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Musical Evenings is happy to invite you to hear Bearduo!!
Aaron Kaufman-Levine / Alto Saxophone
Garrett Frees / Tenor Saxophone
Doors Open at 7pm
Concert at 8pm
Artist donations requested
Bearduo is a saxophone duo consisting of Garrett Frees on Tenor Saxophone and Aaron Kaufman-Levine on Alto Saxophone. They met seven years ago at Birch Creek Music Camp, and quickly became close friends. Their friendship and musical collaboration continued to grow as they both served on the Jazz Institute of Chicago’s Jazz Links student council. Bearduo's musical journey continued as they both pursued their studies at the New England Conservatory of Music, where they developed their deep musical connection playing together daily for four years.
Over the years, they have performed at prestigious venues such as the historic Jordan Hall, Lilypad Inman, MIT’s Killian Hall, Tufts University’s Granoff Music Center, the Worcester, MA radio station WICN, Fulton Street Collective, and the Music in the Garden concert series.
Bearduo brings a unique and spontaneous creation to each performance that reflects their shared musical language and deep connection. Their sound draws on the innovations of Roscoe Mitchell, Anthony Braxton, Henry Threadgill, Ornette Coleman, and Eric Dolphy. Bearduo aims to push the boundaries of the saxophone and free improvisation through the synthesis of different improvisational methodologies.
### Garrett Frees
Garrett Frees is a saxophonist, composer, clarinetist, and flutist. Throughout high school, while studying with Rich Moore and Frank Caruso, Garrett won multiple awards and scholarships in jazz including the National Youngarts award. He participated in high school programs with the Jazz Institute of Chicago. Garrett has performed at The Jazz Showcase, Andy’s Jazz Club, and the Chicago Jazz Festival of 2020, The Lilypad, Tufts’ Granoff Music Center, MIT’s Killian Hall, NEC’s Jordan Hall, and more. After graduating high school, Garrett decided to attend New England Conservatory to study with Jerry Bergonzi, Miguel Zenon, Melissa Aldana, Frank Carlberg, and Donny McCaslin. Garrett was in the NEC Jazz Honors Ensemble during his third and fourth year at New England Conservatory. Garrett has performed and worked with many amazing artists, including Cecil McBee, Dave Holland, Ran Blake, Ric Wilson, Scott Burns, and Anna Webber, among others. Garrett regularly performs with groups based in Boston and Chicago including “Bearduo”, “fakeart”, “Free Will”, and “Summer Snowfall”. He is very passionate about the creative aspect of original composition and loves diving deeper into different methods of improvisation within these compositions through various musical styles.
### Aaron Kaufman-Levine
Aaron Kaufman-Levine is a Chicago based saxophonist, composer and improviser. Aaron is an active performer in the Chicago-area, and has led his group at the Chicago Jazz Festival, Constellation, Fulton Street Collective, and more. He has also played at Chicago Symphony Hall, Pritzker Pavilion, Andy’s Jazz Club, Chicago Jazz Showcase, The LilyPad, Distler Hall (Tufts), Killian Hall (MIT) and the historic Jordan Hall (NEC). He leads the Aaron Kaufman-Levine Quartet, co-leads “Bearduo” with Garrett Frees and regularly plays as the saxophonist in the 2023 NEC Honors Ensemble “Blind Glass”
An award-winning saxophonist, Aaron has performed with the nationally acclaimed Jazz Band of America and is the recipient of he Kiewit-Wang Mentorship Award from the Jazz Institute of Chicago, 1st prize in the ILMEA state improvisation competition two years in a row, Outstanding Soloist honors at the Purdue Jazz Competition, and the runner-up in the Luminarts Cultural Foundation Improvisation competition. He is a recent graduate of New England Conservatory where he graduated with honors as a recipient of the Presidential Scholarship.
Aaron has played with Ken Vandermark, Miguel Zenon, Mehmet Ali Sanlikol, Michael Formanek, Rajiv Halim, Nanette Frank and more.
Aaron is passionate about artistic collaboration and bringing new forms of creative expression to the community, especially his hometown of Oak Park, IL where he co-runs his own interdisciplinary concert series “Music in the Garden”.
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