Andrew White, 'Weather Report' Bassist & Coltrane Expert, Performs With The Georgetown Quintet in D.C.

[Andrew White]

AfriClassical thanks Nancy Switkes, basoonist of the Georgetown Quintet, for this story:

The Georgetown Quintet with Andrew White performed Saturday, August 28, 2010, 3:00pm at Benning Neighborhood Library, 3935 Benning Road, NE, Wash., DC 20019. Admission was Free with General Public Seating. The concert program read:

“WASHINGTON, DC - A hybrid of jazz and chamber music will rock the Benning Neighborhood Library with a unique concert on August 28. To celebrate the 68th birthday of D.C. jazz legend Andrew Nathaniel White III, The Georgetown Quintet will perform three of his satirical compositions for woodwind quintet and alto saxophone. Other works for woodwind quintet in this concert will include:

“Seven Short Pieces,” a bebop composition, Andrew White

“Le Cheminee du Roi Rene,” Darius Milhaud

“Aires Tropicales,” Paquito D’Rivera

“Quintettino,” Arvo Part, and

“Quodlibet,” Arne Running

“Heard on electric bass and English horn on Weather Report’s album “Sweetnighter,” Andrew White helped launch this jazz-fusion band to stardom in 1973. White has also performed on tenor saxophone with The Julius Hemphill Saxophone Sextet, on electric bass with The Fifth Dimension and Stevie Wonder, and on oboe with The American Ballet Theatre.

Andrew White was awarded the Gold Medal of the French Society of Arts, Sciences and Letters in 2006 in Paris, France, sharing the award with past honorees that include Violinist-Conductor Yehudi Menuhin, Virtuoso-Trumpeter Maurice Andre and Scientist-Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Albert Schweitzer. White is a music theorist, author, publisher and jazz musician as well as a longtime DC resident. A leading authority on John Coltrane’s music, White has transcribed and published 701 improvised solos by Coltrane. His book, Trane 'n Me (1981) is well-known at conservatories internationally.

Andrew White received his Bachelor of Music Degree Cum Laude in Music Theory with a minor in oboe from Howard University in 1964. He continued his studies on the oboe at The Paris Conservatory of Music in Paris, France.

Established in 2005, The Georgetown Quintet performs concerts of new and classic woodwind chamber music in the greater Washington area. With grants from the Arts & Humanities Council of Montgomery County, the ensemble has brought new music including a Joseph Hallman commission (for wind quintet and bass clarinet) to The Kennedy Center, Strathmore Mansion and the Martin Luther King Library. The Quintet was nominated “Best Chamber Ensemble” of 2008 by the Washington Area Musicians Awards (WAMMIEs). Members are: Katrina Smith, flute; Yeonjee Sohn, oboe/English horn; Evan Solomon, clarinet; Chandra Cervantes, French horn; and Nancy Switkes, bassoon.