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LIVE Jazz on Our Front Porch
October 14, 2022 @ 4:30 pm - 7:30 pm
The Western Illinois Museum, in partnership with the Western Illinois University School of Music, is pleased to welcome musician Tito Carrillo on Friday, October 14th, as part of a new Jazz Series being offered monthly at the Museum. The programs will be from 4:30 to 7:30 pm and will include a cash bar. There is a $5 suggested donation at the door.
The performances in the series will take place once a month and will be held on the Museum’s Our Front Porch, an indoor area where, just like with any porch, guests are invited to relax and gather together. The series was designed by WIU Music Professor, Whitney Ashe, to connect WIU music majors with professional musicians. Tito Carillo and other world-class musicians will perform with the HAT Trio, a group made up of WIU jazz faculty members Matt Hughes on bass, George Turner on guitar, and Whitney Ashe on piano.
Upcoming programs in this year’s series include Alex Graham on November 11th. In 2023, on March 10th the series continues with Chris Madsen, followed by Wayne Coniglio on April 14th Check the Museum’s website for additional performances.
Local support for the series is provided by the Performing Arts Society. Additional support is provided by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council Agency, and the National Endowment for the Arts.
The Western Illinois Museum is located at 201 S. Lafayette Street, one block south of Macomb’s Courthouse Square. For more information, call the Museum at 309.837.2750, text 309.837.2613, or email info@wimuseum.org. More details can be found on our website and social media channels.
About Tito Carrillo
Tito Carrillo joined the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign faculty in the Spring of 2006. He is a trumpeter, educator, bandleader, composer, and arranger, and since 1996 he has been a fixture in the Chicago jazz and Latin music scenes. The list of artists he has performed, recorded, and
toured with is as varied as his skill set: Chicago heavyweights Willie Pickens, Bobby Broom, Patricia Barber, and Kurt Elling; big bands such as the Woody Herman Orchestra, Chicago Jazz Ensemble, Chicago Jazz Orchestra, and Smithsonian Masterworks Orchestra (directed by David Baker); jazz greats such as Toshiko Akiyoshi, Louis Hayes, Jon Faddis, and Vincent Herring; Salsa legends such as Andy Montaoez, Tony Vega, and Cheo Feliciano; Latin jazz giants Tito Puente and Paquito D’Rivera; and pop icons Quincy Jones and Phil Collins.
Carrillo has played in some of the most prestigious venues in the world, including Chicago’s Symphony Center, Carnegie Hall, Kennedy Center, and London’s Royal Albert Hall. His work has been heard at international jazz festivals in Chicago, Telluride, Montreux (Switzerland), the North Sea Jazz Festival in The Hague (Netherlands), and Pori, Finland.
Tito Carrillo released his debut solo album Opening Statement to critical acclaim, and his next solo album Urbanessence is due out in the fall of 2022.
Of Carrillo, the Chicago Tribune states, “he has acquired a reputation as a fluid improviser, doubly-blessed with a warm lyric style and technique to burn.” He continues to lead his own quintet in Chicago, as well as being an active guest soloist and clinician at various secondary and collegiate jazz programs across the U.S. and abroad.
About the HAT Trio
The HAT Trio takes a fresh look at the classic piano, guitar, and bass configuration, drawing on influences from the jazz and classical worlds to explore some of music’s unmarked pathways. Guitarist Dr. George Turner has performed and recorded music ranging from traditional jazz with some of Illinois’ most established players, contemporary jazz with the Bloomington-based Kevin Hart and the Vibe Tribe, Brazilian music with the Champaign-based Samba Soul, to the poly-stylistic approach of the Champaign-based Almost “A” Quintet. Bassist Matt Hughes, a veteran of jazz legend Betty Carter’s working band, has performed with Elvin Jones, Jack DeJohnette, Jimmy Heath, Max Weinberg, and the Duke Ellington Orchestra. The group’s pianist Whitney Ashe has performed with jazz luminaries Vincent Herring, Eric Alexander, and Tommy Igoe and has composed for The Capitol Saxophone Quartet, Christopher Creviston, and The Rivertown Duo. The trio began performing as a unit in Macomb, Illinois where all three are professors of music at Western Illinois University.