INFORMATION FOR
Oscar Hernandez, who is considered one of the most gifted and prominent pianists and arrangers on the contemporary Latin, Latin jazz, and salsa music scene. brings his jazz quintet Alma Libre to William Paterson University in Wayne on Sunday, December 8 for the final concert of the fall 2024 Jazz Room series. The concert begins at 3 p.m. in the Shea Center for Performing Arts on campus.
The concert will be preceded by “Sittin’ In,” the Jazz Room’s accompanying “meet the artist” concert preview featuring interviews with jazz artists and guest speakers. This informal discussion, free to all Jazz Room ticketholders, begins at 2:00 p.m. in the Shea Recital Hall.
Hernandez is the leader of the Spanish Harlem Jazz Orchestra, which won Grammy Awards in 2002, 2005, and 2019. He also serves as musical director to Ruben Blades and is a legendary performer in his own right who is involved in so many aspects of the music industry. Hernandez arranged and produced Paul Simon’s Broadway musical The Capeman, for which he also served as music director and conductor. He has been involved in other projects, including TV shows like Sex in the City and music for numerous commercials.
He recently released No Words Needed, his fourth CD with his quintet, Alma Libre, containing 10 original compositions by Hernandez and featuring some of the biggest names in Latin jazz.
Tickets are $20 for the general public, $18 for WP faculty, staff, alumni, and senior citizens, $10 for non-WP students, and WP students are admitted free with ID. For tickets or additional information, visit wp-presents.org, or contact the Shea Center Box Office at 973.720.2371 or boxoffice@wpunj.edu.
William Paterson University’s Jazz Room series is the longest-running program of its kind in the United States. Launched in 1978, the Jazz Room has welcomed more than 500 jazz legends to the stage, including Sonny Rollins, Wynton Marsalis, Wayne Shorter, Joe Williams, Marian McPartland, Slide Hampton, Kenny Burrell, Joe Lovano, Kenny Garrett, Clark Terry, Michael and Randy Brecker, the Vanguard Orchestra, and more. Concerts have encompassed the entire spectrum of jazz, from early jazz and swing to avant garde, and from intimate solo performances to big bands.
The performance series provides support for the University’s internationally renowned Jazz Studies Program, founded in 1973. The program draws students from across the United States and abroad under the current direction of Grammy Award-winning pianist Bill Charlap.
The Jazz Room at William Paterson University has been made possible, in part, by funds from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts.
