Pitt Jazz Ensemble Spring Concert on April 11 Features Acclaimed Jazz Artists Mike Mossman and Antonio Hart

PITTSBURGH-Two internationally known jazz artists will take the stage at the annual University of Pittsburgh Jazz Ensemble Spring Concert, to be held at 8 p.m. April 11 in the Assembly Room of the William Pitt Union (WPU), 3959 Fifth Ave., Oakland.

Backed by the 24-piece student jazz ensemble, trumpeter Mike Mossman and saxophonist Antonio Hart will perform with Pittsburgh jazz greats Roger Humphries on drums and Cecil Washington on Latin percussion, under the direction of Pitt Jazz Studies Director Nathan Davis.

A Philadelphia-born trumpeter, trombonist, and composer, Mossman has been on the international scene since age 17. He has toured and recorded with the likes of Dizzy Gillespie, Art Blakey, Joe Henderson, McCoy Tyner, Gerry Mulligan, and Joe Zawinul. His Latin sound was heard in performances with Tito Puente, The Machito Orchestra, and Toshiko Akiyoshi. After a stint as lead trumpeter for the Lionel Hampton Orchestra, Mossman became the musical director of Blue Note Record's "young lion" group, Out of the Blue. He recorded four albums with this group before joining the Horace Silver Quintet. Classical music, composing, and arranging are also part of Mossman's repertoire. He also has held faculty positions at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, Rutgers University, and other institutions. His newest group, Metaphysical Mambos, has a new CD, Orisha Suite, on the Connector label.

Hart was born in Baltimore, Md., and after graduating from the Baltimore School for the Performing Arts, he headed north to attend the Berklee College of Music. Upon graduation, Hart toured the world recording and performed with Roy Hargrove before attending Queens College, where he earned his master's degree and studied under Donald Byrd and Jimmy Heath. His CD Here I Stand, on the Impulse label, earned Hart a 1997 Grammy nomination for Best Jazz Instrumental Solo. He has also recorded with Nat Adderley, Cyrus Chestnut, Slide Hampton, Dizzy Gillespie, and others.

Concert tickets are $10 general admission and $5 for students and senior citizens. They are on sale at the WPU box office, which will open at 7 p.m. the evening of the concert. For more information, call 412-624-4187 or 412-648-7814.

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3/31/06/tmw