"Music Under the Influence"
Kristin Garson - Violin & Electric Violin
Ron Thomas - Keyboards
Glenn Ferracone - Drums
Richard Burton - Keyboards
Ray Ferretti - Guitar
Paul Klinefelter - Bass
Recorded and Mastered by Glenn Ferracone at
The Music Centre, Exton, PA
Produced by Richard Burton
Violinist Kristin Garson adds her unique artistry to the music of Richard Burton, Ron Thomas and Ray Ferretti. This instrumental music is a fusion of a wide range styles. Call it jazz in the modern tradition of Jean Luc Ponty, Frank Zappa, John McLaughlin, Chick Corea, Keith Jarrett, Miles Davis, Wayne Shorter, Joe Zawinul, George Duke, Jaco Pastorius, Herbie Hancock, Mark O'Connor, Scott Henderson and Bill Evans. Kristin comes to this music with extensive classical training. She has B.M. from the Eastman School of Music and M.M. from the Manhattan School of Music in Violin performance. She has performed with Delaware Symphony and Harrisburg Symphony. She has worked with Richard Burton in a duo playing both original compositions, jazz standards and classical music. Also, she teaches violin and piano privately.
Ron Thomas has a long association with the experimental musical tradition both as both a Classical Composer and a Jazz pianist. In 1972, Ron recorded with Pat Martino, (Live!)and with saxophonist
Eric Kloss (One, Two,Free). Ron can be heard on other Vectordisc recordings as a leader (Scenes from a Voyage to Arcturus,The House of Counted Days, 17 Solo Piano Improvisations and Cycles). Also, he can
be heard as sideman on Richard Burton's Simple Major/Simple Minor and The Mike Falcone Quartet's Playing Live.
Go to www.ronthomasmusic.com, www.vectordisc.com & www.richardburtonmusic.com for more information.
Ms. Garson received her Bachelor's Degree at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY, and Master's Degree at the Manhattan School of Music in New York City. Both of these are widely recognized as among the five best music schools in the nation. Ms. Garson has performed widely with major symphony orchestras, and has taught for over 15 years.
Ms. Garson started piano at age eight and violin at age ten. She attended and received a full scholarship to the National Academy of the Arts in Champaign, Il, for her high school education.
Her piano lineage traces back to Rudolph Ganz, concert pianist. Ms. Garson’s teacher, Arne Sorensen, studied extensively with Mr. Ganz, who also was the original conductor of the St. Louis Symphony and introduced Ravel and Debussy to this country. She also studied piano with Clara Rolland who studied at the Liszt Academy in Hungary.
Ms. Garson uses traditional methods to teach the piano, including a program called “Keyboard Gymnastics,” which helps the student become a more well-rounded musician, not just a pianist. Currently she is further updating her piano teaching skills by entering into a 3-year program with N. Jane Tan. It is a curriculum called “Masterful Teaching.” The goal is to get the student to play at a pretty advanced level within five years. N. Jane Tan studied with Leon Fleischer, one of America’s greatest concert pianists and conductors living today.
Her violin lineage traces back to Ivan Galamian, who taught many great violin concert artists including Itzhak Perlman. Ms. Garson studied violin with well-known pedagogue Paul Rolland, Donald Weilerstein of the former Cleveland Quartet, and Burton Kaplan of the Manhattan School. Ms Garson has done many solo and orchestral performances throughout the Midwest and East Coast. She also combines Suzuki and traditional teaching methods on the violin.
Ms. Garson’s recordings include an album of original jazz/fusion music called ”Music Under the Influence.” She currently performs in a Latin group, RIO. For both endeavors, she uses a 5-string violin.
Ms. Garson has been actively teaching violin and piano since 1993.
