Sat 2/21 @ 8PM
They may not have been invited to play at the BOP STOP this Saturday, but a show fell through and the noted jazz venue lined up a stellar replacement. The Uninvited features four of the area’s most stellar, experienced musicians: percussionists Jamey Haddad, Carmen Castaldi and Joe Tomino, and sax/winds player Howie Smith. Together they bring decades of experience and an almost infinite range of sonic colors to the stage.
All four musicians have deep resumes. Haddad moved to the east coast in the 1970s after growing up in Cleveland, where he established a reputation that led him to collaborate with musicians such as Yo-Yo Ma, Sting and Paul Simon, whom he toured with for years. He returned to Cleveland in the early 2000 to take a teaching post at Oberlin Conservatory. Tomino also lived in New York for a while, although he’s been Cleveland-based for most of his career. He’s also toured with many name musicians including the Fugees, Lady Gaga and Blondie, as well as playing in four bands of his own.
Castaldi is another veteran of the 1970s who’s been a sideman to many name artists as well including Joe Lovano, one of the biggest jazz artists to break out of this area. Howie Smith isn’t a native northeast Ohioan — he didn’t arrive in the area until he told a job as the coordinator of jazz studies at Cleveland State University in 1979, a job he held until 2006. He’s now retired from teaching but continues to play. In his career he’s worked with artists ranging from John Cage to Dizzy Gillespie to Elvis Presley, and performed with the Cleveland Orchestra.
It’s rare to have this much musical experience and knowledge on one stage. Go here for tickets.