ArtWeek: Unplugged

Unplugged in the MAC Gallery
Paul Del Nero & Matt Richard

Friday, May 15
First Seating: 7:00pm
Second Seating: 8:30pm

Tickets for one seating (approx. 1 hour per set)
$15 MAC members | $20 nonmembers
Limited tickets! 24 people per seating – advanced reservations strongly recommended

Want early access to tickets? Join as a member here!

Join us upstairs in the MAC’s Patsy Francis Gallery for an evening of unplugged music featuring Paul Del Nero and Matt Richard!

There will be two separate performances during the night, and each set will last about an hour. Find a spot at a cabaret table to listen to a mix of jazz standards and original compositions by both artists. Guests will enjoy a refreshing setting at this “unplugged” performance featuring mainly acoustic sound, without the volume and density often experienced during larger concerts in the MAC Theater.

Additional Information
Accessibility: There are three small steps plus a raised threshold to enter the Marion Art Center. This event is located in the second floor gallery space, which can only be accessed by a stairway.
Audience: Performances are recommended for a general audience.

.

Paul Del Nero, Bass
Paul Del Nero (Bass), born in Newport, RI began his musical journey at the age of twelve. Starting out on organ and trombone, he settled into electric and acoustic bass while attending Berklee College of Music. Acoustic bass quickly became his principle instrument, and for nearly five decades Paul has performed with many of the legends of jazz both here and abroad. He is a former artist-in-residence at the Banff Centre and is also a USIA grant recipient as a cultural specialist where he ran a series of jazz workshops and master classes on theory and performance in Bogota Columbia. For over 25 years Paul had been the regular choice of jazz blues legend, Mose Allison for his performances in the Northeast US. Together they played countless jazz venues and festivals which remain as Paul’s favorite gigs to date. Paul served on the faculty of Berklee College of Music for 28 years, where he taught across the Performance Division and specialized in the music of Charles Mingus. Recently retired as a full professor, Paul continues as a freelance bassist and composer while living in Bristol, RI, where he’s often found in The Shed.

Matt Richard, Piano
Matt Richard (jazz musician/accompanist/composer/arranger) has appeared on the Marion Art Center Jazz Unplugged series since 2023 with Donn Legge, Dave Zinno, Daniel Ian Smith, Mike Rocha, and Dino Govoni. Matt studied classical piano with the Ken Manzer and jazz piano with Dr. Billy Taylor. A native of Fairhaven and a graduate of Westfield State College with a degree in piano performance, Matt taught choral music and music theory at both Fairhaven High School and Tabor Academy, and was an accompanist for the Jazz In July Workshops at UMASS/Amherst from 1986-2006. Matt arranges a variety of music for the Buttonwood Brass Trio, the Southcoast Brass Band, and the Buzzard’s Bay Jazz Ensemble.

Matt has performed throughout the New England area for the past forty years as a soloist and accompanist with many different ensembles and musicians including Sheila Jordan, Dick Johnson and The Artie Shaw Orchestra, and Bombay Jim Porcella and The Swingin’ Sapphires.  Matt played solo piano at The Roadhouse Cafe in Hyannis, Massachusetts from 1997-2008 as well as joining Lou Colombo and Dick Johnson on the famous Monday Night Jazz Series beginning from 2002-2008.

Self-Produced jazz recording projects include Hawthorne Street Connection, Talking To Myself, OFF SEASON with Gary Johnson and Dave Zinno, The Art of the Duo with Jim Robitaille, Opening the American Songbook with Marcelle Gauvin, In The Sky with Rick Britto, The Music of Rick Britto (a posthumous tribute), The Jazz Club with Greg Conway and Jerry Wilfong, All The Colors with Chris Poudrier and Dave Zinno, and a supporting role on guitarist Jim Robitaille’s To Music featuring saxophonist Dave Liebman. Matt lives in Fairhaven with his wife Kristine Daniels.