Dazzling season of performances at Bates begins in September

Led by a musician whom The New Yorker called “one of the most gifted bassists of his generation,” the Avishai Cohen Trio opens Bates’ 2008 performance season at 8 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 3, in the Olin Arts Center Concert Hall, 75 Russell St.

The concert kicks off a season of performances at Bates that include dance, theater and musical offerings ranging from jazz to classical to the Top 40 mashups of Girl Talk. For more information, please visit the concerts Web site.

Here are September’s performance highlights at Bates:

Bassist and composer Cohen was called a “jazz visionary of global proportions” by DownBeat and ranked as one of the “100 Most Influential Bass Players of the 20th Century” by Bass Player Magazine. He, drummer Mark Guiliana and pianist Shai Maestro produce an eclectic jazz that effortlessly blends energy and lyricism. Available at www.batestickets.com, tickets are $10 general admission/$4 for students and seniors.

Once a member of Chick Corea’s New Trio, Cohen is regarded not only as an influential bassist and composer, but also as a visionary bandleader on a par with Charles Mingus, Jaco Pastorius, Charlie Haden, Stanley Clarke and even Sting. He has performed with jazz masters like Paquito D’Rivera, major symphony orchestras and pop-soul artist Alicia Keyes.

One of the most influential and dynamic musicians of our time, the extraordinary Panamanian pianist and composer Danilo Pérez brings his trio to Bates’ Olin Arts Center Concert Hall at 8 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 11. In just over a decade, Perez’s distinctive blend of Pan-American jazz has attracted critical acclaim and loyal audiences. Tickets for this Bates Concert Series event are $10 general admission/$4 for students and seniors and are available at www.batestickets.com.

Also open to the public is a master class that Pérez will offer at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 10, in the Olin concert hall. There is no charge. For more information, please e-mail olinarts@bates.edu.

The tango troupe Pablo Aslan’s Avantango appears in Olin at 8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 26. An ensemble featuring some of the world’s leading tango musicians and dancers, Avantango performs the tango as an ever-evolving art form incorporating jazz improvisation while turning historic cliches upside down. Tickets for this Bates Concert Series event are $10 general admission/$4 for students and seniors are available at www.batestickets.com.

Dancer-choreographer-singer Janis Brenner offers a solo performance in Olin at 8 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 17. Brenner explores the passion, humor, depth and emotional power of our relationships to others, to ourselves and to the world around us. The New York Times described Brenner’s dances as filled with “free-wheeling motion and rooted emotional intensity.” Her Bates performance includes a vocal suite by Meredith Monk and “Solo For Janis” by Richard Siegal. This performance is open to the public at no cost, but tickets are required.

At 9:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 27, in Chase Hall Commons, 56 Campus Ave., Bates presents Girl Talk — the stage name of Gregg Gillis, who specializes in sample-based remixes, in which he uses elements from myriad songs to create a new work. Mixing everything from hip hop to soft rock to R&B singles, Gillis’ work stimulates both dance-crazed teenage masses and mashup geeks. His four albums, all on the Illegal Art label, include this year’s Feed the Animals.

The Chase Hall Committee at Bates is presenting this concert. Tickets, at a price to be announced, will be available at www.batestickets.com. For more information call 207-795-7496.