Thursday, November 14, 2019, 7:30 pm
Bowker Auditorium

Born in Santiago, Chile, Melissa Aldana began playing the saxophone when she was six with the help and influence of her father. She attended the Berklee School of Music and studied under George Coleman in New York before, at age 24, she was the first female musician and the first South American musician to win the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Saxophone Competition. Reporting on her win, the Washington Post described Aldana as representing "a new sense of possibility and direction in jazz.” As our Billy Taylor Jazz residency artist for 2019-20, Aldana will spend three days in Western Massachusetts connecting with students and communities to share her music and stories.

Pre-performance talk in the auditorium at 6:30 p.m. by Peter Sokolowski, host Jazz ala Mode on New England Public Radio

$35, $20; Five College Students and Youth 17 & Under: $10