PORT ANGELES — Jazz saxophonist and flutist Mark Lewis will appear in concert with the David Jones Trio at 7 p.m. Saturday in Maier Performance Hall at Peninsula College.
Tickets will be available at the door of Maier hall on the Port Angeles campus at 1502 E. Lauridsen Blvd., on the day of the show. Tickets are $12 for general admission and $5 college and public school students with ID.
Lewis — a Pacific Northwest native now living in Bremerton — plays alto sax, baritone sax, flute and piano and has recorded and produced more than 30 albums on various labels, according to his website at marklewismusic.com.
“He is an internationally acclaimed jazz artist who combines extraordinary technical virtuosity with unsurpassed integrity and personal expression,” organizers said.
His recent accomplishments include releasing a digital single, “Alone Together,” with bassist David Friesen and an album, “The New York Session,” with New York City jazz legends George Cables, Victor Lewis and Essiet Essiet.
He won No. 2 on alto sax and No. 3 on flute in the 39th annual Jazz Station Awards out of Los Angeles for his work on “The New York Session.”
Lewis has performed and/or recorded with Randy Brecker, Bobby Hutcherson, Chuck Metcalf, Larry Grenadier, David Friesen and other players known throughout Europe.
Upon moving to Seattle, not far from his birthplace of Tacoma, he hooked up with great players such as Candy Finch, Art Foxall, Bea Smith, Dee Daniels and Buddy Catlet to become a regular feature in Norm Bobrow’s “Jazz at the Cirque.”
Following the advice of Dizzy Gillespie’s veteran drummer, Finch, he left Seattle in 1978 with a one-way ticket to Amsterdam, an alto saxophone and $500 dollars in his pocket, according to his biography.
Rotterdam was Lewis’ home base for many years. He toured and played in clubs throughout Europe. He lived and performed for several years in San Francisco and Victoria, B.C., as well.
His CD, “In the Spirit,” on the Quartet label, made the Top 40 on the Jazz Albums chart.
During his time in San Francisco, Lewis opened for legendary jazz vocalist Carmen McRae, and often subbed for jazz icons Stan Getz and John Handy.
He returned to the Northwest to be near his family. He was recently the featured soloist with the Bremerton Symphony, playing “Charlie Parker With Strings” arrangements and an original composition written for Parker.
The David Jones Trio has been heard in Port Angeles several times in the past few years on their own and backing such luminaries as Dmitri Matheny and John Stowell.
David Jones (piano/keyboards) has been the director of the Peninsula College Jazz Ensemble for a decade.
He has performed with the Bob Curnow Big Band, the Jazz Police, Michael Bisio, Jon Hamar, Brad Sheppik, Aaron Alexander, Bob Nell and Phat Pharm.
The other two members of the Trio are Ted Enderle (bass) and Terry Smith (drums).
“They are two of the finest musicians on their respective instruments in the Pacific Northwest with experience in many different styles of music. Their collective groove is always a treat for the audience and for the other musicians on the bandstand,” organizers said.
For more information, contact Jones at 360- 417-6405 or djones@pencol.edu.
Mark Lewis, a well-known jazz saxophonist and flutist, will appear in concert with the David Jones Trio in Maier Performance Hall at Peninsula College.
