Steve March Tormé with the Lawrence Faculty Jazz Band
presented in collaboration with the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center
Friday, November 6, 2009
7:30 p.m.
“Second generation talent can be hit-or-miss. You can hit yourself if you miss this one… the guy is so personable, his voice so becoming and his performance so filled with èlan, that he is always interesting…” — New York Daily News
Tormé Sings Tormé. A big band tribute to the life and music of Mel Tormé from his son, Steve. This unforgettable night boasts a 10-piece band and a multimedia presentation featuring never-before-seen family photos and video. This must-see evening is sure to bring back memories and put a song in your heart.
Wisconsin Homegrown Jazz Quintet
Saturday, November 7, 2009
7:30 p.m.
Brian Lynch (trumpet) grew up in Milwaukee and moved to New York in 1981. He has been a member of the Horace Silver Quintet, Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers, and the Phil Woods Quintet. In 1987 he began his long association with Latin jazz giant Eddie Palmieri. Lynch has appeared on numerous jazz recordings as both a leader and sideman and is recognized as one of the premier jazz trumpet artists in the world today.
Joel Frahm (tenor sax) was born in Racine and is now based in New York City. He has performed with Brad Mehldau, Jane Monheit, Betty Carter, Dewey Redman, Lee Konitz, Kurt Rosenwinkel, and the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra. Frahm was recently selected in DownBeat magazine’s Critics Poll as a Rising Star in the tenor saxophone category.
Geoff Keezer (piano) was born in Eau Claire and joined Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers at age 18. He has performed and recorded with Art Farmer, Benny Golson, Gerry Mulligan, Ray Brown, Diana Krall, Brian Lynch, Joshua Redman, Christian McBride, Chick Corea, and The Mingus Dynasty as both leader and accompanist.
Ike Sturm (bass) was born in Appleton. He has worked with Gene Bertoncini, Donny McCaslin, Bobby McFerrin, Ben Monder, Ingrid Jensen, Maria Schneider, Kenny Wheeler, and the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra. Sturm currently serves as the music director for jazz at Saint Peter’s Church (the “Jazz Church”) in Manhattan.
Zach Harmon (drums) was raised in Winneconne and now resides in Los Angeles. He toured Japan and performed at the Monterey Jazz Festival with the Clifford Brown/Stan Getz All-Stars in 2003 and studied at the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz with masters Ron Carter, Jimmy Heath, and Benny Golson. He recently toured Vietnam and India with jazz legends Wayne Shorter and Herbie Hancock and recorded with Terence Blanchard.
Bobby McFerrin
with Lawrence University Jazz Ensemble performing Migrations
Friday, February 19, 2010
8:00 p.m.
“The critics in Germany call him ‘Stimmwunder’ (wonder voice), and it’s not hard to understand why. There is something almost superhuman about the range and technique of jazz vocalist Bobby McFerrin.” — Newsweek
Bobby McFerrin is one of the natural wonders of the music world. A 10-time Grammy© Award winner, he is one of the world’s best-known vocal innovators and improvisers, a world-renowned classical conductor, the creator of Don’t Worry Be Happy, one of the most popular songs of the late 20th century, and a passionate spokesman for music education. His recordings have sold more than 20 million copies, and his collaborations with Yo-Yo Ma, Chick Corea, the Vienna Philharmonic, and Herbie Hancock have established him as an ambassador of both the classical and jazz worlds.
With a four-octave range and a vast array of vocal techniques, McFerrin is no mere singer; he is music’s last true Renaissance man, a vocal explorer who has combined jazz, folk, and a multitude of world music influences – choral, a cappella, and classical music – with his own ingredients.
Fred Sturm’s Migrations was commissioned in 2007 by Bobby McFerrin, Original Artists, and the NDR Big Band in Hamburg. The work is a “musical plea for world unity” that incorporates the influences of indigenous/ folk music from 20 countries. Lawrence Conservatory of Music Dean Brian Pertl carried out the ethnomusicological research for the project, and McFerrin, Sturm, Lawrence faculty percussion professor Dane Richeson, and the NDR Big Band presented the world premiere at Germany’s Schleswig-Holstein Musik Fest in 2007. The program toured Europe in the summer of 2008, including a performance at the North Sea Jazz Festival.
Christian McBride
and Inside Straight
Saturday, May 14, 2010
8:00 p.m.
“You could feel the seats vibrate as the band impeccably played their churningly funky, jam-band jazz. Perhaps the most exciting jazz bass player since Ray Brown.” — All About Jazz
The finest musicians to spring from the world of jazz have clearly had an advantage when it comes to branching into other genres of music. Their mastery of composition, arranging, and sight reading – coupled with their flair for improvisation and spontaneous creation – make them possibly the most seasoned and adaptable musicians in the art. Grammy© Award winner Christian McBride, chameleonic virtuoso of the acoustic and electric bass, stands tall at the top of this clique. Beginning in 1989 – the start of an amazing career in which he still has wider-reaching goals to attain – the Philadelphian has thus far been first-call-requested to accompany literally hundreds of fine artists, ranging in an impressive array from McCoy Tyner and Sting to Kathleen Battle and Diana Krall. However, it is his own recordings – albums that encompass a diverse canon of original compositions and imaginatively arranged covers – that reveal the totality of his musicianship. He currently leads one of the hottest bands in music – the propulsive Christian McBride Band (saxophonist Ron Blake, keyboardist Geoffrey Keezer, and drummer Terreon Gully).
