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The world premiere of “Portrait of an Unquiet Mind” features an amazing line-up of world-renowned Jazz artists; Joe Farnsworth (drums), Sean Jones (trumpet), Patrick Bartley (alto saxophone), Paul Cornish (piano), Reuben Rogers (bass), and Sara Caswell (violin). Shelbie Rassler, NYC-based composer, invites you to join her in this debut as art goes where science cannot yet reach: the interior mind of those struggling with bipolar disorder.

Their hope is that this music will build empathy for those struggling with mental illness, as we place listeners into an experience shared by so many. And that, through empathy and vulnerability, we can inspire more open conversations about mental wellbeing. Mostly we want to tell people that we see them. And that they are loved, exactly as they are.

46 million people worldwide suffer with bipolar disorder, yet fewer than half seek treatment and for those who do, the gap between the earliest diagnosable symptoms and the first treatment is estimated at eleven years.

This evening is the world premier of this orchestral composition for jazz quintet and string orchestra. Then, the band heads right into the studio on Monday and Tuesday to record the full album. A documentary is also being filmed about the making of this record.

Line-up:

Joe Farnsworth (drums)

Sean Jones (trumpet)

Patrick Bartley (alto saxophone)

Paul Cornish (piano)

Reuben Rogers (bass)

Sara Caswell (violin) and strings

Artist Bios:

Joe Farnsworth, as chronicled on more than 400 recordings and witnessed within historical venues across New York City and the world, has indelibly penned his legacy within the history of jazz drumming. Twice nominated for a Grammy Award, Joe has collaborated with jazz elites Wynton Marsalis, Diana Krall, McCoy Tyner, Horace Silver, George Coleman, Pharoah Sanders, Benny Golson, and Cedar Walton.

Jeff Cebulski says, “Joe Farnsworth, in excellent form, not only evinces his wide talent but also his wisdom, casting a vision for our jazz future that doesn’t eschew the genre’s blues roots while still advancing. In What Direction Are You Headed? (2023) is both a good question and an essential album for the 21st Century.” (Chicagojazz.com).

Composer, Shelbie Rassler speaks with equal fluency the languages of Western European classical form and orchestration, jazz harmonies and improvisation, and the pain and promise of the American Spiritual: all musical traditions drawn upon within Portrait of an Unquiet Mind, a composition requiring of an architecture sturdy enough to carry the weight of the premise, the spontaneity to envelope our audiences within spaces void of light and lit with frenetic energy, and the soul healing transformation that unites us when we join in on the co-creative process of sonic expression we know as music.

Portrait of an Unquiet Mind emerged from the imagination of artist-entrepreneur, author, educator, and producer, Mark Rabideau. The breadth of Mark’s creative spirit is evidenced by the work he has produced, including Live from Smoke, a radio show from NYC's upper-westside, the GRAMMY-award winning album STILLPOINT, Worlds End an original work with the American Repertory Ballet, and the made-for-PBS documentaries Awadagin Pratt: Black in America and Dr. Eddie Henderson: Uncommon Genius.

Mark was named to The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (Class of 2024), The Recording Arts Academy (Class of 2023), and is Past-President of the College Music Society, Founding Editor of Emerging Fields in Music (Routledge Publishing), and Associate Dean for Faculty and Student Affairs within the College of Arts & Media at the University of Colorado Denver.