The Aardvark Jazz Orchestra will continue its historic 51st season with a Salute to Duke Ellington. Called โstunningly beautifulโ (The New York City Jazz Record) and โspellbindingโ (The Boston Globe), Aardvark will celebrate Duke Ellingtonโs 125th birthday year with a panoramic view of the Maestroโs music from the 1920s Cotton Club period, to Swing-era classics, to movements from late-period Suites and Sacred Concerts. JazzTimes praised Aardvarkโs โlush sonorities and a saxophonic blend worthy of Ellingtonโs finest reed sections,โ while Jazz Podium (Germany) called Aardvark โone of the best jazz ensembles in the world.โ ...
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The Aardvark Jazz Orchestra will continue its historic 51st season with a Salute to Duke Ellington. Called โstunningly beautifulโ (The New York City Jazz Record) and โspellbindingโ (The Boston Globe), Aardvark will celebrate Duke Ellingtonโs 125th birthday year with a panoramic view of the Maestroโs music from the 1920s Cotton Club period, to Swing-era classics, to movements from late-period Suites and Sacred Concerts. JazzTimes praised Aardvarkโs โlush sonorities and a saxophonic blend worthy of Ellingtonโs finest reed sections,โ while Jazz Podium (Germany) called Aardvark โone of the best jazz ensembles in the world.โ
Aardvark vocalist Grace Hughes will take center stage in the hit tune โIโm Beginning to See the Lightโ as well as โCome Sunday,โ the modern spiritual portion of the composerโs magnum opus โBlack, Brown, and Beige.โ Pianist Tim Ray will be featured with the band in Dukeโs expansive orchestral music, and in a solo rendition of Ellingtonโs โNew World AโCominโ,โ one of his most personal and optimistic compositions.
Aardvarkโs many stellar soloists will be heard to advantage on wide-ranging selections: โCaravanโ by Duke and Juan Tizol; โBlues to Be There,โ a Billy Strayhorn collaboration from The Newport Jazz Festival Suite, โChinoiserie,โ from The Afro-Eurasian Eclipse Suite, and โItโs Freedom,โ from the Second Sacred Concert. Also on the program will be Mark Harveyโs anthem of inclusivity โNo Walls,โ inspired by Ellingtonโs credo to move โbeyond categoryโ in life as in music.
Founded in 1973, Aardvark is one of the longest running large jazz ensembles in the world. The orchestra has premiered 200 works and has released 16 CDs, including 10 discs on Leo Records, a leading independent label. Aardvark guest artists have included such luminaries as Ricky Ford, Sheila Jordan, Jimmy Giuffre, Geri Allen, Jay Clayton, and Jaki Byard. Aardvark is known for original works by founder/director Mark Harvey, and a long tradition of showcasing Duke Ellingtonโs vast repertoire. Among its many Ducal commemorations, Aardvark celebrated the Ellington centennial on April 24, 1999, in a performance at MITโs Kresge Auditorium recorded by WGBH (with excepts captured in Aardvarkโs CD Duke Ellington/Sacred Music on Aardmuse Recordings). โAardvark and Ellington are an ideal coupleโ (AllAboutJazz.com). Aardvark is managed by Americas Musicworks, Rebecca DeLamotte, director, rhd at amwks dot com
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