Grammy® Award-Winning Vocalist Gregory Porter to Perform at Final Concert of 2015/16 Symphony Center Presents Jazz Series
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For Immediate Release: Press Contacts: May 26, 2016 Eileen Chambers, 312-294-3092 Photos Available By Request [email protected] GRAMMY® AWARD-WINNING VOCALIST GREGORY PORTER TO PERFORM AT FINAL CONCERT OF 2015/16 SYMPHONY CENTER PRESENTS JAZZ SERIES TRUMPETER MARQUIS HILL AND HIS BLACKTET OPEN THE CONCERT Friday, June 10, 8:00 PM CHICAGO—The 2015/16 Symphony Center Presents (SCP) Jazz series concludes with a concert featuring Grammy®-Award winning vocalist Gregory Porter on Friday, June 10, 2016, 8:00 p.m. Chicago native and Thelonious Monk International Trumpet Competition winner Marquis Hill and his Blacktet open for Porter. Returning to the SCP Jazz series for the first time since his Symphony Center debut in 2013, vocalist Gregory Porter has continued to attract the attention of critics and cross-over audiences with his diverse catalog of tunes that draw on country, gospel, pop and R&B sources. The New York Times recently called Porter “a singer-songwriter known for his rafters-raising baritone.” Porter won the Grammy®-Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album for his 2013 release Liquid Spirit and released a much-anticipated follow up, Take me to the Alley, on the Blue Note label in May 2016. Porter’s hits “Hey Laura” and “Be Good,” captured the attention of many listeners and his popularity online has led to TV appearances on The Tonight Show and Jimmy Kimmel Live, among others. For the June 10 concert, Porter mixes his chart-topping hits with tunes including “Holding On” and “Don’t Lose Your Steam,” from his new release. Porter is joined by Jamal Nichols (bass), Emmanuel Harrold (drums), Chip Crawford (piano) and Tivon Pennicott (saxophone). Trumpeter Marquis Hill, the 2014 winner of the prestigious Thelonious Monk Competition, and his Blacktet deliver the evening’s opening set. Originally from Chicago’s Chatham neighborhood, Hill has quickly become one of today’s leading jazz artists. Hill and his fellow musicians--Christopher McBride (alto saxophone), Justin Thomas (vibraphone), Joshua Ramos (bass) and Makaya McCraven (drums)--perform selections from his soon-to-be released, The Way We Play. The new collection of jazz standards pays homage to Hill’s formative years in Chicago and includes new versions of Horace Silver’s “Moon Rays,” Donald Byrd’s “Fly Little Bird Fly,” and a cover of “Maiden Voyage,” by fellow Chicago native and iconic jazz pianist Herbie Hancock. Tickets for all SCP Jazz Series concerts can be purchased by phone at 800-223-7114 or 312- 294-3000; online at cso.org, or at the Symphony Center box office: 220 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago, IL 60604. Discounted student tickets for select concerts can be purchased, subject to availability, online in advance or at the box office on the day of the concert. For group rates, please call 312-294- 3040. Artists, programs and prices are subject to change. Symphony Center Presents Jazz series is sponsored by Exelon. # # # Symphony Center Presents Friday, June 10, 2016, 8:00 p.m. Jazz Gregory Porter, vocals Tivon Pennicott, saxophone Chip Crawford, piano Jahmal Nichols, bass Emanuel Harrold, drums -- Marquis Hill Blacktet Marquis Hill, trumpet Christopher McBride, saxophone Justin Thomas, vibraphone Joshua Ramos, bass Makaya McCraven, drums Tickets: $24-76 Gregory Porter An artist whose music is at once timeless yet utterly of its time, Gregory Porter solidifies his standing as his generation’s most soulful jazz singer-songwriter with the May 6, 2016 release of Take Me to the Alley, the much-anticipated follow-up to his million-selling Grammy-winning 2013 Blue Note debut Liquid Spirit. Porter’s new single, “Holding On,” finds the artist presenting his decidedly different version of the Disclosure single that he was the featured vocalist on and co-wrote for their album “Caracal”. “I decided to do the song the way that I would have recorded it on my record,” Porter says. “It’s a way of saying that a song is a song is a song. The lyrics and the intention of the song come through no matter what kind of bells and whistles are going on. A second single, the rousing, bluesy stomp “Don’t Lose Your Steam” is dedicated to Porter’s three-year-old son with encouraging lyrics about staying committed to one’s goals regardless of hardship. Liquid Spirit – which followed Porter’s critically-acclaimed and GRAMMY-nominated albums Water (2010) and Be Good (2012) – was released in the Fall of 2013 and quickly grew into a global phenomenon, selling a million albums worldwide and becoming the most streamed jazz album of all-time with over 20 million streams. The album sold Platinum in the U.K. and Germany, and in the U.S. Porter made his first- ever national TV appearances on The Tonight Show and Jimmy Kimmel Live while ESQUIRE and NPR Music both declared him “America’s Next Great Jazz Singer.” Liquid Spirit also won Porter his first GRAMMY Award in 2014 for Best Jazz Vocal Album while also earning him a Best Traditional R&B Performance nomination for his affecting ballad “Hey Laura.” In the Fall of 2015 Porter finally found the time to return to the studio in New York City to record “Take Me To The Alley”. As he’s done on his previous three albums, Porter teamed with producer Kamau Kenyatta to craft a collection of stirring originals that juxtapose the personal and political. His partnership with Kenyatta started in the mid-1990s when he was a student at San Diego State University (Porter began his college years playing football on a full athletic scholarship before a shoulder injury diverted him into a music career). It was through Kenyatta’s mentorship that Porter’s professional musical career began. Reinforcing their well-honed rapport is the return of Porter’s core accompanying musicians – pianist and music director Chip Crawford, bassist Aaron James, drummer Emanuel Harrold, alto saxophonist Yosuke Sato, and tenor saxophonist Tivon Pennicott. Singer Alicia Olatuja, trumpeter Keyon Harrold, and organist Ondrej Pivec also make appearances throughout. Marquis Hill Trumpeter and composer Marquis Hill is widely recognized as one of the preeminent voices on the instrument of his generation. Raised in the Chatham neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, his introduction to music was made by taking up the drum kit in the fourth grade. However, after being inspired by a cousin his focus soon shifted to what was to become his primary instrument, the trumpet. At 12 years of age, Hill became a member of the South Shore Youth Jazz Ensemble under the direction of saxophonist and educator Ronald Carter. He has been an active participant in the programs offered at Ravinia including the Ravinia Jazz Scholars and the Ravinia Steans Music Institute, the former of which brought him into contact with mentors Bobby Broom, Tito Carillo, and Willie Pickens. Hill’s musical education further expanded by attending Northern Illinois University, from which he graduated in 2009 with a Bachelor of Arts in Music Education. While still an undergraduate, Hill began to be regarded as one of the most in demand trumpeters in Chicago. Upon finalizing his formal education with a Master of Music degree in Jazz Pedagogy from DePaul University, Hill began working more frequently both as a sideman and a leader of his own ensemble, the Blacktet, throughout the region; appearing at festivals, clubs, and theaters with increasing frequency. His musical prowess began to garner more recognition after winning such competitions as the International Trumpet Guild jazz competition (2012) and most recently the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Trumpet Competition (2014), widely regarded as the most prestigious in its field. In addition to performance, Hill has been an active educator. He has held teaching positions at numerous institutions including the Birch Creek Music Performance Center in Egg Harbor, Wisconsin; The NIU Summer Jazz Camp; The University of Illinois at Chicago where he was a faculty member for two years. He currently resides in New York City and has four albums to his credit: New Gospel (Skiptone 2011), Sounds of the City (Skiptone 2012), The Poet (Skiptone 2013), and Modern Flows vol. 1 (Skiptone 2014). The Chicago Symphony Orchestra: www.cso.org and www.csosoundsandstories.org Founded in 1891, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra is consistently hailed as one of the greatest orchestras in the world. Since 2010, the preeminent conductor Riccardo Muti has served as its 10th music director. Yo-Yo Ma is the CSO’s Judson and Joyce Green Creative Consultant, and Samuel Adams and Elizabeth Ogonek are its Mead Composers-in-Residence. From baroque through contemporary music, the CSO commands a vast repertoire. Its renowned musicians annually perform more than 150 concerts, most at Symphony Center in Chicago and, each summer, at the suburban Ravinia Festival. They regularly tour nationally and internationally. Since 1892, the CSO has made 58 international tours, performing in 29 countries on five continents. People around the globe listen to weekly radio broadcasts of CSO concerts and recordings on the WFMT radio network and online at cso.org/radio . Recordings by the CSO have earned 62 Grammy Awards, including two in 2011 for Muti’s recording with the CSO and Chorus of Verdi's Messa da Requiem (Muti’s first of four releases with the CSO to date). Find details on these and many other CSO recordings at www.cso.org/resound. The CSO is part of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association, which also includes the Chicago Symphony Chorus (Duain Wolfe, Director and Conductor) and the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, a training ensemble for emerging professionals. Through its prestigious Symphony Center Presents series, the CSOA presents guest artists and ensembles from a variety of genres—classical, jazz, world, and contemporary.