sept. 26, 2023 – Miami Dade College’s (MDC) Arts and Philosophy Department at the Wolfson Campus continues its successful Jazz at Wolfson Present series with a performance by pianist Carmen Staaf at noon on Wednesday, Oct. 11. This and all Jazz at Wolfson Presents concerts are free and open to the public.
Currently pianist and musical director for NEA Jazz Master Dee Dee Bridgewater, Staaf has performed everywhere from the Village Vanguard with John Zorn to the Lincoln Center as a guest soloist with the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra to recording with Natalie Merchant and Lila Downs.
Her releases as a leader include “Reflection,” “Eye to Eye” and “Day Dream.” Her composition “Symmetry” was published in “New Standards: 101 Lead Sheets by Women Composers.” Her most recent album with her trio (Michael Formanek, bass; Jeff Williams, drums) is titled “Woodland” (Newvelle, 2020). She and Allison Miller released their duo album “Nearness” (Sunnyside) in 2022 to wide critical acclaim, including selection as one of DownBeat’s “Best of 2022.” She has been a DownBeat Rising Star Pianist for the last two years.
Her 2018 album “Science Fair,” co-led with drummer Allison Miller, received acclaim from the New York Times, LA Times and DownBeat magazine. She has been a guest artist on recordings by Allison Miller, Jeff Williams, Dan Blake, Jenny Scheinman, Noah Garabedian, The Erica Seguine/Shon Baker Jazz Orchestra, The Ayn Inserto Jazz Orchestra, Austin McMahon, Owen Broder, Andrew Hadro, among many others.
She is also a regular visiting artist at the Berklee Global Jazz Institute, and a faculty member at The New School, Stanford Jazz Workshop and the Litchfield Jazz Camp. She taught in the piano department at Berklee College of Music in Boston, and a semester at the Swarnabhoomi Academy of Music near Chennai, India.
About Jazz at Wolfson Presents
Jazz at Wolfson Presents is Miami-Dade County’s longest continuously running free jazz series. All concerts are open to the public year-round at MDC Wolfson Campus in the heart of downtown Miami. Jazz at Wolfson Presents is funded in part with the support of the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs and the Cultural Affairs Council, the Miami-Dade County mayor and the Board of County Commissioners through the Hannibal Cox Jr. Cultural Grants Program. MDC’s Jazz at Wolfson Presents features live performances that run monthly from September through April. To view the complete list of concerts and for more information, visit www.mdc.edu/jazzatwolfson.
WHAT: Jazz at Wolfson Presents Pianist Carmen Staaf
WHEN: Wednesday, Oct. 11, at noon
WHERE: Wolfson Campus, Auditorium (Building 1, Room 1261)
300 N.E. 2nd Ave.
For more information, please contact Monica D’anetra at 305-237-3721.