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Chicago Jazz Orchestra
Announces 2012-2013 Concert Season filled with Variety and Surprise Artistic Director Jeff Lindberg Proclaims, “Big Band Music Is Alive And Well In Chicago.” Chicago, Sept. 18. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASETHE CHICAGO JAZZ ORCHESTRA announces its 2012-2013 Season with guest artists MICHAEL FEINSTEIN, ERNIE WATTS, MARK WOOD, RANDY BRECKER, ART DAVIS, KURT ELLING, PERRIAN JORDAN, DEE ALEXANDER, YVONNE GAGE, and JOAN COLLASO. Chicago’s oldest professional jazz orchestra in continuous operation, the Chicago Jazz Orchestra (CJO) with Artistic Director Jeff Lindberg proudly announces its 2012-2013 concert season, with venues including the Auditorium Theatre, The Harris Theater for Music and Dance, Evanston Township High School, Wentz Concert Hall, and Pick-Staiger Concert Hall. The CJO, Chicago’s best and most prolific professional jazz orchestra (over 25 performances in each of the past three years), has created a 5-concert season that covers everything from the American Songbook to an exploration of the music of Frank Zappa. Programmatic highlights include: a Tribute to the American Songbook with Michael Feinstein (Sept. 29 Auditorium Theatre); The Grand Wazoo and Other Delights: A Tribute to Frank Zappa featuring Ernie Watts and Mark Wood (Dec. 29 Harris Theater); A Tribute to Art Farmer, featuring Randy Brecker and Art Davis (Feb. 9 Evanston Jazz Festival); A Tribute to Ray Charles (Feb. 16 Wentz Concert Hall, Naperville); and Celebrating Cole Porter with Kurt Elling, at Pick- Staiger Concert Hall (April 3, Evanston). On Sat., Sept. 29, singer, pianist, and music revivalist Michael Feinstein will join the CJO to honor the Great American Songbook. Performing classic songs that have delighted audiences throughout the decades, these two musical sensations will guide audiences on a journey through some of the most beloved music of our time. For tickets contact the Auditorium Theatre Box Office: 1-800-982-2787 or www.auditoriumtheatre.org. On Sat., Dec. 29, just days after Frank Zappa’s 72nd birthday, the CJO presents an adventurous tribute to this great American musical genius: The Grand Wazoo and Other Delights. The show will feature the 15-piece CJO along with saxophonist Ernie Watts, who was in Zappa’s band for the original recording of The Grand Wazoo, electric violinist Mark Wood (Trans-Siberian Orchestra), and electric bassist Dave Morgan, who created the arrangements for this show. For tickets contact The Harris Theater for Music and Dance: 312-334-7777, or www.harristheaterchicago.org. The CJO, featuring trumpeters Randy Brecker and Art Davis, will highlight the Evanston Jazz Festival with A Tribute to Art Farmer on Sat., Feb. 9. Art Farmer was one of the great pioneers of the jazz fluegelhorn, the mellow brass instrument related to the trumpet. In the early 1960s Farmer recorded on the Mercury label a legendary recording: Art Farmer and The Jazz Orchestra, featuring arrangements for large orchestra by Oliver Nelson. In this performance Brecker, Davis, and the CJO will re-create the music from this original recording. This will be the first live performance of the music from the entire album. Tickets on sale Dec. 1 through the Evanston Township High School Box Office: 847-424-7848 or www.ethsjazz.com. The CJO returns to Wentz Concert Hall in Naperville on Sat. Feb. 16 for one of its most highly regarded presentations: A Tribute to Ray Charles. The presentation features a vast array of Ray Charles’ music, including charts from his famous Genius+Soul=Jazz album. In addition to the full big band, Perrian Jordan is featured as “Brother Ray,” with Dee Alexander, Yvonne Gage and Joan Collaso as the Raelettes. The musicians, along with world-class arrangements by Jeff Lindberg, bring to life the essence of Ray Charles’ unique contribution to American music. Tickets available through the Wentz Box Office: 630-637-SHOW (7469) or www.finearts.northcentralcollege.edu. Kurt Elling, the number one male jazz singer (2011 winner, Down Beat readers’ poll), joins the CJO on Wed., April 3 at Pick-Staiger Concert Hall in Evanston for a remarkable evening of Cole Porter’s music. Titled Celebrating Cole Porter, featuring Kurt Elling, the performance will include many of the classic Nelson Riddle and Claus Ogerman arrangements recorded by Frank Sinatra and Nat King Cole, among others. The CJO will be expanded to over 30 pieces, including strings. Tickets on sale Nov. 16 through the Pick-Staiger Box Office: 847-467-4000 or www.pickstaiger.org. Jeff Lindberg’s Chicago Jazz Orchestra was founded in 1978 (Jazz Members Big Band) by Jeff Lindberg and the late Steve Jensen. Composed of Chicago’s top musicians, the CJO is Chicago’s oldest professional jazz orchestra in continuous operation and one of the oldest jazz repertory orchestras in the country. Conductor and Artistic Director Jeff Lindberg is one of the foremost transcribers in jazz. As a result, the Orchestra’s repertoire draws upon his vast library, which includes the works of Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Dizzy Gillespie, Lionel Hampton, Benny Carter, Oliver Nelson, Ray Charles and many others. Jeff Lindberg’s Chicago Jazz Orchestra became the first professional jazz orchestra in Chicago to present a yearly concert series (1998-99). The CJO’s 2005 compact disc Clark Terry and Jeff Lindberg’s Chicago Jazz Orchestra: George Gershwin’s Porgy & Bess (Americana Music) received widespread critical acclaim, including a rare “FIVE STAR” rating in Down Beat magazine. The CD has been voted among the top CD’s of the decade by Down Beat magazine. On Dec. 2 the Chicago Jazz Orchestra will make its 24th straight appearance as the house orchestra for The Kennedy Center Honors Dinner/Dance in Washington, DC. |