From Belgium to the USA - Jazz, Pop, and Belgian Favorites. A Special Sunday evening concert with Flemish vocalist Jan Wuytens , including Pittsburgh sax stalwart Curtis Johnson and local favorites Tom Harrison, Jim Roderick, and Cumberland native son Kevin Lloyd. This concert will feature a variety of pop/folk/ and jazz standards with Jan’s unique and personal interpretations.
Kevin Lloyd - drums
Tom Harrison - keys
Jim Roderick - bass
Curtis Johnson - woodwinds
ONLY $15!!
Jan’s BIO
Jan Wuytens was born in 1981 in ROESELARE (BELGIUM) into a simple working-class family.
Already at the young age of 9, it became clear that the passion for music had taken hold of him.
Year after year it became clear that music would have a great and lasting impact on his life. Around the age of 12 there was also interest and admiration for the church organ. The spiritual and sacred aspects of the entire church scene also attracted Jan. Jan was often found at the organ in the local village church. In the meantime, Jan took music lessons at the Adriaen Willaert Academy of Music and Lyrics in Roeselare.
From the age of 14, Jan began to be invited to play at various local parties. So slowly but surely, at a young age, he entered the world of show business. Jan is truly a self-made man. From the smallest and dirtiest pubs to the most imaginative venues, he has done them all! At the same time, Jan became the permanent organist for the Sunday service at the local chapel in Roeselare
Going out became a problem because Jan was not interested in the modern sounds of the dance halls. Instead, he could often be found in some jazz cafe. Jan always says about himself that he was born 50 years too late.
In 2012 Jan had the opportunity to offer his first live concert in collaboration with the former Bobby Setter Band. That turned out to be a target because after three weeks this concert was completely sold out. This was also the start of a whole series of concerts. He also became the founder and director of the choir of St. Audomarus in Passchendaele in Flanders Fields.
With an agenda of over 250 performances per year, Jan traveled through the cultural centers of Flanders. He is highly regarded by all Flemish associations and is a welcome guest. Known everywhere and with a huge fan base, Jan continues to work.
Some time ago, Jan participated in the TV show I Can See Your Voice on VTM.
There, mouths dropped open in amazement when Jan sang the beautiful Nessun Dorma.
The jury, the panel of judges and the audience watched and listened with amazement and enthusiasm during his performance. The next day, VTM published a compilation of that performance on social media. In two weeks, the video was viewed more than 500,000 times and shared countless times. This is how people in Flanders and beyond got to know Jan Wuytens.
Jan is also a composer and lyricist himself. His dream is to touch people permanently with his music.
CURTIS JOHNSON -
Curtis Johnson, retired Associate Professor of Music at West Virginia University, had been on the WVU faculty for more than twenty years. He received his Master of Music degree in saxophone performance from West Virginia University and his Bachelor of Music Degree from West Liberty University. Curtis has served as an adjunct faculty member at West Virginia University, West Virginia Wesleyan College, Slippery Rock University, and Carnegie Mellon University. He was recently twice named a semi-finalist in the Grammy Educator category.
Classically, Mr. Johnson has performed on numerous North American Saxophone Alliance Conference programs, World Saxophone Congress programs, and national Saxophone Symposium programs. He has performed as soloist with the West Virginia Symphony Orchestra, the Wheeling Symphony Orchestra, and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra.
Mr. Johnson is also a renowned R&B and jazz performer. He has backed such performers as Christian McBride, Jeff “Tain” Watts, Benny Golson, Ahmad Jamal, Ray Charles, Little Anthony, Aretha Franklin, The Temptations, Chubby Checker, Chuck Berry, Isaac Hayes, Lou Rawls, The Spinners, Dionne Warwick, Martha Reeves, Cheryl Lynn, and others.
Mr. Johnson currently performs as a freelance performer and has completed many successful tours of Europe for over 30 years. Since 2008 he has performed on several International Jazz Festivals in Russia. In addition, Mr. Johnson performs with the Pittsburgh Jazz Orchestra.
As active as he has been in his performance career, Curtis has never left the classroom. Jazz education continues to be Mr. Johnson’s forte. He began his career as Director of Jazz Studies at West Virginia University, taking several large ensembles and small groups to regional conferences and national performances. He has conducted numerous all-star high school and college bands, including the Maryland All-State Jazz Ensemble. Mr. Johnson has served as Artistic Director for the Krakow (Poland) School for Jazz and Contemporary Music Summer Jazz Academy. He is currently featured in the book “Legendary Locals of Wheeling” as an artist and as an expert on the career of Leon “Chu” Berry. The PBS special “They Died Before 40”, also features Johnson speaking about “Chu” Berry.
TOM HARRISON -
Tom Harrison, keyboardist, currently performs with a variety of groups representing many styles of music. The current jazz related groups are ToMaJiTo Jazz Funktet, Vital Organ Trio, Potomac State Community Jazz Band, and Not Reely Dan. Tom has performed with such notable musicians as Sean Jones, Ted Nash, Jeff Coffin, Chris Vadala, Ray Brown, Paul Bollenback, and more. A retired instrumental music teacher, he currently is an instructor of jazz studies at Frostburg State University.
KEVIN LLOYD - Kevin Lloyd (drums) has played with Percussion '80, the Allen Ambush Quartet, the Miltenberger Jazz Group and many others, including ten concert tours of Europe and a tour of Japan. He is an award-winning music educator and theatrical sound designer with over 100 plays to his credit, including 20 Off-Broadway productions.
JIM RODERICK -Jim Roderick is a retired music educator having taught 31 years in the Allegany County School system. Jim also taught at Potomac State College and Frostburg State University for a number of years. He holds music degrees from FSU and WVU and has performed on guitar, bass guitar, and flute with the groups Windfall, Queen City Funk and Soul, Not Reely Dan, ToMaJiTo, and the Potomac State College/Community Jazz Ensemble, as well as being a pit musician for over 30 local musical theatre productions.