Jampact, SMU Meadows School of the Arts’ multicultural faculty jazz quintet, performs at 8 p.m. Thursday, May 3 at the Latino Cultural Center, 2600 Live Oak Street. Founded in 2007, Jampact is an eclectic and innovative electro-acoustic band dedicated to an improvisational mix of jazz, funk and world music.
The group includes Meadows School Dean José Antonio Bowen (piano), Buddy Mohmed (bass), and faculty members Kim Corbet (trombone and synthesizer), Jamal Mohamed (percussion) and Akira Sato (trumpet). All are veteran musicians whose individual careers have included performances with many of the most famous names in jazz, including Ella Fitzgerald, Dizzy Gillespie, Stan Getz and the Duke Ellington Orchestra, as well as Diana Ross, Sting, Liberace, Glenn Campbell and many others.
The concert is being presented in conjunction with American Sabor: Latinos in U.S. Popular Music, a traveling exhibition from the Smithsonian Institution on view at the Latino Cultural Center through June 17. The free exhibition presents the musical contributions of U.S. Latinos from the 1940s to the present, exploring the social history and individual creativity that produced stars like Tito Puente, Ritchie Valens, Celia Cruz, Carlos Santana and Selena.
“We are looking forward to our first performance at the LCC in the renovated theater,” said Bowen. “Be prepared to be surprised!”
About The Performers
José Antonio Bowen (piano), Dean of the Meadows School of the Arts, is an acclaimed jazz musician, scholar, composer, and educator. In over 30 years as a jazz performer, he has appeared in Europe, Africa, the Middle East and the Americas with Stan Getz, Dizzy Gillespie, Bobby McFerrin, Dave Brubeck, Liberace, and many others.
Kim Corbet (trombone/synthesizer) had his first professional gig with Isaac Hayes the year Shaft made him a star. He teaches jazz and rock history courses at SMU as well as a new class, POINT, offered as a creative outlet open to all SMU students, with a goal of inspiring non-art students to make art part of their daily activities.
Jamal Mohamed (percussion) has been a featured artist in many international music events, including concerts in Hong Kong, Indonesia, Egypt, Korea, and throughout Europe and the United States. Jamal is currently percussion instructor and director of the World Music Ensemble at SMU’s Meadows School of the Arts. He endorses Toca percussion and Sabian cymbals.
Buddy Mohmed (bass) attended UT-Arlington, where he was named “Outstanding Jazz Musician,” and UNT, where he was a member of the One O’Clock Lab Band. He won a position with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra in the bass section and continued to gig around Texas on bass and guitar. In 2002 Buddy was named Artist in Residence for the city of Dallas. He has performed as a bassist and guitarist with some of the great musicians of our time, including the Duke Ellington Orchestra, Billy Preston, David “Fathead” Newman, Phyllis Hyman and many others.
Akira Sato (trumpet) is a trumpet player, composer/arranger and educator. Born in Tokyo, Japan, Sato grew up in Vancouver, B.C., Canada. Currently, Sato is a faculty member at both SMU, where he directs the Meadows Jazz Orchestra and teaches jazz improvisation, and UNT, where he teaches jazz arranging courses. He maintains an active freelance schedule performing trumpet and electric bass in the DFW area.