Faculty Andrew McWain

Jazz pianist-composer Andy McWain has performed and/or recorded with such artists as Joe Giardullo, Karl Berger, Assif Tsahar, Tiger Okoshi, Santi Debriano, Brian Melvin, Daniel Levin, Tatsuya Nakatani, John Dirac, Jorrit Dijkstra, Hafez Modirzadeh, Albey Balgochian, Laurence Cook, Dino Govoni, Luther Gray, Jim Robitaille, Brooke Sofferman, Bruno Raberg, Reuben Radding, Dennis Warren's Full Metal Revolutionary Jazz Ensemble, the Artie Shaw Orchestra (led by Dick Johnson), and the Zen Bastards, among others.

Andy McWain received his B.M. (theory-composition) from University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth and his M.M. (composition) from the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston. McWain has also attended the Aspen Music School (CO), and participated in fellowships, residencies, and additional training at the Atlantic Center for the Arts (FL) [with Butch Morris], Kurszentrum Langnau im Emmantal (SWI), the Akiyoshidai International Art Village (Japan), the Wellesley Composers Conference (MA), June in Buffalo (NY), Music '98 Festival-Workshop (OH), and Yaddo (NY). His honors and awards include those from the American Music Center, Meet the Composer/New England, the American Composers Forum/Boston Chapter, the Sotiroes Vlahopoulos Competition, Britten-on-the-Bay Composers Competition, the Massachusetts Cultural Council, and the Helen E. Ellis Trust. McWain studied improvisation principally with Charlie Banacos and Anders Boström, and composition with Lee Hyla, Michael Gandolfi, and Zhou Long.

McWain served as resident composer (1997-98, 2000) to the New Bedford Symphony Orchestra, writing a number of works including Symphony of Just Words, commissioned by the NBSO, a local arts consortium, and the AT&T Foundation. In addition to teaching jazz theory, jazz history and ensembles at UMass Dartmouth, McWain is the jazz vocal accompanist in Marcelle Gauvin's studio.

McWain also founded and produces the Audible Think Improvised Music Series in New Bedford, Massachusetts. Recent gigs include performing in a jazz quintet house band (Jan-Apr 06) at the club Number Five in Shanghai, China; and performances at the International Society for Improvised Music Conference in Ann Arbor, MI, the Pixelerations v.4/First Works Providence Festival '07, and the Lily Pad Annual Piano Fest in Cambridge, MA. more info at: www.andymcwain.com

DISCOGRAPHY:

Andy McWain Quartet: STARFISH [Fuller Street Music 8854, (2002)]
McWain/Balgochian/Cook: VIGIL [Fuller Street Music 2166, (2005)]
Andy McWain Ensemble: RESEMBLANCE
Andy McWain Ensemble: LIVE AT AUDIBLE THINK

Joe Giardullo's G2 Large Ensemble (tba)
Kevin Frenette 4: CONNECTIONS [Fuller Street Music 1781, (2007)]
Marcus Monteiro: MM4 [Whaling City Sound, 2006]
Zen Bastards & Friends: At Sea (2006)
Michael Hicks: Unison (Om Mani Music-JZ, 2007)
Shipyard Wreck: Reflect & Shine [Whaling City Sound, 2005]
John Dirac & Andy McWain: Prism/Resemblance (2005)
Albey Balgochian - Albey's Outrio: Color Monday (Abop TV, 2004]
Darkfeather: Freedom Flight EP (Waters Bros. Music)
Dennis Warren: 8404 Jam [fmrje factory cd, 2004]
Albey's Bandwidth Xtra: Breakage (dvd, cd-r, 2004)
John Dirac Group: Red Hawk Will Fly (Independent, 2004)
Hilary Noble: Noble Savage (2002)