We have 3 outstanding concerts scheduled for the spring 2015 season of Jazzway 6004.
An Afternoon with Cyrus Chestnut: On Saturday, April 25th at 4 PM. there will be an afternoon fundraising reception and performance by renowned jazz pianist, Cyrus Chestnut, in support of The Walden School and their Young Musicians Program. Walden’s Young Musicians Program provides an unparalleled creative summer experience for musically inclined students ages 9 to 18. Part school, part camp, and part festival, the program convenes each summer for five weeks in Dublin, NH. Through rigorous and innovative daily instruction, students hone their musical and creative skills within a supportive community of like-minded peers and mentors. Cyrus Chestnut is an alumnus of the Young Musicians Program. The reception will include catered appetizers and desserts, beverages (including wine and beer), a short presentation about the Young Musicians Program and a performance by Mr. Chestnut, who has been called a “…highly intelligent improviser with one of the surest senses of swing in jazz” by The New York Times. Tickets are in the form of on-line donations at a suggested amount of $50 per person. You can obtain tickets through our website.
May 16th will be a very special event in which 2014 Baker Artist Award winner Todd Marcus will debut his new CD, Blues for Tahrir. Todd’s orchestras will perform two sets at Jazzway 6004 in our first outdoor concert from 7:00 -9:30 pm. The concert is concert is funded in part, through a generous grant from the Maryland State Arts Council. Tickets are available on-line now on the website.
Marcus, the Baltimore bass clarinetist and composer has presented his jazz for over 10 years and along the way received accolades including the $25,000 Baker prize, selections as a rising star by national jazz magazine Downbeat in its 2014 and 2013 annual critics poll, and an NPR pick for one of the top 10 albums of 2012.
About the CD Blues for Tahrir:
"The album revolves around my Blues for Tahrir Suite,” Marcus explains. “It began as just one piece of music when the Arab Spring movement started in Tahrir Square in Cairo in 2011 but as the demonstrations continued over the following years, I kept writing more music in response to the ongoing developments.”
The sections of the suite bear out these diverse moods with titles including Protest, Reflections, Tears on the Square, and Adhan, the Arabic word for the call to prayer that sounds five times a day across loudspeakers at mosques in Islamic countries.
For Marcus, the son of an Egyptian immigrant father, the project stemmed from efforts to connect more deeply with his own heritage. “There wasn’t an Egyptian community around where I was raised,” Marcus shares of his New Jersey childhood, “but as I’ve gotten older, exploring Middle Eastern music has been a way for me to connect with my culture in my work.”
Finally , the Jazzway 8th Anniversary concert at 8:00 PM on June 13th will feature vibraphonist Warren Wolf and his group with special guest, saxophonist, Antonio Hart. The group will feature jazz standards as well as original compositions from Mr. Wolf and Mr. Hart. Warren Wolf on vibes and piano, Antonio Hart on alto saxophone, Kris Funn on bass and Quincy Phillips on drums. Tickets will be posted online this week.