Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg will proclaim November CUNY Month at a Gracie Mansion reception Thursday, November 6, at 5:30 p.m. The event will kick-off a month that will include more than 500 special public activities at The City University of New York’s 19 campuses including open houses, lectures, performances and concerts. Other distinguished speakers will include Chairman of the CUNY Board of Trustees Benno C. Schmidt, Jr. and Chancellor Matthew Goldstein.

Place:
Gracie Mansion, East End Ave. at 88th Street

Time:
Thursday, November 6, 2003, 5:30 p.m.

Providing entertainment at the event will be the College of Staten Island Jazztet. The CSI Jazztet, known for its provocative music outreach program with city high schools, features tenor saxophonist Martin Bough, guitarist Joe Maniscalco, drummer Frank Cavallo, and bassist/ leader Dominick Tancredi. Mr. Maniscalco, Cavallo, and Tancredi are CSI alumni.

In homage to this quintessentially American art form, these four musicians seamlessly weave together the sounds of their respective instruments into a rich musical tapestry, full of color and movement.

The group has been playing the Staten Island and New Jersey area cafe’s and coffee houses since the summer of this year.

The main objective of the CSI Jazztet, and reason for its inception, is to bring Jazz to the music programs of Staten Island’s high schools and middle schools. The seminars demonstrate the complexity of events that create the jazz aesthetic, and it is an understanding of these events that will increase the students’ appreciation for this American art form, and hopefully inspire its continued practice.

Future engagements of the CSI Jazztet include Curtis High School on Monday, November 15, 2003, as well as New Dorp and Tottenville High Schools and the Petrides School, all on Staten Island.

EDITOR’S NOTE: For more information contact Ken Bach at 718-982-2328.