Sara Caswell "is a brilliant world-class violinist — one of the very best of the present generation of emerging young jazz stars" according to David Baker, internationally-renowned jazz educator and Director of the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra. Rooted in an early exposure to a variety of musical genres, Sara's technical facility on the violin intertwined with her gift for lyricism continues to attract growing attention to her artistry as a jazz soloist, sideman, and teacher.
Recognized as a "Rising Star" in both the 2013 and 2014 DownBeat Magazine Critics and Readers Polls and as one of the top jazz violinists in both the 2011 and 2012 JazzTimes Readers' Poll, Sara's two groups (the Sara Caswell Quartet and the Caswell Sisters Quintet) have been heard in venues ranging from Jazz at Lincoln Center's Dizzy's Club to college & university concert halls nationwide. In 2013, Sara and her sister, vocalist Rachel Caswell, released a new CD, Alive in the Singing Air featuring acclaimed jazz pianist Fred Hersch, which has garnered numerous rave reviews and was selected by jazz critic Thomas Cunniffe as one of the "Best Vocal CDs" for 2013 on Jazz History Online. Sara's two solo CDs, First Song (Double-Time Records, 2000) and But Beautiful (Arbors Records, 2005), have had international airplay and received such accolades as But Beautiful's inclusion among the top jazz albums for 2005 in both Coda Magazine and Jazz Education Journal, and a#1 ranking on nationally-syndicated jazz radio host Bob Parlocha's list of "Top 40 New Releases."
A graduate of Indiana University, which she attended under full scholarship as a Wells Scholar, Sara received B.M. Degrees with High Distinction and an Artist Diploma in both Violin Performance and Jazz Studies. In 2006 Sara completed her M.M. Degree in Jazz Violin at the Manhattan School of Music. Amongst her numerous stellar teachers, Sara studied several years with the legendary Josef Gingold (classical), Stanley Ritchie (baroque), and David Baker (jazz). She has also worked with many of today's top jazz artists at the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Summer Residency Program and at the Steans Institute for Young Artists at the Ravinia Jazz Festival. Sara's 100+ music honors include several DownBeat Awards, top awards at 16 jazz festivals during her high school years, and a front-line position in the inaugural Sisters in Jazz Collegiate Competition Quintet.
Sara's artistry and unique sound lead international recording artist/violinist Mark O'Connor to write: "Most good violinists will never experience what Sara creates with her instrument. It is beautifully refined emotion that lifts the spiritJazz violin needs a universal ambassadora player who can pick up where the last generation left off. Sara Caswell is well on her way to extending that tradition to touch new audiences."
Cost: $18 online $25 @ the door