The Jon Hamar Trio with Kelly Ash to Appear at Central Washington Unviersity

The CWU Jazz Studies program will present the Jon Hamar Trio with vocalist Kelly Ash on Tuesday, Feb. 3, in the Music Building Recital Hall. This concert will feature the fresh talents of Ash, a new-on-the-scene jazz singer from Seattle. Jon Hamar, string bass instructor at CWU, will lead the ensemble through a number of jazz standards and originals, with an emphasis on new interpretations of the great American songbook. This 7 p.m. concert is free and open to the public courtesy of the CWU Jazz Fund and the Jazz in the Valley Education Fund. Hamar is a versatile artist whose ability to find a tasteful, unique voice in any musical situation has made him a staple in the Northwest music scene. Hamar?s friendly nature, sense of humor and work ethic has kept him busy as a freelance bassist in multiple genres, composer and educator. In 2003, Hamar released a semi-solo bass CD on Pony Boy Records, featuring his own compositions as well as arrangements of songs that he grew up listening to. ?I looked back to those songs that upon hearing for the first time I could not stop singing in my head,? he said. Hamar has been busy as a recording artist playing on multiple CDs with singer/songwriting artists including Wendy Huckins, Brian Finnell, Hans York, Eric Goetz and Bobby Krier. Recently Hamar played on Brian Owens? disc ?Unmei,? released on the OA2 label from Origin Records and will be heard on Carl Tanner?s upcoming release, ?Hear the Angels Sing,? on Sony Classical. Hamar has recently been performing with Jay Thomas, Ernestine Anderson, the Greg Williamson Quartet and the Axiom Quartet. Ash recently graduated from Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle, where she studied under such notable professors as Randy Halberstadt, Dawn Clement, Denney Goodhew, Jim Knapp, Beth Winter, Jovino Santos Neto, Julian Priester and Chuck Deardorf. Since May of 2006 Ash has performed professionally in the Seattle area at popular jazz venues such as Tula?s, Egan?s, Dimitriou?s Jazz Alley, PONCHO Concert Hall, the Vertigo Lounge in Bellevue, Argosy Cruise ships and the Columbia Tower Club. Outside of her solo gigs, Ash performs with local phenomenon Nearly Dan, a 12-piece band performing the music of Steely Dan. Persons of disability may make arrangements for reasonable accommodation by calling (509) 963-1426 or (for hearing impaired) TDD (509) 963-2143. Media contact: Chris Bruya, CWU Music Department, (509) 963-1426, bruyac@cwu.edu