Program - Brad Mehldau Trio and Joe Lovano Nonet (Tuesday, March 1, 2005 - 8 p.m.)
Contents
Introduction
Brad Mehldau Trio
- Brad Mehldau, piano
- Larry Grenadier, bass
- Jeff Ballard, drums, percussion
Joe Lovano Nonet*
- Joe Lovano, tenor sax
- Ralph Lalama, tenor sax
- Steve Slagle, alto sax
- Gary Smulyan, baritone sax
- Larry Ferrell, trombone
- Barry Ries, trumpet
- John Hicks, piano
- Dennis Irwin, bass
- Lewis Nash, drums
*Subject to change
Program
Tonight's program will be announced from the stage.
The Brad Mehldau Trio and Joe Lovano Nonet are presented by arrangement with
International Music Network
278 Main Street Gloucester MA 01930
Tel. 978/283-2883 - Fax. 978/283-2330
www.imnworld.com
About the Artists
Brad Mehldau (Piano), like many of his contemporaries, began his career with heavy classical training, long before he was exposed to jazz. He started experimenting with the piano when he was just four and began taking lessons when he was six, continuing until he was 14. As a youngster he listened more to rock than jazz.
Brad moved to New York City in 1988 where he worked with a variety of musicians over the next several years and made several recordings as a sideman. During that period he began to develop his own style which he attributes to the influence of his musical peers, specifically bandleaders Peter Bernstein, Jessie Davis and David Sanchez as well as other musicians he worked with often - Mark Turner, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Perico Sambeat, Leon Parker, Avishai Cohen and Chris Potter, to name a few. In addition he met and played with his future trio mates, Larry Grenadier and Jorge Rossy in several projects.
Mehldau's first major international exposure came as a member of the Joshua Redman Quartet, with which he recorded MoodSwing and toured the U.S. and Europe for a year and a half. At his Village Vanguard debut, coinciding with the release of his first album, The New York Times commented, "Mr. Mehldau, who spent most of the hour with eyes closed and head crooked into his chest like a sleeping bird, reached into the subconscious and took the songs at a run, rearranging all the accents of the melodies; his song-like improvisations took off from those jumbled rhythms."
Mehldau is also the subject of a French documentary entitled Jazz Collection: Brad Mehldau, and his performance of the lead track from Art Of The Trio, Vol. 1, "Blame It On My Youth" (Oscar Levant/Edward Heyman), is featured in the film Eyes Wide Shut and its companion soundtrack on Warner Sunset. He has composed and recorded the score to the French film, Me Femme et une Actrice. Mehldau is currently working on a commission from Carnegie Hall to compose a set of songs for Renée Fleming.
Larry Grenadier (Bass) attended Stanford University where he received a B.A. degree in English Literature. After moving to the East Coast, he played Gary Burton Band, touring the U.S. and Europe. He moved to New York City and played with Joe Henderson, Betty Carter, Pat Metheny and the John Scofield Group. For the past year when not touring and recording with Brad Mehldau Trio he tours and records with the Pat Metheny Trio.
Jeff Ballard (Drums, Percussion) grew up in Santa Cruz, California. He toured with Ray Charles from 1988-90 and moved to New York in 1990. Since then, he has played and recorded with Lou Donaldson, Danilo Perez, Chick Corea, and Joshua Redman to name a few. Currently, Ballard is a member of the Brad Mehldau Trio, a co-leader of the collective group FLY (featuring Mark Turner, Larry Grenadier, Jeff Ballard) and plays with Joshua Redman's Elastic Band.
Joe Lovano (Tenor Sax) was born in Cleveland in 1952 and began playing alto sax as a child. A prophetic early family photo is of the infant Lovano cradled in his mother's arms along with a sax. His father, tenor saxophonist Tony "Big T" Lovano, immersed him in the world of jazz.
Upon graduation from high school Lovano attended the Berklee College of Music in Boston where he met and began playing with such future collaborators as John Scofield, Bill Frisell and Kenny Werner. In 1994 he was given the prestigious Distinguished Alumni Award from Berklee and was awarded an honorary doctorate in 1998. Berklee also awarded him the first Gary Burton Chair for Jazz Performance in 2001.
His long and distinguished career has been remarkably varied as he has tackled a wide array of musical styles. Among his many honors are the Down Beat magazine Jazz Artist of the Year Award in 1995 and 1996 from both the critics' and readers' polls (he won the reader's poll honor again in 2001); a Grammy Award in 2000 for Best Large Ensemble for 52nd Street Themes, a recording by the Joe Lovano Nonet; and the 2001 Musician of the Year from Jazz Journalists Association Critic's Choice Awards.
52nd Street Themes is Lovano's latest Blue Note recording featuring the compositions of Tadd Dameron, Thelonius Monk and Charlie Parker, with Lovano originals.
Coming Soon to Hancher
National Acrobats of Taiwan (Thursday, March 3, 7:30 pm, note family-friendly start time!)
Prepare to be dazzled.
Whether it's 12 performers spinning six plates apiece or a towering stack of balanced chairs topped by an acrobat doing a handstand, the National Acrobats of Taiwan deliver a host of eye-popping treats. The Chinese have been developing and perfecting acrobatic feats for more than a millennium and nobody does it better. Infused with show-biz razzle-dazzle, this is a show that will delight kids and adults alike.
Soweto Gospel Choir (Sunday, March 6, 2 pm)
The CD is called Voices from Heaven. It's not an exaggeration.
Blending African vocal traditions with Western and contemporary gospel styles, the Soweto Gospel Choir will fill Hancher with the joyous sounds found in the churches of South Africa. Singing, drumming and dancing, the choir performs in six languages - but joy and beauty permeate the sound and create what can only be considered a universal language of song.
Prague Symphony Orchestra with Navah Perlman (Wednesday, March 9, 8 pm)
From the musical heart of Europe comes the Prague Symphony Orchestra joined by lyrical young pianist Navah Perlman. Music Director Serge Baudo, long-time opera conductor at the Paris Opera and director of the Prague Symphony Orchestra since 2001, leads the orchestra through a compelling program highlighted by Perlman's rich reading of Chopin's second piano concerto.
As is fitting for a performance by one of the Czech Republic's finest musical institutions, the program will conclude with a work by Dvorak - the delightful Symphony No. 6 in D Major, Op. 60. Described as "playful," "vigorous," "joyous," "dreamy" and said to include, in its second movement, "one of Dvorak's most profound inspirations," the symphony is at heart a happy musical adventure.
Program
- Beethoven, Leonore Overture No. 3
- Chopin, Piano Concerto No. 2 in F minor, Op. 21 (with Navah Perlman, piano)
- Dvorak, Symphony No. 6 in D Major, Op. 60
Natalie MacMaster (Thursday, March 31, 7:30 pm, note family-friendly start time!)
With her fiery fiddle and fancy footwork, Natalie MacMaster puts on a high-energy extravaganza that never stops. Backed by a hot band, MacMaster brings the music of Cape Breton Island - the musical nexus between Irish and Cajun traditions - to Hancher. Perfect for fans of Riverdance, Beau Soleil and everyone who enjoys a rollicking good time, MacMaster's performance will be exhilarating.
Freelon brings 'very hip music' to Hancher (April 9)
With a sassy attitude and a sweet voice, Nnenna Freelon pushes the boundaries of the jazz songbook, finding inspiration in a wide array of music. Freelon knows how to swing, whether the song is by Stevie Wonder or Sarah Vaughn. She'll be swinging at Hancher on Saturday, April 9 at 8 pm.
Her recordings have garnered five Grammy nominations but Freelon's true love is live performance, something made clear as she seduces with her lively personality and killer smile. "Freelon had no problem charming the audience with a bright, rhythmically infectious performance," raves The Washington Post, leaving, in the words of The Los Angeles Times, "no doubt that [she] has now positioned herself in the very top echelon" of jazz vocalists.
Perhaps the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin, puts it most simply: "Be sure to check our Nnenna Freelon…very hip music."
The performance is supported by Drs. Lisa and Amir Arbisser, Eye Surgeons Associates, Inc.; and OPN Architects, Inc.
For tickets, call 335-1160 or 1-800-HANCHER or purchase online at www.hancher.uiowa.edu
© 2003-2005
The University of Iowa Center for Macular Degeneration
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