Sam Butler - Visions Jazz Ensemble $25

About this event

TICKET LINK | https://www.eventbrite.com/e/sam-butler-visions-jazz-ensemble-tickets-2002799739936?aff=oddtdtcreator BlueStem Jazz Visions Jazz Ensemble Bio: Since its founding in 2023, the Visions Jazz Ensemble—led by Indiana University alumni Sam Butler and Garrett Fasig—has been dedicated to delivering fresh, modern interpretations of both original compositions and timeless jazz standards. Their debut release, Across The Field (Patois Records), garnered critical acclaim, earning a feature in DownBeat Magazine and worldwide radio play for its inventive jazz arrangements of college fight songs, and collaboration with esteemed trombonist Wycliffe Gordon. Their sophomore album, Of The People, featuring Ella Fitzgerald Jazz Vocal Competition winner and Downbeat Rising Star Vocalist April Varner released in July of 2026 to critical acclaim and worldwide radio play. Performances bring a vibrant and joyful energy, featuring original music from the ensemble as well as arrangements of unique songs from across the canon of jazz music. Sam, the 2023 International Trumpet Guild Jazz Solo Competition winner, and Garrett, whose compositions have been showcased by the New York Youth Symphony and renowned vocalist Brianna Thomas, push the envelope with every performance, blending creativity, artistry, and positivity in their music. Sam Butler is a professional jazz trumpet player, composer, arranger and educator based in Indianapolis, IN. He has performed all around the Midwest with various ensembles including the Buselli-Wallarab Jazz Orchestra, Sean Dobbins and the Modern Jazz Messengers, Sammy Miller and The Congregation, and his own Visions Jazz Ensemble, which he co-leads with saxophonist Garett Fasig. As the winner of the 2023 International Trumpet Guild Jazz Solo Competition and with his second album “Across The Field” out in October of 2024 with positive reviews, including a 3-star DownBeat review, Sam has “an abundance of jazz success coming his way.” (Debbie Burke) He is immersed in the blending of musical styles including rock, classical music, folk, and jazz, and is creating a unique voice as he enters the modern jazz scene. Sam began work as a jazz education curriculum developer, transcriber, arranger, and composer with Playbook Music in July of 2023. He was also an Associate Instructor in the Jazz Department of the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University while completing his master’s degree in Jazz Studies. Following the release of his debut album “Folklore” in May of 2023, Sam toured with his Folklore Sextet in the summer of 2023 at venues all around the Midwest, including Cliff Bell’s in Detroit, the Jazz Kitchen in Indianapolis, and Fulton Street Collective in Chicago. Sam quickly flourished as a performer, composer and arranger after beginning his academic career at the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University in 2018. He was named a semi- finalist in the Jazz Division of the 2019 and 2020 National Trumpet Competition, and performed with the Plummer Jazz Sextet, a select group of musicians that writes original music, plays shows around the Midwest, and records. Sam has also recorded and performed a dozen of his own large ensemble compositions and arrangements with ensembles at IU, and during his undergraduate tenure, recorded an EP of all original compositions with his sextet “Spoken Thoughts,” which was released in early 2022. Sam completed his undergraduate studies in 2022, and accepted an Associate Instructor position in the jazz department to earn his master’s degree. Garrett Fasig i s an emerging composer and saxophonist originally from Defiance, Ohio. In his short career thus far, Garrett has written several original jazz ensemble compositions that have been recorded by the Brent Wallarab Jazz Ensemble, a full program of music for jazz sextet and string quartet and has been commissioned for both jazz ensemble and orchestral works by the New York Youth Symphony and Brianna Thomas, respectively. He has also learned and performed alongside world-class musicians Walter Smith III, Steve Houghton Dayna Stephens, and Greg Ward. The first eleven years of Garrett’s musical journey were devoted to his development on the saxophone. This led him to the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University where he would go on to complete both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in jazz studies. While spending most of his time studying saxophone. This changed in early 2020 when a neurological disorder, dystonia, would prevent him from spending long amounts of time playing. Garrett turned his focus towards composition, and by the next year was awarded the David N. Baker Jazz Composition Scholarship from BMI.

Venue

North Street Cabaret

Madison, WI

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