Mars Landing - Listening Room
37 Library Street--> Exclusive Offer: Purchase tickets for Rabinowitz (July 2) performance AND Nash/Walker (June 27) performance for $50 per person. ($10 savings) Offer appears AT CHECKOUT.
Mars Landing Arts Center hosts the release of a new recording called REUNION, celebrating the collaboration of jazz bassoonist Michael Rabinowitz and pianist Michael Jefry Stevens. They worked and recorded together in the 80’s and 90’s while living in Brooklyn. Their musical connection was reestablished a few years ago when Rabinowitz and family began to visit the Asheville area frequently and landed in Madison County. Rabinowitz reached out to Stevens, who selected bassist Zack Page and drummer Rick Dilling to round out a quartet. After playing at local venues and the Johnson City Jazz Festival in '25, the individual impulses and collaborative spirit inspired the original compositions on REUNION (on the ARC label) and will be performed at the Gallery for the release.
This performance will consist of two sets with one Intermission.
Michael Rabinowitz - Whether blowing bebop over a Mingus tune or freely improvising with Anthony Braxton, Michael Rabinowitz's contributions have changed the conception of what the bassoon can do. Since graduating with a BFA in music performance from SUNY at Purchase in the late seventies, his improvisatory skills opened the door for the bassoon to enter a variety of musical environments not traditionally associated with the instrument. Rabinowitz has recorded with Ira Sullivan, Red Rodney, Wynton Marsalis, John Hicks, Dave Douglas, Chris Potter, and Joe Lovano. His festival appearances include Chicago, Montreal, Berlin, Tri-City, Tanglewood, San Francisco, and Hollywood Bowl. He is a founding member of The Charles Mingus Orchestra, which can be heard regularly at the jazz clubs in NYC. Buffet Crampon USA has been his sponsor for the past twenty-five years and has supported his participation in performances and master classes at the Double Reed Events. Cats Paw Records released Rabinowitz’s sixth CD as a leader called Uncharted Waters in 2017, which garnered international praise. In the past year, he has taught master classes and performed concerts at Curtis/Boston Conservatory and the following Universities: Appalachian State, James Madison, Yale & Michigan. In early March of '23, his 7th CD called Next Chapter was released, featuring recent compositions accompanied by a stellar NYC trio.
Rick Dilling - Born and raised in Pennsylvania, Rick Dilling listened to all the big Bands growing up.
“I knew all the top 40 stuff of the 60s and early 70s and loved the Tijuana Brass, but Basie, Ellington, Goodman, and Herman really sounded great!” He graduated from Appalachian State University with a degree in Music Industry Studies.” Dilling has performed professionally with the likes of Clark Terry, Ernie Watts, Herb Ellis, Joe Temperly, the Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra, Billy Taylor, and the Unifour Jazz Big Band. Rick is also an Adjunct Instructor in the Jazz Department at ASU.
Michael Jefry Stevens - Pianist, Composer, and “Steinway Artist,” Michael Jefry Stevens has been active on the international jazz scene for the past four decades. He has composed over 400 works for both large and small ensembles.
Stevens has released over 100 CDs featuring his own music and has performed and recorded extensively with many of the top names in Jazz, including Dave Liebman, Oliver Lake, Dave Douglas, Leo Smith, Matt Wilson, Han Bennink, Mark Feldman, Steve Wilson, Walt Weiskopf, Valerie Ponomarev, Cecil Bridgewater, Jeanne Lee, Dakota Staton, Pheeroan AkLaff, Charles Moffett Sr., George Schuller, Dame Evelyn Glennie, and many others. In 2021, he received a $10,000 Doris Duke Foundation Performing Artist Recovery Fund Grant administered by the New York Community Trust Fund and grants from the North Carolina Arts Council and Buncombe County’s Mountain Bizworks. Stevens received his Master of Arts degree in Jazz Performance from Queens College (CCNY).
Zack Page - Page has been performing as a professional bassist since the early ‘90s. His work with various jazz ensembles, theater companies, and the cruise industry has taken him to all 50 U.S. States, the Caribbean islands, Australia, South America, Europe, and the Far East. In a jazz setting, Page has had the good fortune to play and/or record with Billy Higgins, Marvin Stamm, Eddie Daniels, and Babik Reinhardt, the son of gypsy jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt. Following time spent in LA and New York City, he relocated to Asheville nine years ago. Here in WNC, Page enjoys a busy freelance schedule with many of North Carolina’s finest musicians. “One Leg Up, Asheville’s gypsy jazz band, is my main project. He also plays with The Page Brothers Quartet, The Core, Alien Music Club, Wendy Jones Quartet, and many other groups.
Thu, Jul 2, 2026 7:00 PM - 9:15 PM
Mars Landing - Listening Room
37 Library Street
We are an independent arts center, collaborating with artists and non-profits to bring the arts from around the corner to around the world for our WNC community. We curate exhibitions, artist talks, performances, film screenings, and workshops. We also offer affordable art studios and spaces, as well as an art boutique with original works by our local artists. Contact us!
VISIT OUR WEBSITE: https://www.marslandingartscenter.com
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