Chris White Trio to perform at St. Charles Library as part of Jazz Weekend

The St. Charles Public Library will kick off its annual Sunday Concert Series at 2 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 15 at with a special performance in partnership with the 13th annual St. Charles Jazz Weekend.

The Chris White Trio of Chicago will perform jazz standards and popular songs. The trio includes pianist Chris White, bassist Mark Sonksen and guitarist Terry Bartolotta. The concert will be held in the Carnegie Community Room, located on the second floor of the library.

According to a news release from the library, Chris White has gained recognition as a leader with the albums Young at Heart and Tributaries. At home in a host of genres and settings, he has made his name as a go-to freelance pianist, arranger and accompanist in the Chicago area. His performance credits include the Chicago Jazz Festival, The Jazz Showcase, The Green Mill, Winter’s Jazz Club, Cliff Bell’s, Catalina Jazz Club, Feinstein’s/54 Below (NYC) and The Jazz Kitchen, among others.

White is an in-demand educator as well, teaching piano, theory and ensembles at Lake Forest College, North Park University and North Central College. He earned his Master’s in Jazz Studies at Indiana University’s prestigious Jacobs School of Music, studying with the late renowned educator David Baker, and went on to complete his doctorate in Jazz Performance at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He has studied piano with Barry Harris, Joanne Brackeen and Hal Galper among other greats, and performed with Miguel Zenón, Ira Sullivan, Jamey Aebersold, Oliver Nelson, Jr. and many more.

Grammy-nominated bassist, composer and educator Mark Sonksen has led a varied career path, always active as a working musician. At the age of 21, he auditioned and was accepted as a member of the double bass section of the Cedar Rapids Symphony (now Orchestra Iowa).

Jazz guitarist, composer/arranger and educator Terry Bartolotta has been teaching and performing in the Chicago area since 2006. Since starting guitar at the age of 11, he has studied with a long list of guitarists and other musicians over the years, including Fareed Haque, Bobby Broom, Art Davis, Ron Perrillo, Don Tisch, Jim McPhedran and Tom Matta.

The St. Charles Public Library is located at One S. 6th Ave. in St. Charles. For more information, visit www.scpld.org or call 630-584-0076.