SUU Satellite Salon Series Welcomes Brazilian Jazz Fusion Duo
Published: September 02, 2025 | Author: Kol Gibson | Read Time: 3 minutes
SUU’s Department of Music invites the community to experience the vibrant sounds of Brazilian Jazz fusion at the fall 2025 installment of the Satellite Salon Series. Trombonist/vocalist Natalie Cressman and guitarist/composer Ian Faquini will be on campus Saturday, September 20, 2025, in the Thorley Recital Hall. The day will feature a Live Q&A at 5:00 p.m. followed by a Brazilian Jazz Fusion Concert at 7:30 p.m. Both events are FREE and open to the public.
The Satellite Salon Series offers audiences a rare opportunity to engage with world-class artists in an intimate setting. Each installment combines interactive learning with live performance, creating an immersive, multi-sensory experience. Cressman and Faquini will bring their internationally acclaimed artistry to Cedar City for an evening of rich cultural fusion, blending Brazilian folk traditions with jazz improvisation and contemporary storytelling.
Natalie Cressman has established herself as a dynamic force in today’s music scene, balancing her roles as trombonist, vocalist, and composer. She has toured extensively with Trye Anastasio of Phish and has collaborated with artists including Dave Matthews, Wycliffe Gordon, Nicholas Payton, and the SF Jazz Collective. Celebrated for her soulful sound and stylistic versatility, Cressman has carved a niche at the intersection of jazz, indie rock, and Brazilian folk.
Ian Faquini, praised by the Seattle Times as “an uncannily masterful composer,” brings together the rhythmic traditions of his native Brazil with the harmonic depth of jazz and Impressionism. His music incorporates styles such as maracatu, frevo, baião, and xote, offering listeners a broad palette of textures and rhythms. Together, Cressman and Faquini have released critically acclaimed albums including Setting Rays of Summer (2019) and Auburn Whisper (2022), with a new tribute album Guinga on the horizon. Their work has earned them international recognition, including a 2023 Jazz Journalists Critics Poll nomination for Duo of the Year.
Dr. Jed Blodgett, Director of Percussion and chair of the Satellite Salon Series shared his excitement, “The Cressman/Faquini duo will bring a unique blend of culture, instrumentation, and artistry to our campus that the community, and especially our students, rarely get to experience.” He continues, “We’re eager for our students to learn from two professionals of the industry who have seen it from several angles and who embody the high-level craftsmanship that SUU Music aspires to. We’re also excited for members of the southern Utah Arts community to experience the magic of excellent storytelling, virtuosity, and live music all wrapped up in one.”
For more information about the Satellite Salon Series at SUU, please visit www.suu.edu/pva/music/satellite.html.
*Photo credit: Lauren Desberg Photography, via ragman.org
About the College of Performing and Visual Arts
The College of Performing and Visual Arts (CPVA) at Southern Utah University comprises 41 academic programs including liberal arts (BA/BS) and professional (BFA, BM, BMEd) degrees in art, design, dance, filmmaking, music, and theatre. It includes graduate programs in the fields of arts administration (MFA, MA), music education (MME), and music technology (MM). More than 60 full-time faculty and staff are engaged in teaching and mentoring over 900 majors in the College. CPVA presents over 100 performances, lectures, presentations, and exhibitions each year which are complemented by the Southern Utah Museum of Art (SUMA) and Shakespeare Studies at SUU, and is affiliated with the Tony award-winning Utah Shakespeare Festival (USF). Southern Utah University is an accredited member of the National Association of Schools of Art & Design (NASAD), National Association of Schools of Dance (NASD), National Association of Schools of Music (NASM), and the National Association of Schools of Theatre (NAST) making SUU the first public university in the state of Utah to be accredited by all four associations. For more information about the College of Performing and Visual Arts, visit www.suu.edu/pva.Tags: Commercial Music Music Community College of Performing and Visual Arts Percussion
Contact Information:
Kol Gibson
435-865-8667
kolgibson@suu.edu