YouTube Star and Jazz Trio Play Montalvo

Montalvo Arts Center continues its acclaimed Carriage House Concert Series with two musical sensations. May 17 will see a performance by one of New York's most exciting up-and-coming singer/songwriters Matt Beilis followed on May 22 with Pulitzer-Prize-winning artist Henry Threadgill, one of the premier composers, thinkers, and reedmen of this era, and his brand new powerhouse ensemble, the Threadgill-Iyer-Prieto Trio. Beilis, whose breakout piano ballad video "Perfect for Me" was featured on PeopleMagazine.com (which called it "one of the most important things on the internet"), will perform songs that combine his singer-songwriter aesthetic with electronic beats and soaring pop hooks. Composer, saxophonist, and flautist Threadgill was awarded the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Music. A quintessential free thinker who falls between the cracks of established categories like jazz, classical, or world music, his ensemble includes not one but two MacArthur "Genius" Award recipients: jazz pianist Vijay Iyer and drummer Dafnis Prieto, offering an astonishing synergy between music giants. Both concerts will be presented at Montalvo Arts Center, 15400 Montalvo Rd., Saratoga Road. For tickets (see prices below for each concert) and more information the public may visit montalvoarts.org or call (408) 961-5814.

Matt Beilis' music career took off after he set up a YouTube account, where he posted piano and voice covers. Since then Beilis has transitioned to songwriting and garnered an expansive worldwide audience, as well as writing and production credits for artists including Daddy Yankee, Secondhand Serenade, Smokey Robinson, and even legendary Wu-Tang Clan member Inspectah Deck. His music has also been featured in national film and TV spots for MasterCard, Taco Bell, MTV, VH1, Jeep, Honda, and GoPro among others.

Henry Threadgill, one of the three jazz artists who have ever won a Pulitzer Prize, is hailed for his unconventional musical concepts. As a composer and improviser, Threadgill sees the artistic process and product as inseparable. Recognizing his decades of inventive music, Threadgill has also received the 2016 Doris Duke Artist Award, 2015 Doris Duke Impact Award, 2008 United States Artist Fellowship, and 2003 Guggenheim Fellowship. He was the first black non-classical musician to receive a Copland House Residency Award, and is a Montalvo Lucas Artists Fellow.

Grammy-nominated composer-pianist Vijay Iyer was voted Downbeat's 2014 Pianist of the Year, a 2013 MacArthur Fellow, and a 2012 Doris Duke Performing Artist. He was also voted the 2010 Musician of the Year by the Jazz Journalists Association and named one of 2011's 50 Most Influential Global Indians by GQ India. Other honors also include the Greenfield Prize, the Alpert Award in the Arts, the New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship, the India Abroad Publisher's Special Award for Excellence, among many others.

The third member of the trio is Cuban drummer, composer, and educator Dafnis Prieto, whose revolutionary drumming techniques and compositions had a powerful impact on the Latin and Jazz music scene both nationally and internationally. Prieto has received various awards throughout the years, including a 2011 MacArthur Fellowship Award, Up & Coming Musician of the Year by the Jazz Journalists Association in 2006, a Grammy Award Nomination for "Absolute Quintet" as Best Latin Jazz Album, and a Latin Grammy Nomination for Best New Artist in 2007.

For nearly 60 years, Montalvo Arts Center's Carriage House Concert Series has presented world-class talent in an intimate indoor setting, becoming a treasured series for performing arts fans in Silicon Valley. Housed in the 316-seat Claire Loftus Carriage House Theatre, the series features a diverse array of artists from a variety of genres from classical to jazz to R&B, rock, and even comedy. Some nights also include the opportunity to dine at Bistro Montalvo, with a prix-fixe dinner served in the elegant historic Villa Montalvo, catered by ModernTaste ($60 per person and offered at select performances).

Montalvo Arts Center is a donor-supported nonprofit institution whose mission is to engage the public in the creative process, acting as a catalyst for exploring the arts, unleashing creativity, and advancing different cultural and cross-cultural perspectives. Located in Silicon Valley's Saratoga Hills, Montalvo occupies a Mediterranean-style Villa, built in 1912 by Senator James Duval Phelan and surrounded by 175 stunning acres. Senator Phelan bequeathed the Villa and grounds to the people of California for the encouragement of art, music, literature, and architecture, a mandate Montalvo has carried forward ever since its founding. The grounds include the campus of the Sally and Don Lucas Artists Residency Program (LAP), the Claire Loftus Carriage House Theatre, and the Lilian Fontaine Garden Theatre. For more information about Montalvo Arts Center and its programs, the public can call 408-961-5858 or visit montalvoarts.org.

Photo Courtesy: Henry Threadgill

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