Jim Snidero is a jazz saxophonist who has played for Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett and the Mingus Big Band.
He has over 10 recordings, released over a 20-year period, is as well known for his performances as he is for his jazz textbooks and was at Hopkins on Saturday night where he and the Snidero quartet played a song he "penned a few days ago."
"I [wrote it] for this event," Snidero said about the opening piece. "I haven't settled on a title yet so for now I'll call it ‘Jammin' at Hopkins'," he said with a grin.
Jam is exactly what Snidero did at the Hopkins Club with the help of Paul Bollenback on guitar, Paul Gill on bass and McClenty Hunter on the drums.
The Snidero Quartet gave a personalized performance of songs from Snidero's latest album, Interface, cutting the ribbon on the new jazz series Jazz at the Hopkins Club. The result of a partnership between President Ron Daniels of The Johns Hopkins University and Artistic Director Gary Thomas, Peabody's Director and Chair of Jazz Studies, the concert series is an attempt to offer live jazz to aficionados, musicians and young students at Hopkins.
"Through this concert series, the Hopkins Club has tied together Baltimore's rich history of jazz music, the Peabody Institute's world class jazz program and the appreciation for live music felt across our campus and our city. I look forward to welcoming jazz enthusiasts to the Homewood campus," President Daniels said.
After the quartet introduced "Jammin' at Hopkins," Bollenback exchanged his electric guitar for a nylon-stringed acoustic, adding warm bossa nova tones to the next few songs.
The standout piece of the night was "Viper." After a long, sensual alto sax introduction, Snidero left the stage to highlight a bass solo, complimented by the occasional strumming of Bollenback, who took center stage next for an intricate and rhythmic interlude.
Halfway through, Bollenback leaned over, grabbed his pick and let his fingers fly, eliciting whoops from the enthusiastic over-50 crowd in the back.
The concert brought Peabody — the tradition and its students — to the Homewood campus and gave undergraduates a chance to lounge on the plush cushions of the Hopkins Club with President Daniels 10 feet to the left and a world-class musician 10 feet to the right.
The environment was casual despite the venue, with cozy clusters of chairs set up on three sides of the stage. The varied audience had an open dialogue with the musicians, their unrestrained applause bursting throughout, and, between sets, the Snidero quartet happily mingled and chatted with concertgoers.
Thomas, who himself has played with legends like Miles Davis and Herbie Hancock, has selected a stunning line-up for the spring semester. Russell Kirk and The Path will be on campus March 31, the John Scofield Trio will play Apr. 21 and the Roy Haynes Fountain of Youth Band will close the inaugural season on May 26. Tickets are available for purchase online at a discounted student price.
"I'm excited about the line-up [to come]," Snidero said. "I'm humbled by it. They are some of the best musicians on earth."
Although the tickets are a bit pricey for students at $18 a set, the concerts will likely be a coveted opportunity in the coming months for fans of jazz. Even though this genre is sometimes overlooked by college students, the caliber of the musicians and the intimacy of the setting make it worth coming out to see more artists jammin' at Hopkins.
