Miami, March 29, 2019 – Miami Dade College’s (MDC) Arts and Philosophy Department closes the 2018-19 season of its successful jazz concert series, Jazz at Wolfson Presents, with steel drummer Othello Molineaux, at noon on Wednesday, Apr. 3, at MDC’s Wolfson Campus. All Jazz at Wolfson Presents concerts are free and open to the public.
Molineaux is widely credited with introducing the steel pan (also known as steel drums) to the jazz world. He was born in Trinidad and Tobago, the dual island republic that also gave birth to the steel pan. His mother taught piano and his father played the violin. He began playing the piano as a young child and took interest in the steel pan at the age of 11. Molineaux spent much of his early career performing with the late Jaco Pastorius’ ensemble after emigrating to the U.S. in the 1970s. He has since performed with many other jazz greats, including Herbie Hancock, Dizzy Gillespie, Monte Alexander, Art Blakey and Randy Brecker.
The jazz world first took notice of Molineaux after his appearance on Jaco Pastorius’ Grammy-nominated debut album in 1976. His groundbreaking album Ivory and Steel with Jamaican Monty Alexander is considered the “first successful commercial jazz album using a steel drum.” Molineaux’s It’s About Time was voted “Best Jazz Album” by Miami New Times and was also declared a “jazz masterpiece” by Jazz Times.
Molineaux has performed extensively worldwide in various prestigious venues, such as Radio City Music Hall, Royal Oak Theatre, and Savoy and Paramount Theatre. He was rated one of the top ten jazz musicians in the world in the miscellaneous instrument category of the “International Jazz Critics Poll.”
For more information about Jazz at Wolfson Presents, please visit http://www.mdc.edu/main/jazzatwolfsonpresents.
WHAT: Jazz at Wolfson Presents Steel Drummer Othello Molineaux
WHEN: Wednesday, Apr. 3, at noon
WHERE: Wolfson Campus Auditorium (Building 1, Room 1261)
300 N.E. Second Ave.
For more information, please contact Dr. Michael Di Liddo at 305-237-3930.