The Mike Conrad Trio at the Grape Life Wine Store & Lounge -- April 8.
Friday, April 8, 8 p.m.
Grape Life Wine Store & Lounge, 3402 Elmore Avenue, Davenport IA
A masterful jazz musician and Bettendorf native headlines an April 8 concert event at the Grape Life Wine Store & Lounge, with the award-winning pianist and trombone player Mike Conrad performing at the Davenport venue alongside his esteemed bandmates Drew Morton on bass and Chris Jensen on drums.
Currently serving as Assistant Professor of Jazz Studies & Music Education at the University of Northern Iowa, Conrad is a composer and improviser who has toured China, played at the Umbria Jazz Festival in Perugia, Italy, and appeared at various jazz festivals and venues all over the United States. Among the ensembles he has performed with are the Alexa Tarantino Quintet, Dave Chisholm’s Calligraphy, and Christopher’s Very Happy Band, and Conrad has been recognized for his arranging and composing with four ASCAP Herb Alpert Young Jazz Composer Awards and seven DownBeat Awards, as well as citations and commissions from organizations such as the Bundesjazzorchester of Germany, the West Point Jazz Knights, and the American Society of Music Arrangers and Composers.
Conrad’s arrangements have been performed all around the world, including in a 2014 premiere at Carnegie Hall and a performance at President Barack Obama's inauguration in 2013. Some of his recent career highlights include Conrad's participation in the 2017 Metropole Orchestra Arrangers Workshop with Vince Mendoza and winning second prize in the “Spheres of a Genius” composition competition through the Vienna Radio Symphony. From 2013 to 2015, Conrad was also the head band director at West High School in Waterloo, Iowa, where he directed the Wind Symphony and Jazz Ensembles and taught Music Theory and Jazz Improvisation. In addition to serving as frontman for The Mike Conrad Trio, he has also led his own big band jazz ensemble COLOSSUS and released an album of original music featuring Alex Sipiagin with his 15-piece group the All Angles Orchestra. At UNI, where he works alongside bassist Pershounin, Conrad directs Jazz Band Two and teaches courses and lessons in Jazz Improvisation, Jazz Pedagogy, Jazz Methods, Jazz Theory, Jazz Piano, Jazz Composition, and Jazz Arranging.
The Mike Conrad Trio plays the Grape Life Wine Store & Lounge at 8 p.m. on April 8, there is a $5 reservation fee and $10 minimum purchase per person, and more information is available by calling (563)355-7070 and visit TheGrapeLife.com.
