 Willie Pickens Veteran Chicago pianist Willie Pickens will grace the stage of the Green Mill in Chicago with a stellar quintet feturing Willie Pickens on piano, Michael Davenport on tenor sax, Tito Carrillo on trumpet and flugelhorn, Marlene Rosenberg on bass, and Robert Shy on drums. They wiill appear at the Green Mill on Friday, March 16 and Saturday, March 17.
Willie Pickens turned 75 on April 18, 2006. His contributions to the world of jazz and music education have been immeasurable. The list of musicians with whom he has worked is a veritable who’s who of the industry: Elvin Jones, James Moody, Max Roach, Eddie Harris, Marian McPartland, Roy Hargrove, Bobby Hutcherson—the list goes on and on.
In 1954, Willie earned a teacher’s certificate from the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music in Milwaukee and went on to the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee, in 1958, to receive his B.S. in Music Education. His sterling academic credentials have enabled him to share his gifts with many young players, both as a performer and teacher.
After he had recorded and toured with the multitalented Eddie Harris in the early ’60s, Willie’s live appearances were almost all limited to the midwest for the next two decades, while his career as an educator flourished. From 1966 to 1986, he appeared on recordings headlined by Bunky Green, E. Parker McDougal, Vernel Fournier, and Joanie Pallatto. He also performed with Sammy Davis Jr., at Orchestra Hall, and with Quincy Jones, Roberta Flack, and Minnie Ripperton at the Mill Run Theatre in Niles, near Chicago.
In 1990, Willie was invited to join the mighty Elvin Jones Jazz Machine. His first appearance with this legendary band took place later that year at the Bottom Line in New York and also featured Wynton Marsalis. Willie’s commitment to the Jazz Machine over the next several years meant retirement from full-time teaching in the public schools, but enabled him to serve as a linchpin for the group, appearing in Japan, Europe, and Canada, as well as in many U.S. cities.
AT 75, Willie continues to be one of Chicago’s most in-demand pianists for visiting artists. He has performed several times at the famed Chicago Jazz Festival, to rave reviews, and has been the featured pianist on impresario Joe Segal’s Jazz Cruises, where he has shared the stage with Clark Terry, Louie Bellson, and Red Holloway, among others. He has also performed with fellow pianist Marian McPartland, both in concert and on her well-loved NPR show, Piano Jazz. 2001 saw the release of their album of duets Ain’t Misbehavin’ on the Concord label.
Tito Carrillo is a trumpeter, educator, bandleader, composer, and arranger, and since 1996 he has been a fixture in the Chicago jazz and Latin music scenes. The list of artists he has performed, recorded, and toured with is as varied as his skill set: Chicago heavyweights Willie Pickens, Bobby Broom, Patricia Barber, and Kurt Elling; big bands such as the Woody Herman Orchestra, Chicago Jazz Ensemble, Chicago Jazz Orchestra, and Smithsonian Masterworks Orchestra (directed by David Baker); jazz greats such as Toshiko Akiyoshi, Louis Hayes, Jon Faddis, and Vincent Herring; Salsa legends such as Andy Montañez, Tony Vega, and Cheo Feliciano; Latin jazz giants Tito Puente and Paquito D’Rivera; and pop icons Quincy Jones and Phil Collins. Carrillo has played some of the most prestigious venues in the world, including Chicago’s Symphony Center, Carnegie Hall, Kennedy Center, and London’s Royal Albert Hall. He has also brought his talents as an educator and performer to Chicago’s inner-city high schools through the Ravinia Festival’s community outreach program, the Ravinia Jazz Mentors. Of Carrillo, the Chicago Tribune states “he has acquired a reputation as a fluid improviser, doubly-blessed with a warm lyric style and technique to burn.” He continues to lead his own quintet in Chicago and throughout the Midwest, as well as being an active guest soloist and clinician at various secondary and collegiate jazz programs.
WILLIE PICKENS QUINTET
Green Mill Jazz Club - 4802 N. Broadway Ave., Chicago, IL 60640 - 773.878.5552
Friday, March 16; 9pm-1am
Saturday, March 17; 8pm-midnight
$ 10 or $12 Cover
wwwgreenmilljazz.com
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Wednesday, 03 December 2008
