On Tuesday, some of Maine's jazz professionals will take the stage in Kanbar Auditorium, Studzinski Hall to benefit fellow musician Andrew D'Angelo, who was diagnosed with brain cancer earlier this year.
D'Angelo is a Brooklyn-based, world-renowned alto saxophonist who is known for his work as a member of the Matt Wilson Quartet and the Reid Anderson Quintet, as well as co-leader of the group Human Feel. Like many musicians around the country, D'Angelo does not have health insurance.
To raise money for D'Angelo's surgery, adjunct professors of music Steve Grover and Frank Mauceri will bring together their respective bands for a night of original music and classic tunes in a Maine Jazz Showcase.
"All the musicians are professional and extremely talented," said Peter McLaughlin '10, who helped organize the event.
Mauceri has toured Europe and Japan several times. Grover is now based in Maine, but has worked in New York with notable jazz musicians such as Dizzy Gillespie.
"They are the Maine jazz scene," said McLaughlin.
"There is a high caliber of musicians up here," added McLaughlin.
Grover's trio consists of saxophone, guitar, and drums. Grover is the drummer, and his guitarist hails from the Berkelee School of Music in Boston. The group plays a mix of original music as well as classical jazz repertoire and jazz standards. They also incorporate interpretations of rock and pop tunes by musicians such as Stevie Wonder, Neil Young, and Cream.
Mauceri's quintet involves two saxophone players including himself, a bass player, and Grover on drums. Although the group also performs jazz standards, "they mostly perform Frank's own songs which are really unique. They're fairly complex and very melodic," McLaughlin said.
According to McLaughlin, both group's music is "definitely modern jazz but it's not inaccessible."
The show will consist of a set by each group of performers.
McLaughlin decided to organize the concert when he found out that the Bowdoin Music Department would not bring a jazz group to campus, this year.
"I'd been trying to find a way to put a concert on. Then I found out about Andrew D'Angelo's diagnosis with brain cancer," McLaughlin said.
During his senior year of high school, McLaughlin met D'Angelo and has been in contact with him since.
"I felt like I should try to do something," he said. "So I found the right people and a way to do it."
He obtained funding for the concert through Helmreich House and the Kurtz Fund, which allows college houses to organize educational events to bring together students, faculty, and community members.
The concert is on Tuesday in Kanbar Auditorium, Studzinski Recital Hall, at 7:30 p.m, and is open to the public. The show is free, but there will be a table where donations can be made. Proceeds from their CDs sales will be donate to D'Angelo.