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CJO presents Jazz Goes Hollywood & Tribute To Stanley Turrentine with Eric Alexander |
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Written by Ronaldo Oregano
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Saturday, 10 May 2008 |
 Stanley Turrentine
Chicago Jazz Orchesta's Season Finale will take place on Sunday, May 18th at 3:00 pm at Northwestern University's Thorne Auditorium,. Some of the best known jazz and big band music was written for television and movie sound tracks. The Jeff Lindberg's Chicago Jazz Orchesta will perform some of the best known TV and movie music from the 50's, 60's, 70's and beyond, including themes from The Danny Thomas Show, The Dick Van Dyke Show, Mannix, Mission Impossible, and many, many more. The second half of the program will feature tenor saxophonist Eric Alexander in a special Tribute To Stanley Turrentine, who was one of the most distinctive tenor saxophonists in jazz. Known for his big warm sound, "The Sugar Man" found inspiration in the blues and turned it into a hugely successful career with a #1 hit and four Grammy-nominations-first in R&B and then in jazz. Alexander and CJO will perfom the masterful arrangements by Oliver Nelson and Duke Pearson that were originally recorded by Stanley Turrentine.
 Eric Alexander © Andrea Canter
With 18 CD's out under his own name and appearing as sideman on countless others, Eric Alexander has made his mark on the jazz world and documented his progress as a tenor master. He has a rich tone and an aggressive, driving style that grabs the listeners attention and doesn't let go. One can hear the influence of Sonny Stitt, Jackie McLean and George Coleman in his playing. At William Paterson College in New Jersey Eric advanced his studies under the tutelage of Mabern, Joe Lovano, Rufus Reid, and others. "The people I listened to in college are still the cats that are influencing me today," says Alexander. "Monk, Dizzy, Sonny Stitt, Clifford Brown, Sonny Rollins, Jackie McLean, Joe Henderson--the legacy left by Bird and all the bebop pioneers, that language and that feel, that's the bread and butter of everything I do. George Coleman remains a big influence because of his very hip harmonic approach, and I'm still listening all the time to Coltrane because I feel that even in the wildest moments of his mid- to late-Sixties solos I can find these little kernels of melodic information and find ways to employ them in my own playing."
During the 1990s, after placing second behind Joshua Redman in the 1991 Thelonious Monk International Saxophone Competition, Alexander threw himself into the whirlwind life of a professional jazz musician. He played with organ trios on the South Side of Chicago, made his recording debut in 1991 with Charles Earland, and cut his first album as leader in 1992. Seventeen recordings followed including his latest recording, a CD / DVD combo called Prime Time - Eric Alexander Quartet in concert. For more information, see www.ericalexanderjazz.com.
 CJO Conductor and Artistic Director, Jeff Lindberg
The CJO is recognized internationally, having been the resident orchestra for The Kennedy Center Honors for the past sixteen years. The orchestra has toured Europe twice, including performances in Italy, Spain, Denmark, and Sweden. The CJO's recent compact disc Clark Terry and Jeff Lindberg's Chicago Jazz Orchestra: George Gershwin's Porgy and Bess (Americana Music) has received widespread critical acclaim, including a rare "FIVE-STAR" rating from Downbeat magazine, and a nomination as "Jazz Album of The Year" by the Jazz Journalists' Association."It takes pinpoint precision to make such writing sing, and conductor Lindberg made it happen. When the band focused on a unison long note, the sound shot from the stage like a laser. This is what repertory jazz should be: not a tepid re-creation of work, but a chance to hear how skillfully blended instrumental voices can set a room humming." -Kevin Whitehead, Chicago Sun-Times
For more information call 312-409-3947 or visit chicagojazzorchestra.com.
Chicago Jazz Orchesta Season Finale
Jazz Goes Hollywood & Tribute To Stanley Turrentine (Featuring Eric Alexander)
Sunday May 18th, 3:00 pm
Thorne Auditorium
375 East Chicago Avenue
Northwestern University
Law School Campus
(Lake Shore Drive)
CJO Hotline: 312-409-3947 |
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 Monday, 01 December 2008
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