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03/25 Wednesday
6:00 PM Open Vinyasa Yoga
10:00 PM Ben Stepner trio, The Rafiq Bhatia Collective
10 PM: Ben Stepner Trio
11PM: The Rafiq Bhatia Collective
A 20-year-old student at the New England Conservatory, Ben Stepner began learning piano at age 6, began jazz and composition at 8, and has since picked up drums, guitar, and electronic music. In 2007, he started his own record label, Pure Potentiality Records. Ben has performed at venues around Boston including the Berklee Performance Center, the Museum of Fine Arts, and the Regattabar, and the International Jazz Educators Conference in New York City. Ben has toured South Africa twice with the Milton Academy Jazz Combos, performing in both townships and major cities. Ben has studied improvisation and composition with Anthony Coleman, Kyle Aho, Ran Blake, and Danilo Perez. In 2004 and 2006, Ben won Superior Musicianship Awards at the Berklee College of Music's Annual High School Jazz Festival. Ben teaches piano lessons and hopes to become a professional teacher.
Rafiq Bhatia is a 21-year old East-African Indian American guitarist/composer seeking to synthesize a genre-bending musical lexicon informed by the traditions of his transmigratory heritage.
A first-generation American, Bhatia is currently completing an interdisciplinary honors degree in economics and cognitive science at Oberlin College. He is also associated with the world-renowned Oberlin Conservatory, where his concept quickly caught the attention of prolific drummer Billy Hart. Besides apprenticing under Hart and Cleveland-based drummer Paul Samuels (Greg Osby), Bhatia is the artist-in-residence at The Feve, an Oberlin mainstay, where his group has attracted a loyal fan-base and critical acclaim for their weekly performances. He also frequently returns to New York, performing with the Rafiq Bhatia Collective and studying with Downbeat magazine's "Rising Star Jazz Pianist/Composer" Vijay Iyer.
"A contemporary mind with the true potential of the future, Rafiq Bhatia is definitely an artist to look forward to hearing."
—Billy Hart, legendary jazz drummer