Gary Fieldman
NEMPAC’s Percussion instructor
Gary currently lives in Boston Massachusetts where he is active in a musical community both diverse and eclectic. He is a faculty member of the Preparatory and Continuing Education Divisions of the New England Conservatory of Music, as well as the North End Music and Performing Arts Center. Mr. Fieldman has written and recorded numerous compositions. As a founding member of Know Trio, he recorded his CD length narration with music composition, Ratty’s Loving Surprise, and has also recorded a collection of shorter compositions on compilation project Dimension Traveler. Gary can be found on numerous labels including Biba, Sachimay, Innova, and also on Rotary Records with “Field Effect”, the Gary Fieldman Quartet.
Mr. Fieldman’s formal education began with Warren Myers, with whom he later played next to for many years as section percussionist with the Springfield Symphony Orchestra, Springfield, Massachusetts, and then earned a bachelor’s degree in performance at Boston University, studying with Tom Gauger. Private studies in composition with Karen Tarlow were significant, and later, he received a master’s in jazz studies from the New England Conservatory of Music. There he studied with Bob Moses, Fred Buda, and Bevan Manson. Personal investigations of the great jazz masters, and the music of the European classical tradition have been mainstays in Mr. Fieldman’s approach, which attempts to define commonality in seemingly diverse arenas.
Hilary Noble
NEMPAC’s Flute and Saxaphone instructor
Hilary Noble’s unconventional melding of progressive jazz and Afro-Cuban rhythm flows naturally from the reconciliation of his two instrumental voices: tenor saxophone and congas. His first CD as a leader, Noble Savage, was released in September 2002 on Whaling City Sound. It was co-produced by Bobby Sanabria and features Sanabria and guest saxophonist Charles Neville. His Zoho release “Enclave” was called “best jazz recording of the year.”
He has performed all over the U.S., as well as in Puerto Rico, the Netherlands, Austria, France, and Switzerland. Artists he has played and recorded with include Bobby Sanabria’s Ascención, Esperanza Spaulding, Ray Vega, Charles Neville, Bo Diddley, Eric Krasno, Entrain, Max Creek, Bob Moses, Robin Kenyatta, Clifford Thornton, and Alvin Queen.
Will Slater
A recent graduate of the New England Conservatory, Will Slater is a sought after bass player in the Boston area. He has studied with Jerry Bergonzi, Danilo Perez, Oscar Stagnaro, John Lockwood, Cecil McBee, and John McNeil. He has performed in the Boston area with Jerry Bergonzi, Mark Zaleski, Phil Grenadier, Greg Hopkins, Jason Palmer,Tim Ray, Joe Delaney, and Steve Langone at venues such as the Bee Hive, Jordan Hall, the Hatch Shell, and Ryles Jazz Club.
He has recorded with the Mark Zaleski Band, Jerry Bergonzi and the Joe Delaney trio. Most recently, he traveled to the 2008 Panama Jazz Festival with Danilo Perez, where he was a featured artist and taught bass master classes.
