FREE Courtroom Concert: Ora Itkin, piano and Friends

Program: “Momentos”
Steve Cole, saxophone
Laura Sewell, cello
Jared Waln, guitar
Ora Itkin, piano

Russia-born pianist Ora Itkin began her piano studies at age four under the guidance of her father, Igor Itkin, who became known as one of the pioneers of subversive Russian jazz. She is a graduate of the Russian Academy of Music, Moscow, Russia; Tel-Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel; and Rubin Academy of Music at Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel. In her musicianship she follows the legacy of her teachers who belong to the lineage of the legendary Heinrich Neuhaus school of piano playing.

An active concert pianist and chamber musician, she performs in some of the major venues across the Twin Cities as well as internationally in Eastern and Central Europe, the Middle East and the Caribbean. Ms. Itkin is a faculty member at both the Music Department of University of St. Thomas and MacPhail Center for Music. She also a founder of Reprise School of Piano and Musicianship in Saint Paul, Minnesota and an artistic director of a multi-disciplinary music series entitled Muse Salon, with successful programs since 2009 at The Schubert Club, the Weisman Art Museum, the University of Minnesota and the Alliance Française. For years Ms. Itkin was serving as the curator of a multilingual festival entitled Worlds between Words at the University of Minnesota.

As an educator and a life-long advocate of a holistic approach to learning, Ms. Itkin seeks to promote an interconnectedness of music with the arts, humanities, and sciences in everything she does, especially in her original multimedia productions ArtAffects, cultural ambassadorship initiatives, interdisciplinary seminars and presentations, and individual work with students of all ages.

Saxophonist Steve Cole is one of the most celebrated players in contemporary jazz.  The Chicago native exploded onto the scene in 1998 with the album “Stay Awhile” that was produced by fellow Chicagoan Brian Culbertson. The disc scored multiple #1 hits and earned Cole the Oasis Smooth Jazz Award for best new artist shortly before his sophomore set, “Between Us,” was released in 2000. His catchy singles made him an instant radio favorite and he cranked them out with regularity on subsequent albums “NY LA” (2003), “Spin” (2005), “True” (2006), “Moonlight” (2009), “True” (2013), “Turn It Up” (2016), “Gratitude” (2019) , and his newest release “Without A Doubt” (2023)

Cole grew up on a diet of bebop blended with pop radio hits, and honed his skills on the diverse 1990s Chicago music scene, where he was called on to play everything from jazz to funk to gospel to rock to R&B and soul.  All of those experiences come into play on Cole’s exhilarating new album, Without a Doubt. His first outing with producer and songwriter partner Adam Hawley, the album finds Cole taking the opportunity of this fresh start to approach his music with the open mind of a beginner and the confidence of a veteran at the top of his game.

The album is chock full of memorable melodies that could be easily retooled as hits for the likes of the Commodores or Earth, Wind & Fire. In a sense, that brings Cole full circle to some of his earliest musical experiences.

“That’s how I learned to play,” he recalls. “When I was just starting out as a kid, I would turn on pop radio and play along, adding sax solos to songs that didn’t have them. I still connect with that music on a fundamental level, and I hope that comes through on every record that I make. Without a Doubt  is no exception – it’s part of a continuing exploration into how I can continue the lineage of music that I’ve always connected with and create new and interesting variations based on my experience.”

That experience evolved with Cole’s love of pop music paralleled by his study of bebop greats like Cannonball Adderley and, later, the soul jazz of Stanley Turrentine.

Perhaps one of the greatest lessons that Cole could teach up-and-coming musicians is to remain open to new influences and experiences. That perspective has certainly served him well on Without a Doubt through his first-time collaboration with Adam Hawley. A gifted guitarist discovered by Maurice White of Earth, Wind & Fire, Hawley had crossed paths with Cole in a sideman role as his career was in its rapid ascendancy. He’s since gone on to top the Billboard charts 13 times as both an artist and producer, working with the likes of Kim Scott, Dave Koz and Brian Simpson.

Cole and Hawley co-wrote all ten tracks on Without a Doubt, most of them originating with Cole in what the saxophonist calls an unprecedented burst of creativity. “I went through a very prolific period where I came up with lots of really good ideas, but nothing was fully formed. I really liked the music that Adam was putting out, so I thought it would be fun to work with him. So I sent him my fragments and the ideas he sent back elevated them even more than I could have imagined. The whole process was a series of pleasant surprises.”

Hawley also assembled the core band for the album, including bassist Mel Brown, drummer Eric Valentine and additional synth player Carnell Harrell, with Hawley serving as jack of all trades on synths, guitar, strings, organ, Fender Rhodes, programming and more. Caleb Middleton guests on Rhodes, synths, keyboard bass and programming on several tracks, with Trevor Neumann’s trumpet gracing a pair of cuts. Cole’s longtime producer David Mann also returns, adding horn arrangements and reeds to “C’mon Y’all” and “One, Two!”

Invigorating and groove-filled, funky and fun, soulful and smooth, rollicking and sweet – Steve Cole’s latest goes down smooth but is jam-packed with indelible hooks and rhythms that will propel listeners from their seat. It’s clear that Cole felt free to let his passions run rampant with nothing to prove – Without a Doubt.

In addition to his work as solo artist, Steve has performed/recorded, with Junior Wells, Buddy Guy, Boz Scaggs, Larry Carlton, Jeff Lorber, Jim Peterik, Freddie Cole, Cyrus Chestnut, and KMFDM, and has been a featured soloist with the City of Prague Orchestra, and The Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Steve is also a founding member of The Sax Pack, a stellar sax trio completed by Kim Waters and Jeff Kashiwa.

When he’s not on the road, Dr. Cole teaches music industry entrepreneurship at the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota where he is a Clinical Professor and Teaching Fellow.

Laura Sewell enjoys an active and varied musical career and has distinguished herself as a highly respected chamber musician. She was the founding cellist of the award-winning Lark Quartet which, during her tenure, won the Bronze Medal at the Banff International String Quartet Competition and served as the Juilliard String Quartet’s teaching assistants at the Juilliard School. Two decades later, she was the cellist of the acclaimed Artaria String Quartet from 2007 to 2016. She plays as a substitute cellist with the Minnesota Orchestra and performs with the Twin Cities-based Isles Ensemble.

Sewell is the recipient of a 2020 Artist Initiative Grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board to record a CD of works for cello and piano by composers Stephen Paulus, Paul Schoenfield and David Evan Thomas. She received her bachelor’s degree from the Juilliard School, where she was a student of Leonard Rose, and her master’s degree from the Cleveland Institute of Music, where she studied with Alan Harris. At the age of 17, she had the opportunity to study with legendary cellist Jacqueline du Pré.

Jared Waln is an award-winning classical guitarist and music educator in the Twin Cities. Receiving his master’s degree in music education at the University of St. Thomas, Jared is the director of the award-winning guitar program at Southwest High School, and director of guitar and music professor at the University of St. Thomas. His career is primarily in music education, however as a union musician he performs with the Minnesota Opera, South Dakota Symphony Orchestra, Lakes Area Music Festival, Sioux City Symphony, Chanhassen Dinner Theater, The Orpheum, and additional musical theaters all around the Twin Cities. Jared was recently involved in a recording project with 10-time Grammy winner Blanton Alspaugh and SoundMirror performing the music of Kyle Pederson with Transept. Jared also recently performed a world premiere guitar concerto, Unfretted, composed by James Stephenson and performed with the Grand Symphonic Winds. Jared was an original teaching artist for the Guitar in Our Schools program with MGS, teaching an adaptive guitar program for special education students at White Bear Lake High School. He has previously performed for the MGS Classical Guitarathon in 2019, 2023, and 2024. Jared is also a council member of the National Association of Music Education, NAfME, and represents the North Division for guitar education. When Jared is not teaching or giving concerts, he loves to travel with his wife, try new restaurants, go hiking and trail running, and spend time with their cat George and cockatiel Emery.