Search Chicago Jazz
Jazz Calendar
Mosaik
Phyllis' Musical Inn
May 21st 2012
1800 West Division St.
Chicago, Ill 60622
Cost: $0
Get More Info
Rebecca Sullivan
Uncommon Ground Devon
May 21st 2012
Chicago, Ill
Cost: $7.00
Get More Info
Miles Davis Festival at the Auditorium Theatre
Miles Davis Festival at the Auditorium Theatre
Date Posted: March 21 2011
Written By: Chicago Jazz
|
 Bookmark it!
|
As part of the ongoing Miles Davis Festival being presented by The Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University (ATRU), ATRU will present “Sketches of Blue: An Orbert Davis Tribute to Miles” Thursday, April 14 featuring the Orbert Davis Sextet and the Chicago Jazz Philharmonic Chamber Ensemble.
In addition, on Tuesday, April 12, “Vivid,” Roosevelt University’s Chicago College of Performing Arts (CCPA) free annual student concert, will include a performance of Davis’s music by CCPA’s Hard Bop Combo. The two concerts will focus on “Kind of Blue,”often cited as one of the important jazz recordings ever produced, in addition, the Chicago Jazz Philharmonic Chamber Ensemble will perform a reinterpretation of Miles’ influential “Sketches of Spain.”
The Festival is produced by ATRU and began in January of this year with 19 performances city-wide in celebration of the 85th anniversary of Illinois native Miles Davis’ birth. A third cornerstone Festival event will be presented the same week as the two concerts: The world premiere of River North Dance Chicago’s new work, “Simply Miles,”set to original Miles Davis recordings, choreographed by Artistic Director Frank Chaves, Saturday, April 16 at 8 p.m
“Miles Davis, arguably the best known and most influential jazz musician of the 20th Century, was raised in our state and also performed several times on our stage,” said Brett Batterson, executive director of the Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University. “Chicago has always had an important role in the development of jazz and contemporary music, and so did Roosevelt University. There is no better way to honor that history and Davis’s contributions than to showcase his music once again at the Auditorium Theatre.”
“Sketches of Blue: An Orbert Davis Tribute to Miles,” Thursday, April 14 at 7:30 p.m.
Chicagojazz trumpeter Orbert Davis (no relation to Miles Davis) will pay tribute to the legendary Davis with two programs on this concert. First, the Orbert Davis Sextet with Ari Brown and Ernest Dawkins will play“Kind of Blue”in its entirety. In the second half, the Chicago Jazz Philharmonic Chamber Ensemble will performthe world premiere “Sketches of Spain(Revisited),”adapted and composed by Orbert Davis.
Tickets, now on sale, range in price from $30 to $69. Available online at ticketmaster.com, at (800) 982-2787 or at ATRU’s Box Office. Groups of 10 or more can call 312-431-2357.
“Vivid,” Tuesday, April 12 at 7:30 p.m.
Roosevelt University’s Chicago College of Performing Arts (CCPA) free annual student concert will include a performance of selections from Davis’s masterpiece “Kind of Blue” by CCPA’s Hard Bop Combo. The recording was Davis's best-selling album, and remains one of the best-selling jazz records of all time. Now in its eighth season, “Vivid” is CCPA’s largest annual showcase performance event of the year. The show will exclusively feature performances by talented CCPA students. Tickets are free and can be obtained at the ATRU Box Office.
Slate Magazine explains the groundbreaking importance of “Kind of Blue” as follows:
“It sounded different from the jazz that came before it….In the 1950s a new theory of jazz improvisation was introduced, based not on chord changes but on scales or "modes." The kind of music that resulted was often called "modal" jazz… and the most fully developed piece of ‘modal jazz’ was ‘Kind of Blue.’It has the same feel as the other blues tunes, but listen closely: The horns, blowing harmony in the background, are playing the same notes in each bar; they're not shifting them to follow the chord changes; there are no chord changes. It sounds (hence the album's title) kind of blue.
“Sketches of Spain” was described by A. B. Spellman of the National Endowment for the Artsin an interview on National Public Radio as follows:
“‘Sketches of Spain’ wasn't the first jazz adaptation of a classical composition. But ‘Sketches of Spain’ by Miles Davis and Gil Evans is different. It holds a unique place in the pantheon of jazz classics. On the opening cut, Gil Evans maintains a true fidelity to the original composition, which is "Concierto De Aranjuez." The mood that he establishes makes us feel like we're on a hill in Andalusia, watching the goings-on's of a gypsy camp. At the same time, there's this cool-bop lyricism that's all Miles Davis with its tone bubbles blasting around the place and all.”
About Orbert Davis
Trumpeter and composer Orbert Davis is co-founder, composer and artistic director of the 55-piece Chicago Jazz Philharmonic, a jazz-symphonic orchestra. He was born in Chicago and raised in Momence, Illinois. He began playing trumpet around the age of ten, but was not formally instructed until Charles Danish, an elementary school teacher, found him a trumpet teacher and drove him to lessons. He eventually graduated with a degree in trumpet performance from DePaul University and then received a master’s degree in jazz pedagogy from Northwestern University. In addition to recording over 3000 TV and radio commercials, Davis has released three studio albums. His 2002 album “Priority” received four stars from the Los Angeles Times. He followed that album up in 2004 with a CD called “Blue Notes” and in 2009 with “Collective Creativity” performed by his Chicago Jazz Philharmonic. He was featured soloist at the 1996 Chicago Jazz Festival, performing Miles Davis and Gil Evans' "Sketches of Spain."
One of Chicago's busiest and most sought after musicians, jazz trumpeter Orbert Davis has recorded many projects for such notable artists as Ramsey Lewis, Charles Earland, Kurt Elling, Bob Mamet and William Russo's Chicago Jazz Ensemble. Winner of the 1995 Cognac Hennessy National Jazz Search, Orbert was chosen as one of Chicago Tribune's "1995 Arts People of the Year" and Chicago Magazine named him "Y2k Best Trumpeter in Chicago".
Don't miss anymore Chicago Jazz Information.
Subscribe to Chicago Jazz magazine / Get A Free CD.
Subscribe to our Chicago Jazz weekly newsletter.
