Balancing Act will present a concert and live recording of Don’t Let Go at Aaron Davis Hall, City College Center for the Arts, on Friday, October 4, at 8:00 pm.  Performers on the concert represent a Who’s Who of international jazz stars and rising names including:  Marvin Stamm (trumpet), Dick Oatts (alto and soprano saxophone), Jason Rigby (tenor saxophone), Mark Patterson (trombone), Mike Holober (piano/composer), as well as Jamile Staevie Ayres (voice – CCNY MM jazz vocal 2019), Mike McGuirk (bass), and Dennis Mackrel (drums).

Over the past decade Mike Holober has established an international reputation as a jazz orchestra composer, arranger and conductor.  With the formation of his octet Mike Holober & Balancing Act, he has re-directed his energy to a small group format that includes voice and lyrics.  Balancing Act’s premiere recording was released in 2015 (Palmetto Records) to widespread critical acclaim.  Downbeat Magazine’s Carlo Wolf described it as an “emotionally persuasive album,” and it was voted “Best Release of 2015” by multiple jazz critics.