MB3 Kicks Off Caine School of the Arts Performing Arts Series at USU

In December 2006, Mel Bay Records released “MB3: Jazz Hits, Vol. 1.” The CD featured Corey Christiansen, Vic Juris and Jimmy Bruno in a recording with three guitars, bass and drums. The group, and the recording, caught the ear of listeners ranging from jazz critics to the general public and spent three weeks as the No. 1 jazz recording on North American jazz radio throughout January and February 2007.

In a new collaboration of artists, the MB3 group kicks off the Caine School of the Arts Performing Arts Series at Utah State University with a concert Wednesday, Sept. 10. Concert time is 7:30 p.m. in the Performance Hall (approximately 1090 E. 675 North, Logan).

 

Tickets for the concert are $5 for students and $10 for all others. Tickets are available at the Caine School of the Arts Box Office online (http://boxoffice.usu.edu/), by phone (435) 797-8022 or in person in the Tippetts Gallery in the Chase Fine Arts Center on the USU campus. Tickets are also available at the Performance Hall the evening of the performance.

 

Joining forces for the current collaboration in MB3 are returning guitarists Corey Christiansen and Vic Juris, joined by guitarist Mike Christiansen, Danny Gottlieb on drums and Aaron Miller on bass.

 

The music on MB3’s first recording showcased arrangements by each guitarist of popular jazz standards by Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock and others. Each player embraced the opportunity to bring new life to popular standards.

 

“We took tunes that have been done millions of times in every freshman jazz class and blew the dust off them to make an original statement,” Corey Christiansen said.

 

Christiansen has joined the guitar faculty of the Music Department at USU, and will work with his father, Mike Christiansen, who founded the department’s successful guitar program.

 

Guitarist Juris is best known for his fusion work with alto saxophonist Richie Cole. He has played with such jazz greats as Dave Liebman, Gary Peacock, Sarah Vaughan and Dizzy Gillespie. He is an educator and teaches at several top schools in New York City.

 

Corey Christiansen returns to USU — he earned his bachelor’s degree at USU — after building a reputation as a composer, instrumentalist, author and clinician. He released his first album Awakening in 2004. The work was well received for a debut CD and was hailed by jazz critics and radio hosts. He is also a producer whose credits include MB3, as well as Juris’s previous CD A Second Look.

 

The group’s drummer, Danny Gotlieb, has a playing resume that reads like a who’s who in jazz and popular music. His early fame came as one of the founding members of the Pat Metheny Trio. Since then, he has played with countless jazz greats, including the Mahavishnu Orchestra, Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock and others. He is an educator and teaches jazz percussion at the University of North Florida.

 

Rounding out the group for the performance at USU are local guitar guru Mike Christiansen and Aaron Miller on bass. Mike has been a staple in the western states music scene in addition to authoring multiple books for Mel Bay Records. He oversees the guitar program at USU. He has traveled the country and abroad presenting workshops on guitar pedagogy and has an active and prolific list of recording credits. Miller teaches at BYU-Idaho and is rapidly being recognized as one of the premier jazz bassists in the western United States.

 

 

Contact: Mike Christiansen (435) 797-3011