Jake Epstein Music Site
Hartigan-Epstein-Brown Trio

Hartigan-Epstein-Brown Trio

Music from around the world.

Performing repertoire from many genres, the Hartigan-Epstein-Brown Trio incorporates original and music by other composers highlighting the diversity and excitement of Word Music and the universality of Jazz.

The group is available for performance, master classes and clinics. The following information highlight the experiences of the group's members which leads it to a wonderful diversity of culture and sounds.
 

The Trio has performed since 2014 in the U.S. Northeast. It is currently developing a series of concerts and master classes leading up to its first recording session planned for the Fall 2015.

The following links provide samples of the work of the artists:

Green Monster Big Band, Fred Ho. Arrangement by Jake Epstein. royal haritigan, Percussion and Wes Brown, Bass.

royal hartigan and Wes Brown with Tenor Sax player David Bindman in Ghana, 2015.

Blood Drum Spirit in Ghana 2015 Part 1.

Blood Drum Spirit in Ghana 2015 Part 2.

 

royal hartigan

royal hartigan is a percussionist who has studied and performed the musics of Asia, Africa, Europe, the Middle East, and the Americas, including indigenous West African drumming, dance, song, and highlife; Turkish bendir frame drum; Japanese taiko drumming; Philippine kulintang gong and drum ensemble; Chinese Beijing, Cantonese, and Kunqu opera percussion; South Indian solkattu rhythms; Korean Nong ak drum and gong ensemble; Javanese and Sumatran gamelan; Gaelic bodhran; Native American drumming; Dominican merengue; Brazilian samba; Cambodian sampho drums and Vietnamese clapper percussion, European symphony; and African American blues, gospel, funk, hip-hop, and jazz traditions.

He was awarded an AB in Philosophy from St. Michael's College in 1968, specializing in medieval metaphysics and the existentialism of Albert Camus and Jean-Paul Satre. He received a BA degree in African American music at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst in 1981, studying with Roland Wiggins, Frederick Tillis, Reggie Workman, Archie Shepp, Max Roach, and Clifford Jarvis. royal earned his MA and Ph.D degrees in world music at Wesleyan University in 1983 and 1986, studying intensively with ethnomusicologist David McAllester and Bill Lowe, Bill Barron, Ed Blackwell, Freeman Donkor, Abraham Adzenyah, and other master artists from Java, India, and Ghana, West Africa.

He has taught ethnomusicology, African drumming, and world music ensemble at the New School for Social Research in New York and the Graduate Liberal Studies Program at Wesleyan University. royal helped develop and taught graduate and undergraduate courses in world music, large and small jazz ensembles, experimental music ensemble, Asian music ensembles (Philippine kulintang and Javanese gamelan), African American music history, and West African drumming and dance at San Jose State University before assuming a position as Assistant Professor in world music at the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth. He has taught Music Theory and Fundamentals, Western Music history, and Introduction to World Music. He currently teaches music of the African Diaspora, area studies, and World Music Survey. He has served on the music department curriculum development, the CVPA lecture series, and the University Cultural Diversity committees as well as initiating grants for numerous workshops and concerts of world music during the 1999-2000 academic year.

His publications include Cross Cultural Performance and Analysis of West African, African American, Native American, Central Javanese, and South Indian Drumming, a 1700-page analysis of world drumming traditions (the Edwin Mellen Press); articles in Percussive Notes, World of Music, Annual Review of Jazz Studies, and The African American Review; and a book with compact disc, West African Rhythms for Drumset (Manhattan Music/Warner Brothers). He has given lectures and clinics on world music and jazz in Africa, China, Europe, and North America. He travels to West Africa each summer to teach, perform, and do research, collaborating with J.H. Nketia at the Institute for African Studies, University of Ghana, and the musicians at the Dagbe Cultural Center, Kopeyia village, Volta Region, Ghana.

He has performed, given workshops, and recorded internationally with his own quartet (Blood Drum Spirit, 1997 and Ancestors 2000), Juba (Look on the Rainbow 1987), Talking Drums (Talking Drums, 1985 and Someday Catch, Someday Down, 1987) the Fred Ho Afro-Asian Music Ensemble (We Refuse to Be Used and Song for Manong, 1988, Underground Railroad to My Heart, 1994, Monkey Epic:Part 1, 1996,Turn Pain Into Power, 1997, Monkey Epic Part 2, 1997, Yes Means Yes, No Means No! 1998, Night Vision 2000), Hafez Modirzadeh's Paradox Ensemble (Chromodal Discourse, 1993 and The Peoples Blues, 1996, The Mystery of Sama 1998), the David Bindman-Tyrone Henderson Project (Strawman Dance, 1993 Iliana's Dance, 1996), and Nathaniel Mackey (Songs of the Andoumboulou, 1995). He has released a documentary and artistic video of his work in West Africa and its relation to the African American music cultures (Eve).

Jake Epstein, Flute, Sax

Jake Epstein is a semi-retired founding member (partner) in RECOL, LLC, a Connecticut based Internet Services (ISP) and Datacenter (Hosting) company but also composes and performs music. After a tour in 1969-1971 with the 113th Army band at Fort Knox, KY where he was chief Composer/Arranger and director of Jazz and Jazz Rock ensembles, he served as the first University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Department of Music and Dance graduate teaching assistant in African Music and Jazz working with Professors Frederick Tillis, Horace Boyer, Max Roach and Archie Shepp in the early 1970’s. From 1976 to 1980, Jake served as an assistant Professor of Music at UMass. Jake serves as an adviser and instructor with the “Jazz in July Summer Program" at UMass, Amherst. He has also coached with the Fairfield (CT) Jazz Guild.

Jake has taught, performed, recorded with and composed/arranged music for many ensembles and individuals. A partial list of professional ensembles includes 113th Army Band, Sonny Costanzo Orchestra, Harold Zinno Jazz Orchestra and small ensembles, Hartigan-Epstein-Brown Trio, Fred Ho Green Monster Big Band, Hartford Jazz Orchestra, Springfield Symphony, Valley and Berkshire Big Bands, Cliff Jarvis Quartet, PVR-Jazz Quartet, Bobby Buster Quartet, Amherst Jazz Orchestra, Oakdale Theater (CT), Schubert Theater (New Haven) and Williamstown (MA) Theater Festival.

Jake Epstein’s book, “Jazz Improvisation and Tonal Music” is available as a Kindle eBook at http://amazon.com. Recent recordings include PVR “Reunion” and Jake Epstein Jazz Quartet feat Amada Bellitto “But Beautiful” are available at CD Baby, Amazon and other sites.

Wes Brown, Bass

Wes Brown has appeared on stage with many of the top names in jazz, including two years touring worldwide with the legendary Earl "Fatha" Hines. Known mostly as a bass player, he currently plays electric bass with Black Rebels (African Roots Reggae), Urban Family Band (soukous/Afro-pop), acoustic bass with various jazz ensembles, and percussion and bamboo flute with traditional West African groups, including Talking Drums and Kwaku Kwaakye Obeng. He is now working on a concert of European classical works for solo piano, performing the music of composers from Bach to Gershwin. Wes is a regular member of the Royal Hartigan Quartet which recently returned from its second trip to China; he also performs with Fred Ho's Afro-Asian Ensemble and Monkey Orchestra including shows at the Guggenheim Museum, Brooklyn Academy of Music and Harlem's famous Apollo Theatre during the past twelve months, and a 33-city U.S. tour the year before.

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