Loyola University New Orleans alumnus and noted jazz pianist Matt Lemmler ’90 will return to campus to perform a special concert with the New Orleans Jazz Revival Ensemble, featuring guitarist Steve Masakowski, bassist James Singleton and drummer Geoff Clapp, on Saturday, June 23 at 7 p.m. in Nunemaker Auditorium in Monroe Hall. The group will be joined by special guest John Mahoney, Loyola’s coordinator of jazz studies, on trombone. Masakowski and Mahoney were Lemmler’s mentors for piano, jazz, arranging and composition while he was a student at Loyola. The concert is free and open to the public.
“A Musical Journey: History of the Music of New Orleans” is part of the inauguralAlumni College, held June 22-24 for alumni, spouses, parents and friends of Loyola University. Participants will have the opportunity to attend special classes, mingle at social events and meals, take field trips and stay in a residence hall on campus. “A Musical Journey” is free and open to the public, but a complete schedule of Alumni College events, as well as costs and registration information, are available at www.alumni.loyno.edu/alumnicollege12.
A New Orleans native and raised in the Lower 9th Ward, Lemmler is influenced by the music he heard growing up in New Orleans. An accomplished jazz pianist, vocalist, producer and educator, he studied arranging with Grammy Award-winning artist Tony Klatka and jazz piano with the illustrious Ellis Marsalis. After graduating from Loyola’s College of Music and Media, Lemmler moved to New York City, and in 1992 received his master's degree in jazz performance and composition from The Manhattan School of Music.
Lemmler has collaborated with a host of jazz greats, including Chris Potter, Dave Liebman, Matt Wilson, Joel Frahm and Pete Fountain, among many others. In 2000, he released his first CD, “Portraits of Wonder,” a New Orleans jazz tribute to the music of Stevie Wonder. Produced by Tracey Freeman, the album featured noted artists Brian Blade and John Ellis, garnered national attention and was performed for sold-out audiences.
In January 2010, Lemmler helped produce the 9th Annual Trinity Jazz Festival in Houston, Texas, and soon thereafter, he returned to New Orleans where his piano and arranging skills were featured on jazz trumpeter and vocalist Kermit Ruffins’ last two albums. Lemmler’s latest release, “UBUNTU,” features musicians Brian Blade, Evan Christopher, John Ellis, Sean Jones, Jason Marsalis, Mark Mullins, Kim Prevost, Bill Summers, Shane Theriot and the Ubuntu gospel choir, featuring George French and George Porter Jr.
For more information, contact Jess Brown in Loyola’s Office of Public Affairs at 504-861-5882 orjlbrown@loyno.edu.
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