During her career as a performer and recording artist, Samirah Evans has become known for her dynamic and soulful approach to music, especially in the jazz and blues genres. Her musical style is highly influenced by the New Orleans sound where she was one of the city’s most popular and in-demand singers for nearly 20 years. Evans has toured North and South America, Europe, and Asia, sharing stages with a multitude of notable artists like James Brown, BB King, Dr. John, Irma Thomas, and Levon Helm. Her Handsome Devils feature Miro Sprague, Los Angeles pianist who studied with Herbie Hancock. The band also consists of Michael Zsoldos on saxophone, Matt Dwonszyk on bass, and Conor Meehan on drums. This will be a packed evening of jazz and blues with the band performing two sets!
Miro Sprague is a pianist, composer, bandleader, and educator known for his inspiring creativity, dynamic and passionate performance style, and artistic versatility. Working primarily in the world of jazz and improvised music, Miro has been an active performer for more than two decades, touring throughout the U.S. and overseas and performing at many of the world's top venues and festivals.
Currently based in Los Angeles, Miro leads his own trio and quintet, performs solo piano concerts and is a member of the cooperative trio Sprague/Jaffe/Ennis with bassist Marty Jaffe and guitarist Jason Ennis. Over the course of his career he has performed/recorded with a wide range of artists including Jerome Jennings, Ingrid Jensen, Greg Osby, Walter Smith III, Miguel Atwood-Ferguson, Matt Wilson, Jonathan Pinson, Daniel Rotem, Mark Turner, Steve Cardenas, Adam Cruz, Dezron Douglas, Jeff Parker, Alan Ferber, Christian Euman, Josh Johnson, Mark Walker and many others.
Michael Zsoldos has performed with Paquito D’Rivera, Sheila Jordan, Kevin Mahogony, Houston Person, Luis Perdomo, Jason Palmer, Matt Wilson, Helen Sung, George Schuller, Armen Donelian, Bernadette Peters, Carole King, the Temptations, and many others. Michael’s debut CD as a leader, Off the Cuff, is playing on streaming services and jazz radio stations worldwide.
Currently, Michael is a member of the Miro Sprague Quintet, the Jason Ennis Quartet, and Eugene Uman’s Convergence Project; a group whose original music merges Colombian rhythms with jazz harmonies.
Since 2005, Michael has been the instrumental arranger for the Dartmouth College Gospel Choir and Dartmouth Idol. Michael composed the music for the 2017 documentary “Seeing Through The Wall: Meeting Ourselves in Palestine and Israel”. He was the orchestrator for the musical,“21”, based on the life of baseball legend, Roberto Clemente, which had its premiere at Pointe Park University in Pittsburgh in October 2014.
Michael is a lecturer in classical saxophone and music theory at Dartmouth College, and was the jazz and classical saxophone instructor at the University of Vermont from 2009-2017. He is on the teaching faculties of the Vermont Jazz Center in Brattleboro, and Interplay Jazz and Arts, based in the Upper Valley.
Bassist Matt Dwonszyk has performed with numerous contemporaries as well as legendary jazz artists including Harold Mabern, Larry Willis, David Hazeltine, Anthony Wonsey, Rick Germanson, Hal Galper, Dave Kikoski, Donald Vega, Pete Malinverni, Steve Wilson, Abraham Burton, Javon Jackson, Gary Smulyan, Bill Saxton, Bennie Wallace, Wayne Escoffery, Mike Diruboo, Myron Walden, J.D. Allen, John Farnsworth, Steve Davis, Steve Turre, Joe Farnsworth, Carl Allen, Winard Harper, Herlin Riley, Willie Jones III, Joe Strasser, Dr. Eddie Henderson, Joe Magnarelli, Jeremy Pelt, Jumaane Smith, Wallace Roney, Freddie Hendrix and Duane Eubanks.
When Dwonszyk is not performing, he teaches Jazz Bass at Manchester Community College in Connecticut. He is called into coach ensembles at the University of Hartford Jackie McLean Institute of Jazz and also teaches in the summer at Litchfield Jazz Camp and Bennie Wallace’s Back Country Jazz Program.
Conor Meehan is a versatile drummer currently based in New York City. As an in demand sideman, Conor has appeared on over 40 recordings and has toured extensively throughout the US, Canada, Europe, Japan and Brazil. Since 2005, he has held the position "Artist Associate of Jazz Drums" at Williams College and has also served as a clinician at numerous summer institutes including Jazz in July at UMass and Interplay Jazz Workshop.
Doors are at 7pm, music will begin at 730pm and there will be a short intermission between sets. Seating is first come first served.