Pitt Jazz Studies launching video blog hosted by Nicole Mitchell

The Pitt Jazz Studies Program is launching a new initiative: a video blog called Jazz Talk, hosted by Nicole Mitchell, director of the Jazz Studies program in the Department of Music — part of the Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences.

The series, which will feature solo performances by local jazz musicians who will be interviewed by Mitchell, will premiere at noon on April 30, International Jazz Day. To view it, visit Pitt Jazz Studies’ Facebook page.

“Featuring Pittsburgh jazz artists on an online platform will hopefully bring more outside attention to the great talent that Pittsburgh jazz has to offer,” said Mitchell. “It will also help local fans get to know the musicians more personally. I’d also like to make space for voices of artists in other disciplines whose work is informed by jazz and improvisation.”

Jazz Talk’s first installment will feature bassist Dwayne Dolphin and vocalist Anqwenique Wingfield. Dolphin was playing bass with jazz greats Geri Allen, Nathan Davis, Pete Henderson, Roger Humphries and Fred Wesley by the time he was 15. He toured with famed trumpeter Wynton Marsalis throughout the U.S. and appeared on “The Tonight Show.” Dolphin’s diverse experience has included a performance with the Pittsburgh Ballet Theater’s production of “Indigo in Motion.” He is an adjunct professor of jazz at Duquesne University.

Wingfield is a vocalist and teaching artist specializing in opera, classical, jazz and soul.  She is the founding director of Groove Aesthetic, a Pittsburgh-based multidisciplinary artist collective. Wingfield has performed such lead operatic roles as Magda Sorel in Carl Menotti’s “The Consul,” Hanna Glawari in Franz Lehar’s “The Merry Widow” and Zerlina in Mozart’s “Don Giovanni.” As the education director for the Pittsburgh Festival Opera, she oversees early childhood programs in schools and communities.

For more information, contact the Jazz Studies office at 412-624-4187 or pittjazz@pitt.edu.