http://www.kzmu.org/listen.m3u ~ Use this link to access the show online.
Wednesday, August 30, 2017
Monday, August 28, 2017
Whaling City Sound News: Terry & Gerry Gibbs, Langone, Monteiro, Donahue, Micic, Porter-Scarff
Terry Gibbs, 93 in October, reaches an exalted place with his latest, and last, recording
“It’s amazing isn’t it?” says Terry from his home in Los Angeles. “I guess that’s what you get when you put four great players together in a room and let everyone just have fun!” 92 Years Young, Jammin at the Gibbs House is, by most accounts, Terry’s swan song, his final recording. But what a way to go.
“I retired at 91,” he says, “but my son (acclaimed drummer Gerry Gibbs) convinced me to do a project with Neal Weiss (at Whaling City Sound).” A former boxer, Terry had confidence in his endurance. “I figured I have one punch left.”
Though he admits that he was worried about losing energy, the band—including Mike Gurrola on bass, John Campbell on piano and son Gerry Gibbs on drums—recorded in Gibbs’ own living room for four days straight, ending up with a total of 31 completely improvised, unarranged, unrehearsed songs. “We lucked out,” says the spry bandleader, “and practically all of them were pretty good!”
Gibbs, who spent a good part of his career with both Benny Goodman and Steve Allen, among others, knows a little about improvising. “We wrote our songs right then and there,” he says. “You’re writing music on the spot! That’s what jazz is. It was hard to figure out which ones would go on the record, but that was a good problem to have.”
Terry’s son Gerry, who cajoled his dad into give it one last go, is, understandably, super proud of “Pops.” “This is such a great achievement for him,” he says. “I am so proud and happy for him, to come out of retirement like this and hit, #1 at 93 years of age!”
Gibbs, the son, has had a pretty good string of successes himself, landing his last four discs on the top spot of the same jazz chart, and his last recording Weather or Not (with Thrasher People) is the most played disc in the country on jazz radio.
Without a doubt, the 1-2 punch of the Gibbs boys has dominated jazz of late, thanks to huge talent, great music, and a passionate embrace for jazz. “It means a lot to me,” says Terry. “You don’t get to Number One very often, so you have to enjoy it when it happens.”
The Prodigal Horn
After a few remarkable detours,
When you hear his work, you won’t disagree with that assessment. Donahue is a world-class player and an adept arranger, author and educator. He is also well-connected, as evidenced by the band he’s assembled here, which includes sax legend Jerry Bergonzi and renown guitarist Mike Stern as well as Ralph Peterson on drums. Other phenomenal talent on the record includes pianist Tim Ray, Tamir Shmerling on bass, and drummer Larry Finn.
His curiously titled new album, The Bug, is an exploration of a spectrum of jazz vernacular and an eclectic musical celebration. From meticulously arranged funky fusion with Stern’s searing electric guitar, to more traditional, but still exciting jazz settings—from Weather Report and Miles to Mingus and Monk—Donahue blazes trails, leading the way with varied tones and tactics. The approach lends The Bug a surprising variety and a spectrum of harmonic sophistication, melody and intimate expression.
Miles Donahue's career in music has included several detours over the years. He did not begin his commitment to jazz in earnest until the late ’80s, although its early as the ’60’s he performed at many venues with his own group that featured Harvie S, Bergonzi, Charlie Banacos, Nick Goumas and Jack Diefendorf. When the time came to rejoin jazz later, he did so with gusto, encouraged by Bergonzi who knew his friend was the real deal. In the early ’90s, Donahue relocated to Europe to begin this second phase, understanding that the hunger for jazz on the continent outweighed that found in the United States.
In the early ’00s, he would later form his own label, Amerigo Records. His first few outings during that period would co-star an array of great players, including Fred Hersch, Bergonzi, Jamey Haddad, Kurt Rosenwinkle and Jay Anderson. You can certainly be judged accurately, especially in this case, by the company you keep.
"Very few musicians today have the diversity of hidden talents Miles Donahue possesses,” said a prominent jazz critic. “The harmonic sophistication he plays with and his ability to swing with incredible beauty all lead to a master musician.”
We agree, and you’ll find that Donahue’s Whaling City Sound debut is prima facie evidence.
Great Acoustics
In most cases, jazz is regional. Most musicians have to begin somewhere, they spend their time refining their art and preparing to introduce their work to ever-bigger regions. And so reads the next chapter in Steve Langone’s unfolding jazz history. To the wider world of jazz, the drummer’s name is still rather unfamiliar. But that’s because he is still refining. The Boston jazz audience certainly knows Steve’s work. They know he has accompanied a healthy clutch of luminaries—a list that includes Claudio Roditi, Howard Alden, Anat Cohen and dozens more. They also know that they are about to bequeath their beloved drummer to the wider jazz world, thanks in part to Breathe, his new recording and his second on Whaling City Sound.
Joined by Kevin Harris on piano and Dave Zinno on bass, Langone’s trio is absolutely lovely, really tasty. The tunes on Breathe tackle a repertoire spanning both super early folk songs and spirituals and a few originals. The recording as a whole is beautifully arranged and played with panache, especially on heartwarming renditions of Rogers’ “It Never Entered My Mind,” the quietly funky “Sometimes I Feel (Like a Motherless Child)” and the quiet epic “Shenandoah,” which is guided by Zinno’s melancholy bass and closes the session.
For the originals, Zinno has two tracks here, and Harris and Langone contribute one apiece. The bandleader’s “Glow,” moody, complex even as it’s restrained, is a standout. In fact, there’s a hushed beauty, all across this album, thanks to the masterful acoustic performances, which really gives the recording a stoic sort of elegance.
For those who have been listening to great jazz in the Boston environs for the past decade, the gorgeous results on Breathe will not be surprising. Langone is the kind of musician whose talent is noticed when heard in any of the numerous ensembles with which he has performed, and whose range is obvious. But for those outside that area, who might just be hearing Langone’s work in earnest for the very first time, welcome to the club! We’re sure you’ll find something to love. Close your eyes and Breathe.
Escape Artist
Once he corrals that energy and focuses that ambition, he stops just long enough to craft it into a new recording. Another Part of Me, the perfectly titled new Marcus Monteiro Quartet collection comes as good news indeed. The alto saxophonist plays with the ebullience and energy of Maceo Parker and the enthusiasm of a beggar at his first banquet. The recording, Another Part of Me, is a dramatic raising of the bar for the tireless lion, a hyper link to the next level in terms of tunes, in terms of notes, in terms of all around alchemy.
Joined by John Harrison III on piano, Fernando Huergo on bass, and Steve Langone on drums, Monteiro is in excellent form, surrounded by equally energetic band-mates, all of whom are driving in the same direction. Engineered, mixed and mastered by Peter Kontrimas, Another Part of Me covers a wide palette of material from such far-ranging sources as Horace Silver (“Sister Sadie”), Don Byas (“Slammin Around”), Stevie Wonder (“For Once in My Life”) and, yes, Soundgarden (“Fell on Black Days”).
Monteiro’s purposeful variety, indeed his entire MO as an artist, defiantly resists characterization. He regularly escapes definition and consistently crosses boundaries, with wide-ranging tastes, great material and equally great accompanists. In fact, he’s played with artists as diverse as George Clinton, Esperanza Spaulding and Charlie Hunter, in addition to a variety of other musical genres.
Monteiro’s ability to bridge the classic and the contemporary is one of his signatures and a huge reason why he and his quartet, especially on Another Part of Me, his latest and best Whaling City Sound album, need to be heard here and now.
On the Horizon
August 25 Releases
All About Jazz calls her “first rate, no doubt about it.” Now the sultry, uber-talented Alma Micic has arrived with the sublime new That Old Feeling, her fourth recording and the definitive emergence of an important new voice. Born and raised in Serbia, she began singing jazz and big band as a teen before attending the prestigious Berklee College of Music in the late ’90s. Since then she’s polished her ample abilities as a singer in New York City, all of which are remarkably evident on her new album. Her vocal skill is effortless and understated. Her timing and melodicism are spot-on and her performances on songs like the searing “Cry Me a River” and the coy “Honeysuckle Rose” are bewitching. At times she sounds young and playful, at others she sings with the wiles of someone who has seen it all. Whichever persona she chooses, whatever song she sings, and however she sings it, Alma comes through. Don’t hesitate to give her your time.
Music has taken saxophonist and composer Phil Scarff and pianist Lewis Porter to many places. They have performed and recorded around the world, as have their colleagues bassist John Funkhouser and drummer Bertram Lehmann. In return, and as an immense favor to all of those who hear it, they’ve created music that takes listeners to almost as many unique destinations. The Lewis Porter-Phil Scarff Group’s new Three Minutes to Four is contemporary, east-meets-west jazz, where Indian raga merges with western classical, where Ghanaian traditional fuses with improvisational, and where organic meets studied. Three Minutes to Four is where stunning performance creates pure jazz excitement. The four musicians here have all been to the crossroads of world music and jazz, which is why this project really sings. Scarff regularly tours India and performs Indian classical concerts at major venues there. Porter, a prolific author and Ph.D., devised the only master’s program in Jazz History and has toured across the US and Europe with names like Liebman, Bartz and Ribot. Both Funkhouser and Lehmann are Berklee profs with a dizzying array of worldwide playing. Three Minutes to Four is at once deeply felt and eminently accessible, a glorious celebration of musical multiculturalism filtered through a prism of real jazz.
New music from Miles Mosley and Brian Newman! (VERVE RECORDS)
Mosley’s album, UPRISING, on Verve is available now digitally and physically. The album garnered wide praise, having debuted at #4 on Billboard’s Contemporary Jazz Chart and #2 on the iTunes Jazz Album Chart.
Shadow Of Doubt by Miles Mosley on VEVO.
The tour dates coincide with Lady Gaga’s Joanne World Tour dates so Mother Monster fans can catch Brian’s performance directly after her show ends in those markets. Lady Gaga has often made surprise appearances at Newman’s club dates in the past.
UPCOMING RELEASES
Friday, August 25, 2017
New England Conservatory’s Jazz Studies and Contemporary Improvisation Departments Present 100+ Performances and Events for 150th Season
New England Conservatory's Jazz Studies and Contemporary Improvisation departments will present more than 100 performances and events for the 150th anniversary season.
The new season showcases diverse musical offerings from today's most talented artists performed in NEC's renowned concert halls, including three new state-of-the-art venues at the Student Life and Performance Center (SLPC).
2017-2018 Season highlights include:
• World premieres of new works by Darcy James Argue and Anthony Coleman
• Monk’s Dream: Thelonious Monk at 100 with T.S. Monk
• Manteca: Dizzy Gillespie and the Birth of Latin Jazz celebrating Gillespie’s centennial
• Residency featuring Matana Roberts • Music of Jerry Bergonzi and Ken Schaphorst
New England Conservatory’s (NEC) internationally renowned Jazz Studies and Contemporary Improvisation (CI) Departments announce more than 100 concerts for the celebratory 150th anniversary season. The 2017-2018 continues to build on NEC’s rich legacy featuring 150 years of innovation showcasing the work of the first fully accredited jazz studies program at a music conservatory as well as the pioneering CI department. The new season showcases diverse musical offerings from today’s most talented artists performed in NEC’s renowned concert halls, including three new state-of-the-art venues at the Student Life and Performance Center (SLPC).
Highlights include the world premiere of a newly commissioned work by alumnus Darcy James Argue as part of a concert honoring the legacy of Bob Brookmeyer; the premiere of alumnus and faculty member Anthony Coleman’s new work, “Streams,” a composition commissioned for NEC’s sesquicentennial; “Thelonious Monk at 100” featuring T.S. Monk performing portions of Monk’s legendary Town Hall Concert with the NEC Jazz Orchestra; a residency featuring composer, performer, sound artist, improviser, and NEC alumna Matana Roberts; a celebration of the centennial of Dizzy Gillespie; CI Salon Nights and Jazz Ensemble Concerts featuring hour-long concerts by rising star NEC students from the Jazz and Contemporary Improvisation departments.
NEC is pleased to offer the following concerts, free and open to the public. For more information, visit necmusic.edu or call 617-585-1122.
FALL 2017
August/September 2017
Wednesday, August 30 – Jazz Jam Session
7:30 p.m. Brown Hall
Tuesday, September 5 – Opening Night
7:30 p.m. Brown Hall
Join NEC's groundbreaking Contemporary Improvisation department in kicking off the academic year with a concert featuring CI faculty including Ran Blake, Eden MacAdam-Somer, Hankus Netsky, Anthony Coleman and others.
Thursday, September 7 – CI Jam Session
7:30 p.m. Pierce Hall
Saturday, September 23 – Open Studios
Street fair all day, barn dance 7 – 10 p.m. – Brown Hall
NEC’s Open Studioscelebrates the opening of the new Student Life and Performance Center with live music, dancing, food, drink, and much more. CI events include live concerts by Night Tree and the Ladles, and a Barn Dance featuring the Ladles and special guests, calling by Angela DeCarlis. No partners or dance experience necessary – just come and dance the night away!
October 2017
Friday, October 6 – CI and Jazz Master Class with Burton Greene
10 a.m.
Originally from Chicago, Burton Greene rose to popularity during the 1960s on New York's free jazz scene, gigging with well-known musicians including Marion Brown, Bill Dixon, Rashied Ali, Albert Ayler, Gato Barbieri, Byard Lancaster, Sam Rivers, Patty Waters, Perry Robinson, Willem Breuker, and many others. He moved to Holland in 1969 and, in the late 1980s, began exploring the Klezmer tradition in his groups Klezmokum (along with Perry Robinson), Klez-thetics, and a more recent group called Klez-Edge with vocalist Marek Balata. Klez-Edge has a recent recording Ancestors, Mindreles, NaGila Monsters (2008) out on John Zorn's Tzadik label. A duet with Perry Robinson, also on the Tzadik label, Two Voices in the Desert was released in January 2009.
Wednesday, October 18 – Concert with NEC Alumna Matana Roberts and CI students
7:30 p.m. Brown Hall
NYC-based sound experimentalist, jazz saxophonist and clarinetist, composer, improviser, Doris Duke Artist Award recipient and NEC alumna Matana Roberts is the composer of Coin Coin, a multichapter musical work-in-progress exploring themes of history, memory and ancestry. She has been a guest curator at the Stone and Artist in Residence at the Whitney Museum, among others. While at NEC, she will conduct a week-long residency, Monday through Friday, October 16-20. In addition to the Wednesday concert, public events are planned on Tuesday, October 17 at 10 a.m. when Matana will discuss her music and on Friday, October 20 when she will host an improvisation workshop.
Thursday, October 19 – Monk’s Dream: Thelonious Monk at 100
7:30 p.m. Jordan Hall
NEC will celebrate the 100th Birthday of jazz giant Thelonious Monk with a concert featuring NEC faculty and alums including Ran Blake, Frank Carlberg, Fred Hersch, Nedelka Prescod and Dominique Eade. T. S. Monk will play portions of Monk’s legendary Town Hall Concert with the NEC Jazz Orchestra. Robin Kelley, author of Thelonious Monk: The Life of an American Original, will speak about Monk’s life and music.
Friday, October 27 – Masterclass with Daniel Levin, Tony Malaby, Randy Peterson
10 – 11:50 a.m.
Three of today’s most innovative improvisers will work with NEC students.
Sunday, October 29 – Linda Chase: The City is Burning
4 p.m. Brown Hall
CI faculty member and NEC alumna Linda Chase presents her extraordinary and timely mixed media piece The City Is Burning, featuring CI faculty and students and special guests Stan Strickland and Professor Harvey Cox.
Monday, October 30 – Ken Schaphorst Faculty Concert
7:30 p.m. Jordan Hall
November 2017
Wednesday, November 8 – Jazz Ensemble Concerts
7, 8 and 9 p.m. Student Life and Performance Center (SLPC), Eben Jordan Ensemble Room
Discover the musical innovators of tomorrow with these one-hour concerts featuring NEC’s student ensembles, each coached by a member of NEC’s renowned faculty.
Thursday, November 9 – Jazz Ensemble Concerts
7, 8 and 9 p.m. SLPC, Eben Jordan Ensemble Room
Discover the musical innovators of tomorrow with these one-hour concerts featuring NEC’s student ensembles, each coached by a member of NEC’s renowned faculty.
Monday, November 13 – What Keeps Mankind Alive: Kurt Weill, Bertolt Brecht, and the Epic Theater
7:30 p.m. Jordan Hall
CI students and faculty explore the world of Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill through performances of works from The Threepenny Opera and The Seven Deadly Sins, along with original pieces and traditional songs. Performers include the Anthony Coleman and CI Chamber Music Ensembles.
Tuesday, November 14 – NEC Gospel Ensemble and NEC Composers Ensemble
8 p.m. Brown Hall
This concert showcases two of NEC’s exceptional student ensembles. The NEC Gospel Ensemble, coached by Nedelka Prescod, explores contemporary gospel music as it is currently being created and performed. This ensemble works with repertoire composed within the last 20 years and highlights key composers and choir leaders. The NEC Jazz Composers Ensemble, coached by Jorrit Dijkstra, gives student composers the opportunity to develop their work for small jazz ensemble through rehearsal and performance.
Thursday, November 16 –Jazz Ensemble Concerts
7, 8 and 9 p.m. SLPC Eben Jordan Ensemble Room
Discover the musical innovators of tomorrow with these one-hour concerts featuring NEC’s student ensembles, each coached by a member of NEC’s renowned faculty.
Monday, November 20 – Jazz Ensemble Concerts
7, 8 and 9 p.m. SLPC Eben Jordan Ensemble Room
Discover the musical innovators of tomorrow with these one-hour concerts featuring NEC’s student ensembles, each coached by a member of NEC’s renowned faculty.
Tuesday, November 21 – CI Salon Night
7, 8 and 9 p.m. Pierce Hall
Discover the musical innovators of tomorrow in these three one-hour performances by CI student small ensembles. Tonight’s lineup features the Irish Music, Joe Morris, and Cobra ensembles.
Monday, November 27 – Jazz Ensemble Concerts
7, 8 and 9 p.m. SLPC Eben Jordan Ensemble Room
Discover the musical innovators of tomorrow with these one-hour concerts featuring NEC’s student ensembles, each coached by a member of NEC’s renowned faculty.
Tuesday, November 28 – Jazz Ensemble Concerts
7, 8 and 9 p.m. SLPC Eben Jordan Ensemble Room
Discover the musical innovators of tomorrow with these one-hour concerts featuring NEC’s student ensembles, each coached by a member of NEC’s renowned faculty.
Wednesday, November 29 – Jazz Ensemble Concerts
7, 8 and 9 p.m. SLPC Eben Jordan Ensemble Room
Discover the musical innovators of tomorrow with these one-hour concerts featuring NEC’s student ensembles, each coached by a member of NEC’s renowned faculty.
Thursday, November 30 – Jazz Ensemble Concerts
7, 8 and 9 p.m. SLPC Eben Jordan Ensemble Room
Discover the musical innovators of tomorrow with these one-hour concerts featuring NEC’s student ensembles, each coached by a member of NEC’s renowned faculty.
December 2017
Sunday, December 3 – Linda Chase’s “Hope Is the Hardest Love We Carry”
3 p.m. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Hope Is the Hardest Love We Carry, a chamber composition by faculty member Linda J. Chase, features poet Jane Hirshfield reading her own poetry and her translations (with Mariko Aratani) of thousand-year-old Japanese poems by Izumi Shikibu and Ono no Komachi. The music was composed following Chase’s Japan Foundation residency that happened to coincide with the 3/11/11 Great East Japan earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear disaster. Performers will include NEC faculty members flutist Linda J. Chase, pianist Hankus Netsky and students from New England Conservatory's Contemporary Improvisation Department.
Monday, December 4 – CI Salon Night
7, 8 and 9 p.m. Pierce Hall
Line-up features the Zaleski Non-Majors, African American Roots, and Anthony Coleman Ensembles.
Tuesday, December 5 – Jazz Ensemble Concerts
7, 8 and 9 p.m. SLPC Eben Jordan Ensemble Room
Discover the musical innovators of tomorrow with these one-hour concerts featuring NEC’s student ensembles, each coached by a member of NEC’s renowned faculty.
Wednesday, December 6 – Jazz Ensemble Concerts
7, 8 and 9 p.m. SLPC Eben Jordan Ensemble Room
Discover the musical innovators of tomorrow with these one-hour concerts featuring NEC’s student ensembles, each coached by a member of NEC’s renowned faculty.
Thursday, December 7 – Manteca: Dizzy Gillespie and the Birth of Latin Jazz
7:30 p.m. Jordan Hall
Celebrating Dizzy Gillespie’s centennial, with a particular emphasis on his contribution to the development of Latin Jazz, the NEC Jazz Orchestra will perform “Manteca,” “Tin Tin Deo” and “Cubano Be, Cubano Bop,” written by Gillespie and longtime NEC faculty member George Russell.
Monday, December 11 – Jazz Ensemble Concerts
7, 8 and 9 p.m. SLPC Eben Jordan Ensemble Room
Discover the musical innovators of tomorrow with these one-hour concerts featuring NEC’s student ensembles, each coached by a member of NEC’s renowned faculty.
Tuesday, December 12 – Jazz Composers’ Workshop Orchestra
7:30 p.m. Brown Hall
The Jazz Composers’ Workshop Orchestra is devoted to rehearsing and performing works by NEC Jazz Composition students. Coached by pianist/composer and NEC jazz faculty member Frank Carlberg, the ensemble gives its composers the opportunity to learn how to rehearse and conduct a band, as well as have their works heard.
Wednesday, December 13 – CI Salon Night
7 and 8 p.m. Pierce Hall
Tonight’s lineup features the Persian Music and Interdisciplinary Ensembles.
Wednesday, December 13 – Jazz Ensemble Concerts
7, 8 and 9 p.m. SLPC Eben Jordan Ensemble Room
Discover the musical innovators of tomorrow with these one-hour concerts featuring NEC’s student ensembles, each coached by a member of NEC’s renowned faculty.
Thursday, December 14 – CI Salon Night
7, 8 and 9 p.m. Pierce Hall
Tonight’s lineup features the Turkish Music, CI Chamber, and Songwriters Workshop Ensembles.
SPRING 2018
January 2018
Monday, January 29 – Jazz and CI Faculty Spotlight
7:30 p.m. Jordan Hall
February 2018
Wednesday, February 21 – Film Noir: Cria Cuervos
7:30 p.m. Jordan Hall
Co-producers Aaron Hartley and Ran Blake present their 13th Annual Film Noir project, featuring students and faculty of NEC's groundbreaking Contemporary Improvisation department. This year's performance explores Carlos Saura's film Cria Cuervos heightened by new music created by NEC musicians and special alumni guest artists percussionist Tupac Mantilla and vocalist Burcu Gulec.
March 2018
Thursday, March 1 – Celebration: The Legacy of Bob Brookmeyer
7:30 p.m. Jordan Hall
The NEC Jazz Orchestra he will perform music by Bob Brookmeyer and six of Brookmeyer’s former NEC students, including the world premiere of a new composition commissioned for NEC’s 150th Anniversary by alumnus Darcy James Argue. Argue was a Doris Duke Artist Award recipient in 2015. Music by NEC alumni Ayn Inserto, Mehmet Ali Sanlikol, Ryan Truesdell and Nicholas Urie will also be featured. Saxophonist, low reed expert and NEC alumnus Brian Landrus will be featured playing Brookmeyer’s “Celebration Suite.” Brookmeyer taught composition at NEC between 1997 and 2007.
Tuesday, March 13 – Eden MacAdam-Somer Faculty Recital
7:30 p.m. Jordan Hall
Monday, March 26 – Jazz and Wild Card Honors Ensemble Concert
7:30 p.m. Jordan Hall
Each year, an audition committee selects a few exceptional students to represent NEC in the Honors Jazz and Wild Card ensembles.
April 2018
Monday, April 2 – Jazz Ensemble Concerts
7, 8 and 9 p.m. SLPC Eben Jordan Ensemble Room
Discover the musical innovators of tomorrow with these one-hour concerts featuring NEC’s student ensembles, each coached by a member of NEC’s renowned faculty.
Tuesday, April 3 – Jazz Ensemble Concerts
7, 8 and 9 p.m. SLPC Eben Jordan Ensemble Room
Discover the musical innovators of tomorrow with these one-hour concerts featuring NEC’s student ensembles, each coached by a member of NEC’s renowned faculty.
Wednesday, April 4 – Jazz Ensemble Concerts
7, 8 and 9 p.m. SLPC Eben Jordan Ensemble Room
Discover the musical innovators of tomorrow with these one-hour concerts featuring NEC’s student ensembles, each coached by a member of NEC’s renowned faculty.
Thursday, April 5 – NEC Gospel and NEC Composers Ensemble
7:30 p.m. Brown Hall
This concert showcases two of NEC’s exceptional student ensembles. The NEC Gospel Ensemble, coached by Nedelka Prescod, explores contemporary gospel music as it is currently being created and performed. This ensemble works with repertoire composed within the last 20 years and highlights key composers and choir leaders. The NEC Jazz Composers Ensemble, coached by Jorrit Dijkstra, gives student composers the opportunity to develop their work for small jazz ensemble through rehearsal and performance.
Monday, April 9 – CI Salon Night
7, 8 and 9 p.m. Pierce Hall
Discover the musical innovators of tomorrow in these three one-hour performances by CI student small ensembles. Tonight’s lineup features the Middle Eastern, Ted Reichman, and R&B Ensembles.
Tuesday, April 10 – Jazz Ensemble Concerts
7, 8 and 9 p.m. SLPC Eben Jordan Ensemble Room
Discover the musical innovators of tomorrow with these one-hour concerts featuring NEC’s student ensembles, each coached by a member of NEC’s renowned faculty.
Wednesday, April 11 – Jazz Ensemble Concerts
7, 8 and 9 p.m. SLPC Eben Jordan Ensemble Room
Discover the musical innovators of tomorrow with these one-hour concerts featuring NEC’s student ensembles, each coached by a member of NEC’s renowned faculty.
Thursday, April 12 – Jazz Ensemble Concerts
7, 8 and 9 p.m. SLPC Eben Jordan Ensemble Room
Discover the musical innovators of tomorrow with these one-hour concerts featuring NEC’s student ensembles, each coached by a member of NEC’s renowned faculty.
Monday, April 16 – Jazz Ensemble Concerts
7, 8 and 9 p.m. SLPC Eben Jordan Ensemble Room
Discover the musical innovators of tomorrow with these one-hour concerts featuring NEC’s student ensembles, each coached by a member of NEC’s renowned faculty.
Tuesday, April 17 – CI Salon Night
7, 8 and 9 p.m. Pierce Hall
Discover the musical innovators of tomorrow in these three one-hour performances by CI student small ensembles. Tonight’s lineup features the Tanya Kalmanovitch, American Roots, and CI Chamber Ensembles.
Wednesday, April 18 – CI Salon Night
7 and 8 p.m. SLPC Eben Jordan Ensemble Room
Discover the musical innovators of tomorrow in these two one-hour performances by CI student small ensembles. Tonight’s lineup features the Jewish Music and Contemporary Rock Ensembles.
Thursday, April 19 – The Seven Rays: Music of Jerry Bergonzi and Ken Schaphorst
7:30 p.m. Jordan Hall
This concert features the NEC Jazz Orchestra with saxophonist/composer Jerry Bergonzi in the performance of his composition “The Seven Rays,” a seven movement suite inspired by mystical associations with the number seven. Ken Schaphorst arranged the suite for the HfMT Big Band in Hamburg in 2016. This will be the first time the arrangement has been played in the United States. Bergonzi has taught at NEC for over twenty years, developing an international reputation as saxophonist, author, composer and educator.
Monday, April 23 – CI Salon Night
7, 8 and 9 p.m. Pierce Hall
Discover the musical innovators of tomorrow in these three one-hour performances by CI student small ensembles. Tonight’s lineup features the Zaleski Non-Majors, Anthony Coleman, and Monk/Mingus Ensembles.
Tuesday, April 24 – Jazz Composers Workshop Orchestra
7:30 p.m. Jordan Hall
Wednesday, April 25 – Jazz Ensemble Concerts
7, 8 and 9 p.m. SLPC Eben Jordan Ensemble Room
Discover the musical innovators of tomorrow with these one-hour concerts featuring NEC’s student ensembles, each coached by a member of NEC’s renowned faculty.
Thursday, April 26 – Jazz Ensemble Concerts
7, 8 and 9 p.m. SLPC Eben Jordan Ensemble Room
Discover the musical innovators of tomorrow with these one-hour concerts featuring NEC’s student ensembles, each coached by a member of NEC’s renowned faculty.
Monday, April 30 – International Jazz Day
7:30 p.m. Brown Hall
UNESCO has designated April 30 as International Jazz Day in order to highlight jazz and its diplomatic role of uniting people in all corners of the globe. NEC joins the celebration with a performance featuring NEC faculty and students playing music embodying the ongoing dialogue between jazz and musical cultures from throughout the world.
Monday, April 30 – Jazz Ensemble Concerts
7, 8 and 9 p.m. SLPC Eben Jordan Ensemble Room
Discover the musical innovators of tomorrow with these one-hour concerts featuring NEC’s student ensembles, each coached by a member of NEC’s renowned faculty.
May 2018
Tuesday, May 1 – Jazz Ensemble Concerts
7, 8 and 9 p.m. SLPC Eben Jordan Ensemble Room
Discover the musical innovators of tomorrow with these one-hour concerts featuring NEC’s student ensembles, each coached by a member of NEC’s renowned faculty.
Wednesday, May 2 – World premiere of Streams by Anthony Coleman
7:30 p.m. Jordan Hall
For its first 150 years one of NEC’s most important contributions to music education has been the school’s efforts to confront the convergence of various musical idioms and genres. These efforts only intensified in the late 1960s, when NEC president Gunther Schuller brought his “Third Stream” idea to the conservatory, creating a department (now called “Contemporary Improvisation”) with the specific mission of crafting a new approach to teaching music that could adapt as a new global approach to composition, performance, and improvisation took shape. This concert features the world premiere of “Streams,” a new composition commissioned for NEC’s 150th Anniversary. In this work CI alum, faculty member, and maverick composer Anthony Coleman bring the forces of today’s Contemporary Improvisation department (both students and faculty) together to explore and confront the problems and possibilities inherent in creating a global music for the 21st century.
Thursday, May 3 – Jazz Ensemble Concerts
7, 8 and 9 p.m. SLPC Eben Jordan Ensemble Room
Discover the musical innovators of tomorrow with these one-hour concerts featuring NEC’s student ensembles, each coached by a member of NEC’s renowned faculty.
NEC's Jazz Studies Department was the first fully accredited jazz studies program at a music conservatory. The brainchild of Gunther Schuller, who moved quickly to incorporate jazz into the curriculum when he became president of the Conservatory in 1967, the Jazz Studies faculty has included six MacArthur "genius" grant recipients (three currently teaching) and four NEA Jazz Masters. The program has spawned numerous Grammy winning composers and performers and has an alumni list that reads like a who's who of jazz. As Mike West writes in JazzTimes: “NEC's jazz studies department is among the most acclaimed and successful in the world; so says the roster of visionary artists that have comprised both its faculty and alumni.” The program currently has 101 students; 52 undergraduate and 49 graduate students from 18 countries. www.necmusic.edu/jazz
Founded in 1972 by musical visionaries Gunther Schuller and Ran Blake, New England Conservatory's Contemporary Improvisation (CI) program is “one of the most versatile in all of music education” (JazzEd). CI trains composers, performers, and improvisers to broaden their musical palettes and develop unique voices. It is unparalleled in its structured approach to ear training and its emphasis on singing, memorization, harmonic sophistication, aesthetic integrity, and stylistic openness. Under Blake's inspired guidance for its first thirty-three years, the program grew considerably and has expanded its offerings under current co-chairs Hankus Netsky and Eden MacAdam-Somer. Alumni include Don Byron, John Medeski, Jacqueline Schwab, Aoife O'Donovan and Sarah Jarosz; faculty include Carla Kihlstedt, Blake, Dominique Eade, and Anthony Coleman. “A thriving hub of musical exploration,” (Jeremy Goodwin, Boston Globe), the program currently has more than 50 undergrad and graduate students from 14 countries. http://necmusic.edu/contemporary-improvisation
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)