GARDINER -- Johnson Hall Performing Arts Center will host the UMA Faculty Jazz Sextet at 7:30 p.m., Wednesday, Nov. 28.

The sextet is led by Department Chair Tim Weir, a Grammy-nominated Australian-born trumpeter who is a two-time Down Beat Jazz award-winner.

Head of the Sonic Arts and Composition Concentration and sextet guitar player Richard Nelson, has been described as "serious . . . intense . . . imaginative . . . and profound" by All Music Guide, and his compositions have been praised in Cadence for their "thirst for experimentation . . . pushing of known boundaries . . . and appreciation for the time-tested sounds of the tradition."

David Wells plays and teaches saxophone, improvisation, and directs ensembles at University of Maine at Augusta. Wells has recorded and performed with such legends as Rosemary Clooney and funk pioneer Zigaboo Modeliste. He was also a featured soloist in the PBS documentary "Swing It" with Rosemary Clooney, Lionel Hampton and Dee Dee Bridgewater.

Drummer and instructor Steve Grover has performed with many high-profile jazz musicians, as well as with long-time colleagues. In 2009, Grover's jazz group was awarded "Best Jazz Act 2009" and "One of the Ten Most Influential Bands of The Last Ten Years" by The Portland Phoenix.

Sextet bass player, Greg Loughman, is a faculty member at the University of Maine in Augusta and Bowdoin College. Loughman's busy musical career has taken him on tours of Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, the Czech Republic and Japan.

The final member of the sextet is Matt Fogg, pianist and Yamaha Corporation’s first endorsee in a new “Artists in Education” program. Fogg is also a founding partner of the Midcoast School of Music in Portland and Bath.

Tickets, $6,  can be reserved by calling 207-582-7144 or purchased at www.johnsonhall.org.

Johnson Hall is located at 280 Water Street, Gardiner.