PCMF @ SPACE:
Charles Overton Quartet
Friday, August 11 | 8:00 PM
SPACE, 538 Congress St | Portland
PCMF’s 30th anniversary summer season expands with the Portland debut of the Charles Overton Quartet, a fascinating ensemble with the unusual instrumentation of concert grand harp, tenor saxophone, bass, and drums. The quartet will perform an evening of original tunes and jazz standards co-presented by the multi-disciplinary arts center SPACE.
Meet The Quartet
Lee Fish
drums
Having earned his master’s degree on full scholarship at the Berklee Global Jazz Institute, drummer Lee Fish received his earliest musical education (starting at age 3) on the road, performing with his parents’ band Amante at venues across North America. Since then, he’s performed all over the world on nearly every continent, and is currently flexing his breadth as a leader in New York City’s jazz scene.
Gregory Groover Jr.
tenor saxophone
Raised with devotion for music, Gregory Groover, Jr. is a tenor saxophonist and educator from Roxbury, Massachusetts. As a performer, Gregory has had the honor to share the stage with musicians such as Terri Lyne Carrington, Danilo Perez, John Patitucci, Brian Blade, and Esperanza Spalding. As a bandleader and a sideman, he has performed in music festivals in the United States, Latin America, Europe, and Africa. Gregory serves as the co-chair of music at his alma mater, the Boston Arts Academy.
Charles Overton
harp
Virtuoso harpist Charles Overton creates a musical environment that is accessible, exciting, and can resonate deeply with any audience, regardless of the style or genre of music, exploring the seemingly disparate parts of his musical life — western classical music and improvised jazz/R&B — and finding the spaces where they overlap. A native of Glen Allen, Virginia, Charles was the first harpist to be accepted to the Berklee College of Music’s Global Jazz Institute, a prestigious and highly specialized program headed by world-renowned artistic director, pianist, and UNESCO Artist for Peace Danilo Perez. As a classical musician, Charles appears frequently with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and has performed with Boston-based ensembles the Walden Chamber Players, and Collage New Music, as well as at the Marlboro Music Festival.
Max Ridley
bass
Maxwell Salinger-Ridley started his life in music singing in the school choir and playing bass guitar in a punk band, and fell in love with jazz studying at Boston Arts Academy. While still in high school he had the honor to work with such renowned artists as Quincy Jones and Delfeayo Marsalis through the Berklee City Music program, and later earned his graduate degree from the Berklee Global Jazz Institute. He has performed all over the U.S., Canada, and Europe, and spent time living in Valencia, Spain which he considers his second home and musical community. An in-demand bass player both on stage and in studio, Max is currently the house bass player at Boston’s historic Wally’s Jazz Café and can also be found teaching music as a guest lecturer at schools throughout New England. Family fun fact: Max is the grandson of classic American author J.D. Salinger.
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