The 2023-24 Fine Arts Series at SUNY Brockport kicks off on Friday, September 8, at 7:30 p.m. with John Viavattine and Friends. According to saxophonist Viavattine, the audience can “expect to hear classic jazz standards, as well as some pop, funk, and Latin grooves.” The concert will take place at the Tower Fine Arts Center, 180 Holley Street, Brockport. Ticket prices are $17/general, $12/senior citizens, Brockport alumni, faculty, and staff, and $9/students, and are available online now at http://www.fineartstix.brockport.edu. The physical Tower Box Office will reopen on Monday, August 28, when tickets will also be able to be purchased by phone at 585-395-2787, or in person.
Still relaxing into his retirement, Viavattine spent nearly 30 years teaching in the Rochester area, 22 of them in Spencerport. Now that he is not teaching every day, he has more time to travel the world with The Mambo Kings, the Afro-Cuban rhythm ensemble he has been a member of for years. Joining him for the Brockport concert will be bassist Sheldon Tripi, drummer Brian King, and pianist – and Mambo Kings cohort – Richard Delaney. There may be one or two special guests, as well, when former students join their musical mentor on stage.
Viavattine is proud of all of his students, many of whom have continued to play music “be it in pop bands, their church, community orchestras or in professional environments.” Even those students who have embarked on professional music careers have done so at opposite ends of the spectrum: one is “performing and touring with Machine Gun Kelly… and one is currently working at the prestigious Juilliard School in New York City.” As proud as he is of those students, he is equally as proud of the rest of his students, all of whom have become “successful and productive human beings… especially those who are positively contributing to society as teachers, doctors, lawyers, and other noble professions.”
Along with The Mambo Kings, Viavattine has toured or played for artists or ensembles as diverse as The Glenn Miller Orchestra, Chuck and Gap Mangione, Aretha Franklin, Vic Damone, and Lou Rawls. However, the one artist who exceeded his expectations was Ray Charles. While playing for one of the legend’s concerts, all the while being his consummate professional self, Viavattine recalls how Charles took a moment to personally compliment him, saying that he “loved how I played.”
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