L.A. flutist Rumi Inoue to perform at Troesh

Inoue will perform on Wednesday, June 20 at 7 p.m. for the Pierce Street Jazz concert series backed by Henry “the Skipper” Franklin on bass, Theo Saunders on piano, and Marvin “Smitty” Smith on drums. Admission is free. 

Inoue is a native of Kyoto, Japan and currently based in Los Angeles as a performer, composer, and recording artist. She specializes in jazz and Afro-Latin music on flute and holds a master’s degree in Afro-Latin music performance from California State University, Los Angeles. She started playing the piccolo before switching to the flute during junior high school and went on to compete and take first place in the flute ensemble category at the Kobe Flute Convention Competitions in Japan. 

Inoue studied classical flute at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna, Austria and has also studied Afro-Cuban music, jazz, and jazz flute. Her interest in world music inspired her to start composing original music that expressed the culmination of her diverse styles and training. She has recorded on many CDs and performs jazz and her original music throughout Southern California. Other notable accomplishments include winning the 39thAnnual National Flute Association Convention Jazz Flute Master Class Competition in 2011. 

Franklin has organized the Pierce Street Jazz concerts at La Sierra University since their inception as a summer jazz series in 2009. He has recorded and produced more than 150 albums and compact discs including gold releases. He has performed with many headline artists and was part of the legendary Hugh Masekela's band during the late 1960s.

Saunders has performed in many of the world’s most prestigious jazz festivals and concert halls with distinguished artists including Freddie Hubbard, Carla Bley, David “Fathead” Newman, Barbara Morrison, Gladys Knight, and many others. He has directed music for opera productions and international musical theatre. He also has numerous compositions to his credit as well as original scores for theatre, radio and multimedia production.

Smith has two solo albums but has recorded on over 200 albums with various artists and toured with Sting, Dave Holland, Sonny Rollins, Willie Nelson, and Steve Coleman. He is a former member of The New York Jazz Quartet and The Dave Holland Quartet, and former drummer for “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” where he was a band member for over 14 years. 

The Troesh Conference Center is located at the Zapara School of Business, La Sierra University. For further information, call 951-785-2148. La Sierra University is located at 4500 Riverwalk Parkway, Riverside. A campus map is available at https://lasierra.edu/campus-map/.