Monday, April 09, 2012

Personnel, Jen Allen Jazz Combo At Marilyn-Wally Young Writers' Bash



Jen Allen, keyboard
Kris Allen, alto sax
Matt Dwonszyk, bass
VOCALIST
DominiQue



Jen Allen, keyboard

-- Originally from Foxboro, Ma, Jen Allen was a cellist who started playing jazz piano as a favor to her high school band director, little knowing that she was finding her true artistic voice.

She went on to study with Jackie Mclean, Steve Davis, Andy LaVerne at the Hartt School of Music, and quickly became a busy working pianist and composer. Jen is presently a piano instructor at Trinity College and a theory and ensemble coach at the Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts.

She has performed worldwide and can currently be heard with Nat Reeves, Kendrick Oliver’s New Life Orchestra, Charles Flores, Kris Allen, the collaborative New Unity Quartet and other jazz and creative music ensembles.

Jen’s debut album as a leader “Pieces of Myself” was released in the Spring of 2011.


Matt Dwonszyk, bass

-- Matt Dwonszyk is an up-and-coming acoustic bass player in the Hartford area. Starting on the electric bass at age 11, Matt grew up playing numerous types of music stemming from rock and roll. When he entered high school he was fortunate to attend the Academy of Performing Arts in Hartford where he began studying jazz with teachers such as Jimmy Greene, Kris Allen, Paul Brown, and Doug Maher. Through friends at the Academy, Matt started attending the Artist Collective and playing in the Youth Jazz Orchestra Band. He soon started performing around the Hartford area and was fortunate to perform in Russia through the Academy of the Arts. His senior year, Matt started performing with Ed Fast’s Conga Bop where he was exposed to Latin music. He continues to perform with Ed Fast and is now attending the Hartt School of Music where he is studying with Professor Nat Reeves and Professor Steve Davis.


Kris Allen, Alto Saxophone

-- Saxophonist and composer Kris Allen was a young protege of the great Jackie McLean, with whom he studied at the Artists Collective and the University of Hartford. He went on to perform and/or record with jazz legends such as Illinois Jacquet, Gerald Wilson, and Curtis Fuller, as well as with modern starts such as Winard Harper, Andy Laverne, Mario Pavone and the Mingus Dynasty. Kris can be found appearing as the leader of his own quintet, in duo with percussionist Rogerio Boccato, and as both saxophonist and artistic director of the Hartford Jazz Society New Directions Ensemble. He is also very involved with education, as a part time faculty member of The Hartt School, Trinity College, and the Greater Hartford Academy of the Performing Arts. Kris has also been been a teaching artist with the Litchfield Jazz Festival since 2001.


DominiQue

-- DominiQue "Ms. Q" Padilla is an independent R&B / Soul vocalist from Connecticut who's made a name for herself as the DominiQue with the capital Q. She is a graduate of Litchfield High School and studied at the Hartford Conservatory, majoring in music production / engineering & voice. DominiQue writes her own music and performs all over the state at public and private events including clubs, parties, competitions and sporting events. She performed at year's W.O.W. seminar as a positive role model for the high school girls. DominiQue is pursuing a career in entertainment and also has plans to start her own production company. She continues working toward a bachelor's of science in music business.

  • Suzy Staubach, Event Bookseller


  • Ravi Shankar, chairman,
    CT Young Writers Trust

    emailravishankar2011@gmail.com
    860-938-2139

  • Felicity Sheehy, ’09 State Poetry Champ/ Yale 14/ Westover Grad, Joins Lamb & Nelson At Hartford Club In Young Writers Benefit


  • Ct Young Writers Trust Facebook Page


  • Twitter@CtYoungWriters


  • twitter@cooljustice




  • CT Young Writers Trust
    50 Brewery Street #8898
    New Haven, CT 06532
    http://ctyoungwriterstrust.org
    501 (c) 3 Federal Tax ID: 31-1635811

    RAVI SHANKAR, Chairman
    emailravishankar2011@gmail.com, 860-938-2139

    CAROL THIBEAULT, Administrator
    CTYoungWritersTrust@yahoo.com, 203-843-1423

    LISA C. TAYLOR, Educational Outreach & Development Director
    Imagine22@earthlink.net, 860-377-1008

    ATTY WILLIAM CROWE, Legal Counsel
    wcrowe@mayocrowe.com, 860-275-6801

    ANDY THIBAULT, Chairman Emeritus
    tntcomm82@cs.com, 860-690-0211

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