Monterey Jazz Notes.Indd
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Cal Performances Presents About the Artists Saturday, January , , pm Th e Monterey Jazz Festival th Anniversary Monterey Jazz festivals, both in performance and Zellerbach Hall Band refl ects the long history of artistic excel- instruction. lence and sophisticated informality for which the Grammy-winning trumpeter Terence Festival has gained international fame. Blanchard was the MJF’s Artist-in-Residence, All-star bands at Monterey have been part and appeared at the MJF in and with Monterey Jazz Festival of the casual atmosphere of the Monterey Jazz his own groups. Terence is a strong supporter of Festival (MJF). Since , the Festival has as- jazz education and is the Artistic Director of the th Anniversary Tour sembled master musicians under the “Monterey Th elonious Monk Institute of Jazz Performance in All-Stars” moniker. At least all-star bands have New Orleans. graced Festival stages and have included Gil Evans, NEA Jazz Master Recipient James Moody has Gerry Mulligan, Elvin Jones, Dizzy Gillespie, appeared at the MJF six times since , where he Clark Terry, Ray Brown, Sonny Stitt, Max Roach, has performed with Quincy Jones, Dizzy Gillespie, Shelly Manne, Bobby Hutcherson, Hank Jones, the Preservation Bebop Jazz Band, the Terence Milt Jackson and many more. Blanchard Sextet and the MJF th Anniversary Th e MJF th Anniversary all-star band epito- Band, among others. In , he performed a mizes the spirit and history of the MJF’s artistic special free concert to celebrate the MJF’s th legacy. Chosen for their devotion to spreading jazz Anniversary. to the world, outstanding leadership abilities and Vocalist Nnenna Freelon is a six-time Grammy masterful performances, the th Anniversary nominee who the Los Angeles Times placed “in the Band celebrates the Festival’s golden moment as very top echelon” of jazz singers. She has performed the longest-running jazz festival in the world. at the MJF four times since , with her own One of the reasons for the unique relationship groups and with the MJF th Anniversary Band, between the venue, audiences and performers has and was a featured artist at the Next Generation been the empowerment of artists. Jimmy Lyons, Festival in . the founder of the MJF, appointed John Lewis, Pianist and Musical Director Benny Green the pianist of the Modern Jazz Quartet, as Artistic and the MJF go back to , when he performed John Green Director in —a position he held until the there as a -year-old student. Benny has played early s. Newly commissioned works became at the MJF six times over four decades with the Monterey Jazz Festival th Anniversary Band a defi ning feature of the Festival, with pieces from California High School All-Star Band, Ray Brown, the likes of Dave Brubeck, Jon Hendricks, Gerald the MJF th Anniversary Band and others. Terence Blanchard trumpet Wilson and others taking center stage. When Bassist Derrick Hodge fi rst came to the MJF Nnenna Freelon special guest vocalist Jimmy Lyons retired in , newly appointed with Terence Blanchard in . In , he per- General Manager Tim Jackson reinvented the formed extensively with Terence’s groups and with Benny Green piano, music director Artist-in-Residence program. the MJF/ Band. James Moody tenor saxophone, fl ute Th e Artist-in-Residence initiative had a large Drummer Kendrick Scott fi rst appeared at the Derrick Hodge bass impact on the jazz education programs of the MJF with the Berklee-Monterey Quartet in Festival. Since , the MJF has been presenting and has performed at the MJF seven times, with Kendrick Scott drums the winning bands from its high school competi- such artists as Th e Crusaders, Terence Blanchard, tion and showcasing talented young musicians Eldar and the MJF th Anniversary Band. in an all-star student big band. Alumni include Joshua Redman, Patrice Rushen, Dave Koz, Eric Marya J. Glur, Company Manager Marienthal, Gordon Goodwin, Larry Grenadier Lauren Harton, Lighting Director, Stage Manager Th e program will be announced from the stage. Th ere will be one intermission. and Benny Green, to name a few. For years, Charles Trundy, Sound Engineer Bob Wiescholek, Driver the MJF has continued this tradition through the Produced in association with the Monterey Jazz Festival, Tim Jackson Concert Productions, LLC, and Tim Fox (Columbia Artists Management LLC, Next Generation Festival and the Next Generation Broadway, New York, N.Y. ), Management Bob Kay and Susan Lamborghini. Jazz Orchestra, which now tours internation- Country Coaches, Tour Coaches ally. Artists-in-Residence work with students Th e Wind and Associates, Travel Company Cal Performances’ – season is sponsored by Wells Fargo Bank. during their time at the Next Generation and Big Star Travel, Flights 4 CAL PERFORMANCES CAL PERFORMANCES 5 About the Artists About the Artists Th e trumpeter fi lms include Malcolm X, Crooklyn, Clockers, Get sic-industry insiders and celebrities when she took With her anthem “One Child at a Time,” from and com- on the Bus, Summer of Sam, Bamboozled, She Hate to the stage at the rd annual Grammy Awards her Soulcall album, Freelon took on the task of poser Terence Me, Inside Man and ’s four-hour Hurricane telecast from Los Angeles. fundraising and bringing greater attention to the Blanchard was Katrina documentary for HBO, When the Levees On her Grammy-nominated (for Best Jazz needs of children in education through mentor- born on March Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts. Terence’s trumpet Vocal Performance) release, Blueprint of a Lady: ing and the arts. It has become one of the most , , in can be heard on nearly fi lm scores; bear his Sketches of Billie Holiday, Freelon pays tribute to sought-after songs for its lyrics and music, and has New Orleans. unmistakable compositional style. the quintessential jazz vocalist Billie Holiday. As been used by countless local, regional and national Since emerging In addition to his soundtracks, Terence has inventive as ever, Freelon reinvents these Holiday- groups, including the United Way. on the scene as recorded eight solo albums for the Columbia and associated songs and fulfi lls Billie Holiday’s mes- one of the fi rey Sony Classical labels, including Simply Stated, sage to all artists: “No two people on earth are Born in New York “Young Lions” Romantic Defi ance, Jazz in Film, Let’s Get Lost alike, and it’s got to be that way with music or it in , Benny of the early and Wandering Moon, all of which received criti- isn’t music.” With her own band and with Ronald Green grew s, Terence cal acclaim. Terence released Bounce on Blue Note K. Brown & Evidence, Freelon presents a multi- up in Berkeley, has been on Nitin Vadukul Records in , following it up with Flow in media music and dance off ering of a kind rarely California, and the cutting edge of the resurgence of hard bop and , which was produced by Herbie Hancock. seen. Freelon is a winner of both the Billie Holiday began classical other modern jazz styles for his entire adult life. Flow is Blanchard’s vision of a future where jazz, Award from the prestigious Academie du Jazz, and piano studies at Terence began to play the trumpet in elemen- world music, funk, aural soundscapes and abstrac- this tribute brings her to a heartfelt source of inspi- the age of seven. tary school, and was coached at home by his opera- tion co-exist. ration for her artistry and dedication to the music Infl uenced by his singing father. In high school, Terence was tutored Lauded for both his soundtracks and small and the power it possesses in education and art. father, a tenor by the legendary New Orleans pianist and jazz group work, Blanchard’s awards for his contribu- On her fi fth and previous Concord Records saxophonist, his patriarch Ellis Marsalis. By , he was attend- tions to fi lm include multiple Emmy and Golden release, Live, Nnenna Freelon brings all of her al- attention soon ing Rutgers University in New Jersey on a music Globe nominations for Mo’ Better Blues, Th e Heart luring talents to bear. Th e result is a beguiling and CAMI turned to jazz. “I scholarship; one of Terence’s professors was so im- Speaks, Th e Promised Land and Th e th Hour, as intimate achievement. Recorded at the Kennedy began trying to improvise on the piano, imitating pressed with his talent that he negotiated a tour- well as instrumental Grammy nominations for Center in Washington, D.C., on February and the records I’d been hearing from my father’s col- ing gig for Terence with vibraphone icon Lionel solos from Wandering Moon and Let’s Get Lost. , , Live marks a decade-long recording ca- lection, which included a lot of Monk and Bird. It Hampton. In , fellow New Orleans native In , Terence won a Grammy for Best Jazz reer for Freelon, as well as -years on the road— was a gradual process of teaching myself.” and trumpeter Wynton Marsalis recommended Instrumental Album for his participation on her fi rst live recording and her second as producer. As a teenager, he worked with Eddie Henderson Blanchard as his replacement in Art Blakey’s Jazz McCoy Tyner’s Illuminations, an award he shared It has certainly been a heady decade for and got some big band experience with a -piece Messengers, the infl uential and volcanic hard-bop with Tyner, Gary Bartz, Christian McBride and Freelon. In addition to fi ve Grammy nominations group led by Chuck Israels. After his graduation, “university” which was a musical proving ground Lewis Nash. while recording for the Concord label, Freelon also Benny freelanced around the Bay Area for a year, for young jazz soloists and composers since the Terence continues to record and tour with both made her feature fi lm debut in the Mel Gibson hit, and then moved to New York in the spring of mid-s.