FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Press Contacts: February 12, 2016 Eileen Chambers/CSO 312.294.3092 Stephanie Kulke/Kick Start Marketing 773.501.4360 Photos Available By Request [email protected]

STEFON HARRIS AND SONIC CREED AND SHARE DOUBLE BILL AT SYMPHONY CENTER

Band Leaders Bring Newest Projects to Series

Friday, February 26, at 8:00 p.m.

CHICAGO—The Symphony Center Presents (SCP) Jazz series welcomes acclaimed saxophonist Rudresh Mahanthappa and Grammy®-nominated vibraphonist and composer Stefon Harris and Sonic Creed for a double bill on Friday, February 26, at 8:00 p.m. Two of today’s most exciting young jazz band leaders, Harris and Mahanthappa showcase their newest projects in this evening of genre-crossing jazz.

Armed with marimbas, vibes and a powerful stage presence, Stefon Harris leads his newest ensemble Sonic Creed to produce “a high-gloss, dizzyingly virtuosic blend of postbop and funk- and R&B-informed groove” (Time Out New York). The seasoned young talent joining Harris includes Elena Pinderhughes (flute), (guitar), James Francies (piano), Joshua Crumbly (bass) and Jonathan Pinson (drums).

Heralded as “one of the most important young artists in jazz” by the Los Angeles Times, Harris is a graduate of Manhattan School of Music, where he received a B.M. in Classical Music and a M.M. in Jazz Performance. He is a recipient of the prestigious Martin E. Segal Award from Lincoln Center and has earned four Grammy® nominations including Best Contemporary Jazz Album for Urbanus (Concord Music, 2010), Best Jazz Album for The Grand Unification Theory (2003) and the 2001 release of Kindred (Blue Note) and his 1999 release of Black Action Figure (Blue Note) for Best Jazz Instrumental Solo.

Rudresh Mahanthappa’s Bird Calls is an ambitious collection of original compositions inspired by the tunes of jazz legend Charlie “Yardbird” Parker which recently earned Mahanthappa places on several 2015 Top 10 Album lists, including The New York Times, The Tribune, Jazzwise Magazine, the NPR Music Jazz Critics Poll, and the 63rd annual DownBeat International Critics Poll. The DownBeat poll also named Mahanthappa Rising Star Composer of the Year, and Alto Saxophonist of the Year. Like Parker, Mahanthappa plays ,

and the new release demonstrates that he and his bandmates are expert at trading phrases in the style of Parker, as well as the young . His accomplished quintet includes drummer Rudy Royston, pianist , trumpeter Adam O’Farrill and bassist François Moutin. An inventive and fiery improviser, Mahanthappa’s previous projects have explored his Indian American identity, but he considers himself first and foremost a jazz musician, and says his biggest inspiration has been . “Stylistically we traverse lots of different directions. There's a bit of my Indian roots in the music, and there are really strong elements of pop and hip-hop and funk, and of course all of the jazz that's happened since Charlie Parker.”

Mahanthappa has been recognized with a Guggenheim Fellowship, two New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowships, and numerous commissions from the MAP Fund, Chamber Music America, and American Composers Forum. He has been named alto saxophonist of the year four of the past five years in Downbeat Magazine’s International Critics Polls and for five years running by the Jazz Journalists’ Association. In 2013, he received a Doris Duke Performing Artist Award, one of the most prominent arts awards in the world.

Tickets for all Symphony Center Presents 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.

Artists, programs and prices are subject to change.

Symphony Center Presents Jazz series is sponsored by Exelon.

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Symphony Center Presents Friday, February 26, 2016, 8:00 p.m. Jazz Rudresh Mahanthappa, Stefon Harris & Sonic Creed

Rudresh Mahanthappa, alto saxophone Adam O’Farrill, trumpet Joshua White, piano François Moutin, bass Rudy Royston, drums -- Stefon Harris & Sonic Creed Stefon Harris, vibes and marimba Elena Pinderhughes, flute Mike Moreno, guitar James Francies, piano Joshua Crumbly, bass Jonathan Pinson, drums

Tickets: $24-76

Stefon Harris Vibraphonist-composer Stefon Harris is heralded as “one of the most important young artists in jazz (The Los Angeles Times).” He is unquestionably developing what will be a long and extraordinary career. Harris’ passionate artistry, energetic stage presence, and astonishing virtuosity have propelled him into the forefront of the current jazz scene. Widely recognized and lauded by both his peers and jazz critics alike, award-winning musician is committed to both exploring the rich potential of jazz education and blazing new trails on the vibraphone.

A graduate of Manhattan School of Music, Harris received a B.M. in Classical Music and a M.M. in Jazz Performance. He is a recipient of the prestigious Martin E. Segal Award from Lincoln Center and has earned four Grammy® nominations including Best Contemporary Jazz Album for Urbanus (Concord Music, 2010), Best Jazz Album for The Grand Unification Theory (2003) and the 2001 release of Kindred (Blue Note) and his 1999 release of Black Action Figure (Blue Note) for Best Jazz Instrumental Solo. NPR honored his latest CD, Ninety Miles (Concord) as one of the Best Releases of 2011.

Harris was named winner of 2014 Expanded Critic’s Poll for Vibes from JazzTimes and the 61st Annual DownBeat Critics Poll for Vibes (2013). He has been voted Best Mallet player by JazzTimes Critics Poll and by the Jazz Journalist Association (2000-2004, 2011-2013), Debut Artist of the Year by JazzTimes, Chicago Tribune’s Debut of the Year and Downbeat’s Critics Poll Winner for Vibraphone (2013) and Rising Star, Vibraphone (2006, 2004, 2003) Newsweek Magazine’s Best Jazz CD, Best New Talent and 1999-2000 Readers Poll Best Vibraphonist by Jazziz Magazine. North Sea Jazz (Netherlands) named Harris for the prestigious international 2002 Bird Award for Artist Deserving Wider Recognition.

Rudresh Mahanthappa Few musicians share the ability of Rudresh Mahanthappa to embody the expansive possibilities of his music with his culture. The alto saxophonist/composer hybridizes progressive jazz and South Indian classical music in a fluid and forward-looking form reflecting his own experience growing up a second- generation Indian-American. Just as his personal experience is never wholly lived on one side of the hyphenate or the other, his music speaks in a voice dedicated to forging a new path forward.

The current manifestations of that trajectory include his latest quintet project Bird Calls issued its first release in February 2015 as it undertakes an extended period of live performances. This 21st Century tribute to Charlie Parker includes a stellar band of pianist Matt Mitchell, bassist François Moutin, drummer Rudy Royston, and 20-year old trumpet prodigy Adam O’Farrill. The 2013 album Gamak featured guitarist David “Fuze” Fiuczynski, whose own microtonal vocabulary opened new possibilities for Mahanthappa’s compositional imagination, alongside bassist Francois Moutin and drummer . The 2010 debut CD by Samdhi (ACT Music + Vision), a multi-cultural ensemble that advances Mahanthappa’s blend of jazz and Indian music with modernist electronic music, was described by JazzTimes as “a landmark convergence of styles that didn't lend itself to easy analysis… new music of this caliber hasn't been attempted before.” Other recent projects run the gamut from the cross- generational alto summit Apex featuring ; trios MSG and Mauger; the quintet Dual Identity co-led with fellow altoist ; and Raw Materials, his long-running duo project with pianist . Mahanthappa also continues to partner with Pakistani-American guitarist and innovative percussionist Dan Weiss in the Indo-Pak Coalition, while giants in both jazz and South Indian music have recognized his success: he was enlisted by Jack DeJohnette for the legendary drummer’s new working group, while a collaboration with the renowned Carnatic saxophonist resulted in Mahanthappa’s critically-acclaimed 2008 CD Kinsmen (Pi).

Hailed by the New York Times as possessing “a roving intellect and a bladelike articulation,” Mahanthappa has been awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship, a New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship, and commissions from the Rockefeller Foundation MAP Fund, Chamber Music America and the American Composers Forum. He has been named alto saxophonist of the year for three years running in Downbeat Magazine’s International Critics Polls (2011-2013) and for five years running by the Jazz Journalists’ Association (2009-2013). In April 2013, he received a Doris Duke Performing Artist Award, one of the most prominent arts awards in the world.

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.

The Negaunee Music Institute at the CSO offers community and education programs that annually engage more than 200,000 people of diverse ages and backgrounds. Through the Institute and other activities, including a free annual concert with Muti and the CSO, the CSO is committed to using the power of music to create connections and build community.

The CSO is supported by thousands of patrons, volunteers and institutional and individual donors. Bank of America is the Global Sponsor of the CSO. The CSO’s music director position is endowed in perpetuity by a generous gift from the Zell Family Foundation. The Negaunee Foundation provides generous support in perpetuity for the work of the Negaunee Music Institute.