Jazz At The Peak: Messengers Tribute

Join us for the final Jazz At The Peak: Messengers Tribute, Saturday, March 11th at 5:00PM. Peter Schmeeckle presents his new quintet featuring Daniel Ian Smith, Edsel Gomez, Connor Young, and Jeremy Hill in a tribute to the music of the legendary Jazz Messengers. This series is an intimate, apres alternative you won’t want to miss! 

About the Artists 

Daniel Ian Smith has been an instructor at Berklee School of Music for over 25 years, he is in demand as a clinician, guest soloist, and lecturer with appearances throughout the United States, Japan, Germany, Canada, Mexico, Israel and England.    Daniels’ groups ‘The New World Jazz Composers Octet’, and ‘The Latin Side of Billy Strayhorn’ have been featured at festivals and halls locally and internationally.  Recently he has been featured on acclaimed recordings with Fernando Brandao, The Pablo Ablanedo Octet, The Jazz Composers Alliance Orchestra, and Brian McCarthy and the Better Angels of Our Nature.

Edsel Gomez was born in Puerto Rico and has been based out of Manhattan for the past twenty years, supporting everyone from Dee Dee Bridgewater, Don Byron and Jack DeJohnette on world tours and International Jazz Festivals. He has arranged and played piano on Grammy winning albums by David Sanchez, Eddie Palmieri and Brian Lynch, and also has many albums under his belt as a band leader.

Connor Young is one of Vermont’s brightest up & coming jazz trumpeters, based out of Burlington, VT. Connor keeps a busy schedule playing with the Alex Stewart Quintet, Jake Whitesells’ Cannonball Adderly Project, Saturn People, Guagua, George Petits’ CFI and others. He is one of the busiest players on the Vermont jazz scene today. Connor attended McGill University in Montreal and teaches music in Middlebury.

Jeremy Hill is based in Waterbury, VT and can be seen regularly playing with Ray Vega, the Alex Stewart Quintet, and Bruce Sklar.  He has recorded with the Vermont Jazz Trio and the upcoming album by saxophonist Marty Fogel & Tom Cleary.  He is returning to Spruce Peak Arts after supporting the Brian McCarthy Big Band in 2022 and is one of the hardest working bassists on the scene.

Peter Schmeeckle grew up in Barre, Seattle, and Los Angeles.  Since 2015 he has called Stowe home, teaching multiple instruments out of Stowe Music Center.  Peter founded the Vermont Jazz Trio in 2020, and during the pandemic booked more gigs than any other Vermont musician, helping to keep the scene alive in the darkest of times.  Peter studied with Marc Seales and Gary Hobbs at the University of Washington in Seattle and reignites his Quintet with this tribute to Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers.  

Jazz at the Peak is made possible in part to the generous support of event sponsor (McSoley McCoy & Co) and lodging sponsor (Edson Hill): 

and by the generous support of the 2022-23 Spruce Peak Arts Season Sponsors:

		Joy and Tom Cronin	Edward Jones / Caren Merson
Deborah and Ron Feinstein		The Merson Family	Neil Stempel & Family
		The Stires-Stark Family Foundation