NYC Bass Player + Composer spearheading CD Release of 'Urban Fado'

The Cultural Arts Coalition presents, the Mary Ann McSweeney Quintet, Sunday, November 12th, 3:00pm, Studio Around the Corner, Brewster NY. We are pleased to announce the Avangrid Foundation on behalf of NYSEG, as the grand sponsor of this series. McSweeney, a prominent NYC jazz bass player, is excited to announce her upcoming performance in Brewster, NY at the Cultural Arts Coalition on November 12th, a performance timed to support the release of her "Urban Fado " CD.

Member of the Mary Ann McSweeney Quintet are:

Marc Mommas, Sax

Nana Simopolous, Bouzouki and Voice

Jason Ennis, Acoustic Guitar

Todd Isler, Percussion

Mary Ann McSweeney, Acoustic Bass

She has played with jazz legends Dizzy Gillespie, Joanne Brackeen, Lee Konitz, Gil Goldstein, and Bucky Pizzarelli. She has also played for renowned conductors, Leonard Bernstein, Lalo Schifrin, and John Williams. McSweeney has performed with Renee Rosness, Vic Juris, Ken Peplowski, Dennis Mackrel, Lewis Nash and Larry Goldings. Big Bands include the Maiden Voyage and Diva,and she has performed with her quintet at the Seixal Jazz Festival in Portugal and the Mary Lou Williams Jazz Festival at the Kennedy Center. She has arranged for and recorded with Warner Brothers artist, Lea Delaria. McSweeney has toured Europe and performed with David Krakauer’s Klezmer Madness and five-time Tony award winning vocalist Audra McDonald. Her orchestrations can be heard on Chita Rivera’s CD entitled “Now I Swing” and her version of “Avenue Q Swings” is available on iTunes. McSweeney performed at the Monterey Jazz Festival with Claire Daly and the Baritone Monk Band, which was rated in the top ten on jazz radio in the USA.

Reviewing her "Thoughts of You" CD, Glenn Astarita in all.about.jazz: 'Jazz bassist Mary Ann McSweeney possesses a smooth touch, conveying a warm, organic tone... her sextet expounds upon the primary theme via a mid tempo swing.... a good, tasteful recording brimming with tight arrangements and sonorous exchanges.'

Along with being a full-time professional bassist in New York City, McSweeney is on the faculty for the Middle School Jazz Academy at Lincoln Center and the New York Jazz Workshop. McSweeney has played more than 35 Broadway shows, including Tony award winning “A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder.”

This summer she performed in Greece and Berlin with her Urban Fado project. In her words: "My great great Grandparents are from Portugal, where this music originated in the 1800's; the sadness, the sigh of the voice, the story of fate told by the singer inspired me to compose music that is Fado, bringing new grooves and new chord structures to the Fado form; keeping the traditional form but leaving room for improvisation; sharing the cultural diversity it has to offer."

Find out more at: www.maryannmcsweeney.com

Tickets are $20, $15 for Students. Reservations are recommended, as seating is limited. Call (845) 363 - 8330 or email info@culturalartsco.com for reservations.

For more information on this and other Cultural Arts Coalition events, visit: www.CulturalArtsCo.com.

Concerts Around the Corner is made possible in part by the NYS Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the NYS Legislature. In Putnam County, this grant program is administered and monitored by the Putnam Arts Council, Mahopac, NY.

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Submitted by Brewster, NY

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