Dear Friends,
The Chicago
Jazz Ensemble has a rich history highlighted by world premier performances, one
of a kind collaborations, and keen juxtapositions of the old with the new.
Founded by William Russo in 1965 and in residence at Columbia College Chicago
since its inception, the ensemble has from the beginning been principally
concerned with two elemental ideas—modernity and the exploration of the new. Maestro
Russo, as was his nature, had a very mature and broad definition of the word
new. For Bill, ‘new’ referenced musical language, musical form, sounds and
sound combinations, textures, methods of composition, and instrumentation,
amongst other representations. More than a composer, arranger, and conductor,
Bill was a conceptualizer. He personified new.
As such, he was a pioneer and a modernist through and through. It takes time
for us as a society to recognize the merits of a man, sometimes generations.
The season of programs I have created for you this year provides clear
recognition of, and in many ways, celebrates the merits of Maestro William
Russo, our founder, by presenting music and artists which are, like him, progressive,
modern, and exploratory of the new.
NEA Jazz Master, composer, arranger, and pianist Randy Weston is a spiritually guided visionary of the highest order. One of the first and certainly the most thorough of jazz artists in history to seriously and comprehensively explore the African Diasporic traditions so elemental to this music, Mr. Weston has for more than four decades worked far beyond the mere dalliances of fusion, understanding that the musics of the African continent, and those musics of those of us displaced from the Motherland (in Cuba, France, and across all of the Americas, to name but three locales) are connected through a shared history, story, and song. Spiritual Source: Randy Weston and the Chicago Jazz Ensemble opens our season and the 2011 Chicago Jazz Festival celebrating this musical iconoclast, as well as his four decades long musical collaboration with trombonist and arranger Melba Liston, using scores from the archives of Columbia College Chicago’s own Center for Black Music Research and the private collection of Mr. Weston.
Our second concert continues our exploration of the African Diaspora—this time, focused on the tradition of Calypso and the musics of Trinidad and Tobago. Trumpeter Etienne Charles, who also plays a mean cuatro…and steel drums…and hand drums and other assorted percussion instruments, is in many ways similar to Mr. Weston, seeking to not fuse the music of his native Trinidad with North American Jazz, but instead interested in exploring the rich tradition of his native island to draw out the complexities (social, political, musical) inherent in those traditions using sound, intellect, and the grit of an improviser. A gifted composer and bandleader, Etienne joins the CJE in a concert of new arrangements and premier performances of his music and works by our William Russo, Dizzy Gillespie, and other master composers/musicians of the Americas and the Caribbean.
Jazz music has historically been entangled with many of our nation’s most serious questions—political, racial, religious, issues concerned with civil rights and social justice—a far cry from the strictly functional and social properties inherent in this music’s youth. Charles Mingus, and the musical world he developed and created, is the jazz artist most aligned with drafting a music that squarely confronts these serious questions in both word and song. His music is rich and varied, demanding of its performers the ability (and desire) to shapeshift in a moment from a swinging trad-jazz ensemble to the most progressive, elastic big band of the day. And that’s in one piece of music! For our third concert of the season, Beneath the Underdog: The Musical World of Charles Mingus, the CJE is honored to welcome bassist Christian McBride and bassist/vocalist Meshell Ndegeocello as our very special guests, two musicians who individually have a history of interesting and diverse collaborations, global musical interests, and formidable artistry. They join us to perform classic works by Charles Mingus, including interpretations and new arrangements from his collaboration with the legendary songstress Joni Mitchell.
We close our season of large ensemble programming with Ornithology: The Music of Charlie “Bird” Parker, honoring one of the founders of the modern language of jazz and one of the most unique, intelligent, and creative musicians of the 20th century. It is safe to say that without Bird’s important contributions to this music, jazz would not be played as it is today. Charlie Parker cemented his legacy primarily through his performances in jazz combos. For this celebratory concert, the CJE will explore the few works that presented Parker in larger ensemble configurations, including his transcendent performances featuring strings. Our special guest for this performance aptly sums up the essence of our season. Puerto Rican saxophonist and composer Miguel Zenón is an award-winning musician who in 2008 was selected as both a Guggenheim Fellow and a recipient of the coveted MacArthur Grant. Of Zenón, the MacArthur Foundation stated “…this young musician and composer is at once reestablishing the artistic, cultural, and social traditions of jazz while creating an entirely new jazz language for the 21st century.” Amen to that.
I am also pleased to introduce a new set of programs in which we explore smaller ensemble formats. This season's inaugural Small Ensemble Concert series features the CJE musicians and other Chicago artists in a more intimate setting and explores the music of Art Blakey as well as the historic collaborations between jazz and literature. Finally, I hope you will join us for our free Listening Sessions programs. These programs are an entirely unique opportunity to hear from, and talk with, some of contemporary music’s most interesting artists.
We look forward to seeing you!
Peace and Music,
Dana Hall, Artistic
Director
The Chicago Jazz Ensemble
Photo by Phil Velasquez
