Événement

Michelle Duvall, Doug Brown & Ben Ferris

Doug Brown and Michelle DuVall are rapidly gaining a reputation in the Midwest for playing some of the most swinging and refined jazz around. DuVall has been called "a cross between Ella Fitzgerald and Bernadette Peters" by Madison Newspapers' Rhythm, and "a vocalist who can take a standard and make it shine" by Isthmus. Isthmus names guitarist Brown "one of the best pickers in the Midwest" and his work with numerous artists and bands has led to performances at major music festivals in the U.S., Canada and Europe.

Ben Ferris is a Bassist, Composer and Educator from Madison, WI. A student of NEA Jazz Master Richard Davis, he graduated with a music-education degree from UW-Madison where he is currently pursuing a masters in String Performance. Ben performs regularly in the midwest, especially with the Ben Ferris Trio, a creative music ensemble that focuses on new compositions by musicians in the band. His group the Ben Ferris Quintet released their debut album, Home in 2016 featuring original compositions by Ben and other members of the ensemble. He also leads the Ben Ferris Octet, a group that plays a diverse selection of jazz repertoire. Ben competed as a finalist in the 2017 International Society of Bassists Jazz Performance competition.
Ben is a founding member of Mr Chair, a contemporary ensemble of electronic trombone (Mark Hetzler), keyboard (Jason Kutz), percussion (Mike Koszewski) and electronic upright bass. As a sideman Ben performs with Darren Sterud, Nuggernaut (jazz-funk), The Jon Hoel Trio (original compositions with saxophone led trio), Gabe Burdulis Band (Nashville based original pop/rock music), as well as a number of performances in the classical, jazz, rock and contemporary music scenes. As an educator, Ben teaches a studio of private bass students, and has taught K-12 general music, songwriting, strings and jazz ensembles in public schools for seven years. He is on the board of directors and faculty for the Richard Davis Foundation for Young Bassists. More info can be found on his website, www.bferrisbass.com.

Ben is a NS (Ned Steinberger) Artist and plays an NS CR5M bass.