Performing Arts Studio

The Mitch Bell Quintet will perform at the historic Norman Depot, 200 South Jones Avenue, as part of the Performing Arts Studio Sunday Jazz at the Depot series on February 12, 2012. The show begins at 7:30 p.m.  An admission fee of $7 will be charged ($5 for seniors/students; free for 18 and under).  Refreshments will be provided.

In addition to Mitch Bell on guitar, the quintet features Lee Rucker on trumpet, Chris Hicks on alto saxophone, Garrett Jacobson on the Hammond B3, and Justin Walke on drums. According to Mark Mitchell, Chair of the Performing Arts Studio Jazz Committee, “Mitch has assembled an all-star band for this show with members well known to and liked by local jazz fans.”

A graduate of the University of Central Oklahoma’s celebrated Jazz Studies program, Mitch Bell discovered his love for the guitar at the age of ten. In the years since, Mitch has performed and recorded in numerous settings, ranging from intimate club dates to Broadway tour productions.

Mitch Bell has recorded one album, Live at The Jazz Lab (2004), with the Mitch Bell Trio. Bell’s composing combines a great respect for the century-long jazz tradition with explorations into the rhythmic, harmonic, and melodic realms of contemporary forms. The Mitch Bell Group, in its various configurations, has performed at numerous jazz festivals across the Midwest and performs regularly at a variety of venues in the Oklahoma City area.

Mitch currently serves as a faculty member at the Academy of Contemporary Music at UCO where he teaches classes in guitar performance and techniques. Mitch is also a member of the newly formed Oklahoma City Jazz Orchestra.

Lee Rucker has been teaching at UCO since 1981. Mr. Rucker has served since that time as the Director of the UCO Marching Band, Concert Band, Jazz Ensembles I, II and III, Music Theatre Pit Orchestra and many smaller jazz groups. His ensembles have been recognized with numerous awards on the state, regional and national levels for musical excellence. As a performer, he has worked with the Woody Herman Orchestra and the Louis Bellson Orchestra as a featured soloist. He has also performed with countless other nationally recognized artists throughout the U.S. and abroad.

Chris Hicks hails from Oklahoma City where he earned such honors as Musician of the year from 1989 through 1991. He plays saxophone and guitar in every style from Jazz to R&B and Country. Chris has performed live with Sara Evans, Brooks and Dunn and jazz trumpet great Chet Baker. In 1995 Chris joined Reba McEntire's band through 2000 touring the US as well as Europe, Australia, and Brazil. Currently Chris is serving as the Coordinator of Academic Operations at the ACM@UCO in Oklahoma City.

Garrett “Big G” Jacobson is well known in the Oklahoma City area both as an accomplished jazz organ player and as a dynamic blues guitarist and vocalist. He champions the Hammond B3 with generous helpings of straight-ahead and swinging jams. He has recorded four albums to date.

Justin Walke earned a Master of Jazz Performance degree from the Manhattan School of Music and currently teaches at the University of Central Oklahoma’s Academy of Contemporary Music. He has performed and recorded locally with Brian Gorrell & the Jazz Company, Michael Summers, the Heather Nelson Trio, and Cami Stinson.

Sunday Jazz at the Depot concerts are made possible in part by grants from the Norman Arts Council, the Oklahoma Arts Council,  and the National Endowment for the Arts. Additional funding comes from generous individual and business sponsors.

The Performing Arts Studio Gallery and office in the Norman Depot are open from 8:00 am to 2:00 pm, Monday through Friday. Phone 405-307-9320 for additional information about PAS programs.