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Madison Jazz Society
Madison Jazz Society
Date Posted: October 10 2009
Written By: chicago jazz
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The third concert of the Madison Jazz Society’s year-long 25th anniversary series will feature Alan Gresik’s Swing Shift Orchestra that will be making its first appearance in Madison on the MJS stage. The concert is Sunday, November 8, from 1-4 p.m. at the Coliseum Bar, 232 E Olin Avenue, Madison.
MJS President Linda Marty Schmitz said, “Every Thursday night for over 10 years, crowds have packed the historic Green Mill Jazz Club in Chicago’s Uptown neighborhood to hear and dance to the big band and swing music of the Swing Shift Orchestra. Our audience will be able to hear the talent that has generated that long-standing excitement on November 8.”
Featured in the MGM movie Return to Me, starring David Duchovny, Minnie Driver and Bonnie Hunt, the Swing Shift Orchestra brings the jumping, swinging music of the 1920s through the 1940s to roaring life with its impeccable 10-musician crew.
The band performs as if part of an old-time radio show, complete with emcee and actors recreating commercials of that era. The orchestra’s leader and pianist Alan Gresik states “No other swing orchestra in Chicago has a historically active staff orchestra library like ours that includes vintage radio announcers and commercials.”
The Swing Shift Orchestra has performed at such venues and events as the Lincoln
Madison Jazz Society November 8 Concert
Center for the Performing Arts 2008 Midsummer Night Swing Series in New York City, Taste of Chicago and the Chicago Jazz Festival. It has also opened for legendary comedian Bob Newhart and performed at numerous corporate, private and public events.
Performing with the band will be Madison’s own Francesca Johnson, who opened this year’s Jazz At Five series in August. Francesca, daughter of renowned jazz bassist Marc Johnson, is a gifted young jazz singer whose classically trained voice evokes the tradition of great singers of the 1950s. On the cutting edge of vocal style, she is one of the most promising figures on the national vocal jazz spectrum.
During the concert’s first break, the Society will introduce some of the recipients of their 2009-10 school year grants.
The concert is from 1-4 p.m. (doors open at noon and the concert hall is smoke-free) at the Coliseum Bar, 232 E Olin Ave, Madison. There will be a cash bar and a jazz brunch will be served. Tickets ($20 for MJS members; $25 for non-members; those age 18 and younger are admitted free) can be purchased when the doors open. Details can be found at www.madisonjazz.com or by calling 608-850-5400.
Founded in 1984, the Madison Jazz Society is a non-profit, all volunteer organization formed to encourage the performance of and education about jazz. It annually sponsors six concerts and a jazz festival that attracts jazz fans from all over the nation. The group sponsors the broadcast of Riverwalk: Live from the Landing on Wisconsin Public Radio and awards grants to school music departments to enhance their jazz education programs. MJS will sponsor its 22nd annual Capital City Jazz Fest in April 2010.
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