Hilltop Music

Jeff Haas Quintet performs atop Homestead hill

Press release

The Jeff Haas Quintet will perform at the top of The Homestead ski hill on Thursday, July 30 at 7 p.m. This amazing venue offers magnificent views of Lake Michigan and the Manitou Islands. Chairlifts and golf carts will be available to transport the audience to hilltop seating. This Manitou Music Festival performance is jointly sponsored by The Homestead resort and the Glen Arbor Art Association.

The Jeff Haas Quintet will perform an entertaining evening of classics from the jazz canon and music from Jeff’s extensive book of originals. Haas and friends will interpret the music of Duke Ellington, Cole Porter, Thelonious Monk and Herbie Hancock as well as several of Haas’ tunes. Jeff’s original music combines his passion for jazz, classical and ethnic music. His engaging compositions garnered national attention in 1996 with the release of L’Dor VaDor – Generation to Generation and again in 2000 with the release of The Bridges Lives featuring jazz legend Marcus Belgrave and jazz and hip hop violinist Miri Ben-Ari.

Jeff’s music came to the attention of legendary jazz pianist Dave Brubeck who said, “In combining these great musical traditions, [Haas] has created a soulful music that transcends ethnic barriers. I congratulate him and his colleagues for their fine playing!” Genre Magazine described his music, “The richness of ethnic folk music refreshingly sifted through a hip jazz sensibility for a totally swinging kaleidoscope of magical musical moments.” In 2004, Haas was one of 14 jazz composers selected nationwide for a prestigious Chamber Music America New Works Fellowship. He composed a 65-minute jazz suite called the “Age of Confluence” for jazz quartet and string quartet, a recording of which will be released this fall.

The Jeff Haas Quintet has been performing and recording together since 1996. The group includes Rob Smith on trumpet, Bill Sears on saxophone, Jack Dryden on bass, Randy Marsh on drums and the bandleader and composer Haas at the piano. “It’s a wonderful group of deeply talented musicians with incredible resumes who are totally committed to connecting with the audience. And although we have an evening of energetic and engaging tunes planned, these guys are so accustomed to playing together that anyone of us can take the music in a new direction and the rest of us will go with it,” enthuses Haas. “That’s when the cool stuff happens especially with musicians of this caliber. That leads to more energy from the audience, which takes the music even higher. All this with the backdrop of The Homestead on Lake Michigan. This will be a fun and memorable one!”

This summer, Haas and friends are celebrating 16 years of performing for “Jazz at Sunset” at Chateau Chantal Vineyard on Old Mission Peninsula. Jeff and his quintet have also conducted over 500 diversity workshops for over 45,000 students in public schools throughout the state and beyond. Building Bridges with Music is an award-winning educational outreach program using Jeff’s original music as a springboard for discussion about diversity, open-mindedness and acceptance of people from different cultures, races and backgrounds.

This event is a benefit concert for the Glen Arbor Art Association and is underwritten by The Homestead resort, the Michigan Humanities Council, and Beverly and Jim Duff. Other sponsors of the Manitou Music Festival concert series include Anderson’s Market, Art’s Tavern, Cherry Republic, Glen Lake Chamber of Commerce and The Leelanau School.

Tickets for this concert are $15 and are available at the Glen Arbor Art Association (231) 334-6112), Lake Street Studios, and The Homestead resort in Glen Arbor or online at www.glenarborart.org. The Homestead does allow concert guests to bring food, drinks, bags or backpacks to this concert. A variety of snacks and soft drinks, wine and beer will be available for purchase at the concert. Chairs will be provided, but concertgoers are welcome to bring blankets for grass seating. The Jeff Haas Quintet and the view at the top of the ski hill will make for a fabulous evening. In the event of rain, the concert will be indoors at the bottom of the ski hill in the Mountain Flower Meeting Center.