 Steve Turre © Andrea Canter
Made in Chicago will present the Chicago Afro-Latin Jazz Ensemble featuring Chicago’s finest Latin jazz performers, with special guests Steve Turre (trombone, shells); Paoli Mejias (percussion); Howard Levy (piano/harmonica) and Brian Lynch (trumpet), on Thursday, July 31st at 6:30 PM at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Millenium Park. This is a free event sponsored by the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs, Millennium Park and the Jazz Institute of Chicago.
Caribbean music and jazz have had close connections from the beginning of the last century. Composers and soloists from Dizzy Gillespie and Duke Ellington to Chick Corea have been inspired by Juan Tizol, Chano Pozo and Mongo Santamaria. Gillespie widened the scope in the 90s with his United Nations Orchestra and in Chicago, the Chicago Afro-Latin Jazz Ensemble (CALJE) continues the multinational quest by incorporating Afro-Cuban Jazz, Brazilian Jazz, Flamenco, Central American and Peruvian folkloric rhythms into their compositions while staying true to Latin Jazz traditions. The CAJE was founded by Mexican born trumpeter/composer, Victor Garcia and Nicaraguan born pianist/composer, Darwin Alejandro Noguera.
Steve Turre is one of the world's preeminent jazz trombonist. Turre has consistently won both the Readers' and Critics' polls in JazzTimes, Downbeat, and Jazziz for Best Trombone and for Best Miscellaneous Instrumentalist (shells). Turre was born to Mexican-American parents and grew up in the San Francisco Bay area where he absorbed daily doses of mariachi, blues and jazz. While attending Sacramento State University, he joined the Escovedo Brothers salsa band, which began his career-long involvement with that genre.
In 1972 Steve Turre's career picked up momentum when Ray Charles hired him to go on tour. A year later Turre's mentor Woody Shaw brought him into Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers. After his tenure with Blakey, Turre went on to work with a diverse list of musicians from the jazz, Latin, and pop worlds, including Dizzy Gillespie, McCoy Tyner, J.J. Johnson, Herbie Hancock, Lester Bowie, Tito Puente, Mongo Santamaria, Van Morrison, Pharoah Sanders, Horace Silver, Max Roach, and Rahsaan Roland Kirk. The latter introduced hum to the seashell as an instrument. Soon after that, while touring in Mexico City with Woody Shaw, Turre's relatives informed him that his ancestors similarly played the shells. Since then, Turre has incorporated seashells into his diverse musical style.
In addition to performing as a member of the Saturday Night Live Band since 1984, Turre leads several different ensembles. Sanctified Shells utilizes the seashell in a larger context, transforming his horn section into a "shell choir". Turre's Spring 1999 Verve release, Lotus Flower, showcases his Sextet With Strings. The recording explores many great standards and original compositions arranged by Turre for a unique instrumentation of trombone and shells, violin, cello, piano, bass and drums. Turre's quartet and quintet provide a setting based in tradition and stretching the limits conceptually and stylistically. In the Summer of 2000, Telarc released In The Spur of the Moment. This recording features Steve with three different quartets, each with a different and distinct master pianist: Ray Charles, Chucho Valdes, and Stephen Scott.
The Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs, Millennium Park and the Jazz Institute of Chicago present the savory sounds of Chicago jazz during six free concerts at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion this summer. Made in Chicago: World Class Jazz highlights jazz from Chicago, Central America, the Middle East and beyond. Every Made in Chicago: World Class Jazz concert kicks off with young, aspiring musicians from Chicago-area high schools as part of the Jazz Institute of Chicago’s Jazz Links Student Ensembles. Groups like the After School Matters Jazz Band improvise and show off their chops before the pros take the stage. Made in Chicago: World Class Jazz is supported by the Chicago Jazz Partnership: The Boeing Company, Kraft Foods, The Chicago Community Trust, The Joyce Foundation. United Airlines is the Official Airline and The Fairmont Chicago is the Official Hotel for Made in Chicago.
Chicago Afro-Latin Jazz Ensemble
Thursday, July 31, 2008 - 6:30pm
This is a Free event.
Millenium Park
Michigan & Washington
Chicago, IL
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Thursday, 08 January 2009
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