The Adam Moezinia Trio is a straight-ahead jazz group rooted in the tradition of swing, blues, and the Great American Songbook. When the band appears Sunday afternoon, March 22, at the Jay and Linda Grunin Center for the Arts in Toms River, NJ, the focus will be on fresh arrangements of popular standards by composers such as George Gershwin, Cole Porter, and Richard Rodgers.
Guitarist Moezinia, who has a Master’s Degree in Jazz Studies from Juilliard, has been influenced by jazz giants like Herb Ellis, Jim Hall, Barney Kessel, and Joe Pass. When asked by Jazz Guitar Today‘s Joe Barth to single out the three most influential jazz guitar albums, he listed: The Poll Winners Ride Again (Contemporary: 1958) featuring Kessel with bassist Ray Brown and drummer Shelly Manne; the Joe Pass/Herb Ellis duo album, Two for the Road (Pablo: 1974); and Jim Hall’s Live (A&M/Horizon: 1975). Pass and Ellis are “so in sync” on Two for the Road, Moezinia said, that “it almost sounds like one person.”
Originally from Los Angeles, Moezinia moved to New York in 2010 to attend Juilliard. He has appeared with jazz artists such as trumpeter Wynton Marsalis, vocalist Cecile McLorin Salvant, and multireedists Will and Pete Anderson at venues like Birdland, the Blue Note, and Jazz at Lincoln Center.
The other members of Moezinia’s trio at the Grunin Center will be bassist Alec Safy and drummer Pete Van Nostrand. Safy, a native of Buffalo and current Bronx resident, has studied with bassists Scott Colley, Todd Coolman, and Doug Weiss and has performed with artists such as baritone saxophonist Gary Smulyan, trumpeter Jon Faddis, and pianist Pete Malinverni. Van Nostrand grew up in Binghamton, NY, and received bachelors and master’s degrees, respectively, from Rutgers University and Juilliard. He has performed with trumpeter Jeremy Pelt, tenor saxophonist Jimmy Heath, and pianists Eric Scott Reed, Jeb Patton, and Kenny Barron.
Jazz on a Sunday Afternoon is made possible through funding from the Wintrode Family Foundation, the Ocean County College Foundation, and support from the New Jersey Jazz Society. The Jay and Linda Grunin Center for the Arts is located at College Drive in Toms River, NJ. The Adam Moezinia Trio Jazz on a Sunday Afternoon concert begins at 3 p.m. For more information or to order tickets, log onto grunincenter.org or call (732) 255-0500.