Search Chicago Jazz
Jazz Calendar
There are no shows posted for today. Please check back soon.
The Chicago Jazz Ensemble Announces its 2011-2012 Season
The Chicago Jazz Ensemble Announces its 2011-2012 Season
Date Posted: August 14 2011
Written By: Chicago Jazz
|
 Bookmark it!
|
THE CHICAGO JAZZ ENSEMBLE ANNOUNCES its 2011-12 SEASON with guest artists RANDY WESTON, ETIENNE CHARLES, CHRISTIAN MCBRIDE, MESHELL NDEGEOCELLO & MIGUEL ZENÓN.
The Chicago Jazz Ensemble (CJE) with Artistic Director Dana Hall proudly announces its 2011-12 performance season, with venues including Millennium Park and the Harris Theater for Music and Dance. Programmatic highlights include a celebration of the collaboration between Randy Weston and Melba Liston; a program exploring new and traditional music from the Caribbean; a concert inspired by bassist Charles Mingus' collaboration with Joni Mitchell; and an evening featuring popular music of saxophonist Charlie Parker. Notable guest artists joining the CJE this season include pianist Randy Weston, trumpeter Etienne Charles, bassist Christian McBride, vocalist/bassist Meshell Ndegeocello, andsaxophonist Miguel Zenon. There will also be several Listening Sessions and small ensemble performances this season, details to be announced.
The first concert of the CJE's 2011-12 season marks the first night of the 33rd annual Chicago Jazz Festival in Millennium Park. Spiritual Source: Randy Weston with the Chicago Jazz Ensemble featuring the arrangements of Melba Liston takes place Thursday, September 1 at 6:30 p.m. at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion. Pianist Randy Weston - jazz legend and recently named Guggenheim fellow - collaborated extensively and significantly with trombonist/composer/arranger Melba Liston over several decades. Together they created a pioneering body of jazz exploring music from the African Diaspora. This concert features Weston's music as arranged by Liston plus new works by CJE Artistic Director Dana Hall and Chicago's Tomeka Reid, an emerging cellist and composer, specially commissioned for this concert by the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, in partnership with the Chicago Office of Tourism and Culture, the Jazz Institute of Chicago, the Chicago Jazz Ensemble, and the Center for Black Music Research at Columbia College Chicago. This is a Made in Chicago: World Class Jazz program.
Trinidadian trumpeter/percussionist Etienne Charles will present his energetic Afro-Caribbean folkloric music and jazz in Musica Panamericano on Friday, October 7 at 7:30 p.m. at the Harris Theater. This Juilliard-trained musician stands at the vanguard of a new generation of Caribbean musicians with a fresh, broad-ranging artistic vision. He won the National Trumpet Competition in 2006 and has performed and/or recorded with Wynton Marsalis, Monty Alexander, Marcus Roberts, Roberta Flack, and the Count Basie Orchestra, among others. Charles brings his captivating original music, arranged for the CJE, to Chicago for a concert that explores the rich legacy and exciting energy of music from the Caribbean and the Americas. Compositions by CJE Founder William Russo will also be featured.
The CJE's 2011-12 season continues with Beneath the Underdog: The Musical World of Charles Mingus, a program spotlighting bassist Charles Mingus on Friday, January 20 at 7:30 p.m. at the Harris Theater.In this unique pairing, bassist Christian McBride and vocalist/bassist Meshell Ndegeocello join the CJE for a program inspired by the musical collaboration between vocalist Joni Mitchell and Charles Mingus in the late 70s, which yielded some of his final compositions. McBride was recently named 2011 Bassist of the Year by the Jazz Journalists Association and he has worked with Freddie Hubbard, Sonny Rollins, J.J. Johnson, McCoy Tyner, Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock, and Pat Metheny. Ndegeocello is a singer-songwriter, rapper, bassist, and vocalist whose artistry has earned her ten Grammy Award nominations. Last month she collaborated with jazz pianist Jason Moran in a well-received performance paying tribute to Fats Waller as part of a commission by Harlem Stage in New York City.
The CJE concludes its 2011-12 Harris Theater performance season with Orinthology: The Music of Charlie "Bird" Parker on Friday, February 24 at 7:30 p.m. at the Harris Theater. This program, featuring Puerto Rican saxophonist Miguel Zenón and a guest string ensemble, will celebrate Charlie Parker's rich musical legacy, interpreting some of his most popular recordings. The Grammy-nominated Zenón was one of the founding members of the SFJAZZ Collective. In 2008 he received a fellowship from the prestigious John Simon Guggenheim Foundation, and later that year he received the MacArthur Grant, aka the "Genius Grant." He was a 2011 nominee for Alto Saxophonist of the Year in the Jazz Journalists Association Jazz Awards.
The Chicago Jazz Ensemble is Dana Hall, Artistic Director and drums; Dan Nicholson and Jarrard Harris, alto saxophone; Pat Mallinger and Rob Denty, tenor saxophone and clarinet; Tim McNamara, baritone saxophone; Andy Baker, Tim Coffman, Tracy Kirk, and Thomas Matta, trombone; Mark Olen, Larry Bowen, Art Hoyle, and Pharez Whitted, trumpet; Jeremy Kahn, piano; Jeff Parker, guitar; Dan Anderson, bass; and Bobbi Wilsyn, vocals.
Season ticket subscriptions are available; attend all three shows for as little as $40 (30% savings). Save 25% with a two-concert mini subscription. In addition to the very best discounts, season ticket benefits included preferred seating, cost savings on handling fees, bonus tickets, special subscriber gifts, priority seating, free lost ticket replacement and ticket exchange, plus invitations to attend Open Rehearsals and other special events. All subscription packages must be purchased by phone via the Harris Theater Box Office: 312.334.7777. More details at www.chicagojazzensemble.com.
Single tickets for the CJE's 2011-12 performances at the Harris Theater, located at 205 East Randolph on the northeast corner of Chicago's Millennium Park, are $18 - $48, with discounts for senior citizens and groups. Full-time student tickets are $5. Tickets can be purchased at (312) 334-7777 or www.harristheaterchicago.com. Tickets on sale June 30, 2011.
The CJE is proud to have been in residence at Columbia College Chicago since 1965. Its 2011-12 performance season is made possible in part by grants from the MacArthur Fund for Arts and Culture at Prince, the Farny R. Wurlitzer Foundation, and the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency. The Chicago Jazz Ensemble's educational programs, including the Louis Armstrong Legacy Program and Celebration, are supported in part by the Louis Armstrong Educational Foundation, ASCAP, Citi Foundation, the Crown Family, the Elizabeth Morse Charitable Trust, and the Polk Bros. Foundation. The CJE is also sponsored by Downbeat Magazine and media sponsor 90.9fm WDCB Public Radio.
Don't miss anymore Chicago Jazz Information.
Subscribe to Chicago Jazz magazine / Get A Free CD.
Subscribe to our Chicago Jazz weekly newsletter.
