Classical and Jazz Guitar Master, Gene Bertoncini
Share tables on The Midland stage; Enjoy a close-up experience with a true guitar master!
Sitting in with Gene on a few songs will be longtime friends and Denison professors Tom Carroll and Doug Richeson.

A guitarist who takes “soft, seductive jazz to new levels of grace and adventure…”
Daniel Gewertz, The Boston Herald

Gene Bertoncini is one of the pre-eminent jazz guitarists active today and he will appear on The Midland stage, Thursday and Friday, March 11 & 12, in The Midland’s final Stage Door Cabaret Series of this season. Bertoncini’s fluid technique and lyricism have won him international praise and accolades as the "Segovia of jazz," (in reference to the great classical guitarist, Andrés Segovia). An eloquent and versatile improviser, Mr. Bertoncini has been heard with an extraordinary range of jazz greats, including performances and recordings with Benny Goodman, Buddy Rich, Wayne Shorter, Hubert Laws, Paul Desmond among others, as well as such distinguished singers as Tony Bennett, Lena Horne, Nancy Wilson, Vic Damone, and Eydie Gorme. If you haven’t attended a Midland Stage Door show yet, this will be a great show to sample with Gene Bertoncini, recently nominated as Guitarist of the Year for the 2009 Jazz Journalists Jazz Awards. This Stage Door Cabaret Series performance, sponsored by Huntington Bank, will begin at 8pm, March 11 and 12, 2010; doors open at 7:00pm. Ticket prices are $27.50 and include light snacks and a cash bar.

To purchase tickets, Call 740/345-LIVE (5483), visit www.midlandtheatre.org, or stop by The Midland box office at 36 North Park Place in downtown Newark, Monday – Friday, 9am to 4pm and one hour before the performance. Please note: add $2 to each ticket for handling and historic preservation fees.

The Midland’s Stage Door Cabaret Series, sponsored by Huntington Bank, places both the artist and audience together on stage, with the theatre as a backdrop. Seating is limited to 100 people and patrons are set in tables of four. Ticket price includes light snacks and a cash bar with beer, wine, soda and water available beginning at 7:00 pm. The performance begins at 8:00 pm.

Sitting in with Gene on a few songs will be longtime friends and Denison professors Tom Carroll and Doug Richeson. Tom is the Coordinator of Jazz Studies at Denison and leads the jazz trio Organic Chemistry. He has played with the likes of Brother Jack McDuff and David 'Fathead' Newman and has numerous recordings to his name. Doug Richeson has played with many notable musicians including Phil Collins and performed with Tony Bennett on three Grammy award winning albums including 'MTV. Unplugged' as well as touring with Mr. Bennett for four years.

The Washington Post proclaimed Gene Bertoncini’s solo appearance in New York City the best jazz concert of the year 1999. Mr. Bertoncini's acclaim is hardly confined to this country. His CD, "Someone to Light Up My Life" which features his own arrangements of the compositions of the great bossa nova composer Antonio Carlos Jobim, won international raves. Brazilian critic's and listener's polls also named him the best acoustic jazz guitarist. Gene Bertoncini has just released a striking new solo CD, "Quiet Now" on the heels of his highly successful "Acoustic Romance," which reached the top ten of the jazz playlists. Jazziz magazine's March 2004 issue ranked it Number 1 in their list of the top 20 acoustic guitar CDs.

His newest CD is called “Concerti” and features Gene with a string quartet and bass. A prolific and popular studio musician, Bertoncini honed his professional chops as a member of the Tonight Show band during Johnny Carson's tenure, and he has worked with composers and arrangers such as Lalo Schifrin and Michael Legrand and has performed with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra. According to the New Yorker magazine, "Bertoncini is an affecting, highly original guitarist that moves easily back and forth between classical and jazz guitar."

Mr. Bertoncini’s teaching credits include William Patterson University, the Eastman School of Music where he regularly performs and conducts summer workshops for jazz guitarists, the New England Conservatory, New York University, and the Banff School of Fine Arts. He has been a highly sought-after guest clinician in colleges and universities throughout the country.

Gene was just nominated as the best jazz guitarist of the year (08) by the New York Jazz Press Association.

Born April 6, 1937, Bertoncini’s musical roots go back to his early years in the Bronx where he grew up in a house filled with music. His love affair with the guitar began when he was seven, and by the time he as sixteen, he was appearing on New York television.

His career took an unusual turn when he decided to fulfill another long-standing interest, and took a degree in architecture at Notre Dame. He was quickly swept into the musical scene at the university, and the first thing he did after picking up his degree was to work opposite Carmen McRae in Chicago. He returned to New York to work with vibraphonist Mike Manieri, and then with a quintet led by drummer Buddy Rich.

The Newark Midland Theatre Association is a local organization dedicated to building value in our community with the positive, shared experiences of the performing arts, both locally produced and nationally recognized, in the beautifully restored Midland Theatre. Built in 1928, The Midland Theatre annually presents touring and local artists through its five performance series, inspiring arts education and community outreach programs, and other events. The Midland Theatre’s mission is enriching the lives of audiences today and tomorrow.

Generous support for The Midland Theatre’s 2009-2010 season is also provided by: Media Partners – Time Warner Cable, The Advocate, ThisWeek Newspapers, WNKO/WHTH; Funders- Ohio Arts Council; Presenters Circle Sponsors - AEP Ohio, Equity Resources, Inc., First Federal Savings & Loan, Gutridge Plumbing, Inc., The Jerry McClain Company, Inc., Licking Memorial Health Systems, MedBen, Reese, Pyle, Drake & Meyer P.L.L., and State Farm.

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