Leigh Kamman Legacy Project and Jazz Central Present The First Edition of “Leigh Kamman Classic Originals,” Saturday, September 30, 7:30 p.m., at Jazz Central
“Tony Bennett, Bill Evans, and Leigh Kamman”
• The Larry McDonough Trio (LMT) Performs One Set of the Music of Tony Bennett and Bill Evans
• Brad Bellows Presents Audio Interviews of Leigh Kamman with Bennett and Evans
• LMT Performs a Second Set of Originals
Saturday, September 30, 7:30 p.m.
Jazz Central
407 Central Avenue SE
Minneapolis, MN 55414
(Lower Level)
(612) 729-1799
http://jazzcentralstudios.org/
Families and students are welcome. $10 suggested donation.
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The Leigh Kamman Legacy Project and Jazz Central are proud to announce the new monthly series, Leigh Kamman Classic Originals. Each month on the last Saturday night of the month, the Project and Jazz Central will present a local jazz group performing one set of music from a classic jazz artist, followed by audio interviews of the subject by jazz journalist Leigh Kamman, and ending with a second set of original music by the jazz group. The purpose of the series is to connect musicians and audiences with classic jazz, Kamman’s interviews, and the vibrant original music of Minnesota musicians.
The first show is "Tony Bennett, Bill Evans, and Leigh Kamman." The Larry McDonough Trio (LMT) will perform a set of material from the popular show "You Must Believe in Spring: Tony Bennett and Bill Evans 40 Years Later." Brad Bellows will present Leigh Kamman’s interviews with Bennett and Evans. LMT will finish with a set of original odd-metered music. LMT is Larry McDonough, piano and vocals, Richard Terrill, saxes and poetry, and Greg Stinson, bass.
The First Set: Tony Bennett and Bill Evans
Larry McDonough will celebrate the two recordings of legendary pianist and composer Bill Evans and vocalist Tony Bennett. Evans rarely performed with singers, so it was big news to some in the jazz community when Evans and Bennett recorded and released "The Tony Bennett Bill Evans Album" in 1975 and "Together Again" in 1977. Both albums showed Evans' skill in accompanying a vocalist while adding the complexities that he displayed in his solo and ensemble performances, and exhibited Bennett's expressive range from bold and commanding to soft and delicate. McDonough will take on the challenging roles of both Evans and Bennett. McDonough and friends will perform a sample of pieces from the two albums, and pieces that Evans and Bennett recorded separately but never together. Evans died in 1980. Tony Bennett is 91 years old and lives in New York City. Award-winning poet and saxman Richard Terrill will add poetry about Bennett and Evans. McDonough has performed the show at Jazz Central, the Dakota, Vieux Carré, and the Warming House to enthusiastic crowds.
Leigh Kamman Interviews with Tony Bennett and Bill Evans
Brad Bellows will present two interviews with slide shows this evening. The first is an interview Leigh Kamman did with Tony Bennett from the early 1950's when Leigh was broadcasting from WOV in New York City. This was originally produced by KBEM for the Jazz Image Special Edition series in 2014 and includes narration by Leigh.
The second is an interview Leigh did with Bill Evans in 1976 when Evans was in Minneapolis performing with his trio, and with the University of Minnesota Jazz Ensemble. band. Evans and Frank Bencriscutto, UOM Director of Bands, also known as Dr. Ben, were in the army together and stayed in touch afterwards. He discusses their history in this interview as well as his beginnings as a pianist and his entry into jazz from his classical background.
The Second Set: Larry McDonough Trio Originals
Following the Kamman interviews of Bennett and Evans, the trio will perform a second set of compositions of McDonough and bassist Greg Stinson that has filled Khyber Pass Café last winter, and was a popular show at Studio Z and Jazz Central last year.
McDonough’s trademarks are unique harmonies and rhythms in both arrangements and compositions, often in the uncommon meters of 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, and 13. He has sprinkled his compositions in his eight recordings, ranging from ballads Lady Day (CD “Simple Gifts”) and Tuscarora (CDs “Simple Gifts” & “Tuscarora”) to the rhythmically and harmonically intense odd metered Sirocco 7/4 (CD “Solitude” and DVD “Live at Minnesota Connection”), Coming Late to Rachmaninoff 11/4 (CD “Solitude”), and Tango para Maria Luiza 9/4 (CD “My Favorite Things”). He also has composed pieces for the SpecAbilities Project, formerly Fingersteps, based on melody fragments from kids with special abilities and disabilities, including his daughter Rosie. Pieces include A Rose for Two 5/4 (CDs "Solitude" and “My Favorite Things”), Elie's Theme (CD "Simple Gifts"), Solitude 7/4 (CD "Solitude"), and Waltz for Christian 3/4 (CD "Solitude").
Bassist Greg Stinson is an active composer and arranger with jazz charts in the books of the CC Septet, Hortz Quintet, Nova Contemporary Jazz Orchestra, and others, including A Dream of Hungarian Lanterns, A Fragment of Tomorrow, Expedition, Friendly Stranger, I Care Too Much, Ruya’s Dream, She’s Big in Egypt, Slopin’, The Penny Gospel, and What We Don’t Need. He has also written a number of choral arrangements and compositions for school and church groups.
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Larry McDonough is a St. Paul jazz pianist and singer, performing around the world and recording with his group the Larry McDonough Quartet as well as solo, and in duos and trios. He has performed with legendary saxophonist and composer Benny Golson, Trombonist Fred Wesley, and trumpeter Duane Eubanks, as well as a who’s who of local jazz artists, and was inducted into the Minnesota Rock Country Hall of Fame for his work in the group Danny’s Reasons. He has released eight CDs and DVDs as a leader, including “Simple Gifts,” which reached number 29 on the CMJ Jazz Chart and has been played on hundreds of stations around the country and throughout the world. He also is a lawyer and law professor selected by William Mitchell College of Law as one of “100 Who Made a Difference” over the 100-year history of the school. Larry directs pro bono legal services for the poor at Dorsey & Whitney.
Richard Terrill, sax player and Minnesota State University Mankato English Professor, received the Minnesota Book Award for Poetry for his poetry compilation “Coming Late to Rachmaninoff” (University of Tampa Press, 2003). Richard has been performing with Larry McDonough since December 2001. He also has performed with guitarist Jim McGuire and with Chaz Draper’s Uptown Jazz Quartet. As a college student, Richard was a member of the award-winning University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Jazz Ensemble and performed with later-to-be Pat Metheny keyboardist Lyle Mays in the Lyle Mays Quartet, winner of small group honors at the Midwest College Jazz Festival. He has also worked with pianist Geoff Keezer. Richard teaches creative writing at Minnesota State University, Mankato.
Bassist Greg Stinson plays in several bands around the Twin Cities. He has been the bass player in the Century College Jazz Ensemble for more than 25 years. He also plays in the CC Septet, Shorn Hortz Quintet, Paul Berger Trio, the St. Croix Jazz Ensemble, and regularly subs with the Nova Contemporary Jazz Orchestra, Classic Big Band, and Cedar Avenue Big Band. Greg spent many years playing saxophones, guitar, bass, and vocals in jazz/rock and variety bands in the area. He is an active composer/arranger with jazz charts in the books of the Century Band, Nova, CC Septet, and others. He has also written a number of choral arrangements and compositions for school and church groups. Greg was a band and choir director in public and private schools before changing to his current career in telecommunications technology. The Larry McDonough Quartet performs Greg Stinson compositions from the Nova Contemporary Jazz Orchestra recording ADance to Be-bop.
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For more information, contact
Brad Bellows
Leigh Kamman Legacy Project
http://www.leighkamman.com/
https://www.facebook.com/LeighKammanProject/?fref=nf
[email protected]
612-203-4739
Larry McDonough
http://www.larrymcdonoughjazz.homestead.com
https://www.facebook.com/LarryMcDonoughJazz/
[email protected]
651-398-8053
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