Knoch grad part of quartet to play at BLT next month
Black Diamond, featuring Butler County native Artie Black, will perform at 7 p.m. Sept. 8 at Butler Little Theatre, One Howard St.
Tickets are $10 at the door or at bltgroup.org.
The jazz quartet includes Black and Hunter Diamond playing saxophone, Neil Hemphill on drums and Katie Ernst on bass.
A graduate of Knoch High School, Black is a saxophonist, composer and educator based in Chicago.
He was first inspired to pursue a career in music through lessons with Terry Steele, professor of saxophone at Slippery Rock University.
Black graduated with a degree in music education from Messiah College in 2010. At Messiah, he was a winner of the Kuhlman Concerto competition and was selected as a recipient of the Presser Foundation award.
After graduating from college, he continued his studies at Indiana University in Bloomington, Ind., earning a master's degree in jazz studies in 2012.
At Indiana, he studied saxophone and worked as an associate instructor. He appeared on recordings with the IU Latin Jazz Ensemble and as a part of a faculty jazz ensemble.
Black moved to Chicago in 2012, establishing himself as a part of the creative music scene. He has appeared at the Hyde Park Jazz Festival and as a part of the Next Gen Jazz Series, and has played as a leader and sideman at The Green Mill, Andy's Jazz Club, Constellation, and other Chicago venues.
Recent highlights include a weeklong tour and album release with Living Bridge, and a series of performances and workshops with Steve Coleman's Five Elements.
He also maintains a busy schedule of private saxophone instruction, and he joined the faculty of Wheaton College as an adjunct professor in spring 2014.
He is featured on the newest CD from drummer Gustavo Cortinas and has released a Black Diamond record this summer.
