Richie Cole's Alto Madness Orchestra at the Green Mill, April 9-10
Written by Ronaldo Oregano   
Sunday, 04 April 2010

“Richie Cole is the last of a breed—A fast and competitive musical gunslinger acquiring legendary status for his willingness to demonstrate his command of Charlie Parker's bebop language by taking on all comers at any speeds... “ -Samuel Chell, All About Jazz

Image
Richie Cole

Renowned bebop alto saxophonist Richie Cole will appear with his Alto Madness Orchestra at the Green Mill in Chicago on Friday, April 9th and Saturday, April 10th. Richie Cole is a master of the saxophone, a brilliant arranger and composer, an educator, and founder/director of The Alto Madness Orchestra. The Alto Madness Orchestra includes Richie Cole on alto sax, Dave Zielinski on tenor sax, DJ Cord on trumpet, Bryant Scott on trombone, Henry Johnson on guitar, Aaron Mitter on bass, and Kurt Lubbe on drums.


Image
Henry Johnson © Andrea Canter
Richie Cole was awarded a scholarship to Berklee College of Music in 1966 and went on to become lead sax with Buddy Rich, Lionel Hampton and Doc Severinsen over several years. In 1975 Richie teamed up with the jazz great Eddie Jefferson and together they toured world wide. With more than 3,000 compositions and arrangements to his credit today, Richie Cole created The Alto Madness Orchestra in the early 1990's to feature seven instruments a rhythm section with four horns - Cole has built his arrangements with this group in mind to allow more room for improvisation than in a traditional eighteen- piece big band (as if in a quartet setting), yet it achieves “that big band sound”.

Cole has performed with The Manhattan Transfer, Bobby Entiquez, Freddie Hubbard, Sonny Stitt, Boots Randolph and Nancy Wilson to name just a few. Cole’s knowledge is revered in Master Classes at Universities and Colleges, and The Alto Madness Orchestra course has entered is sixth year at the University of Madrid in Spain. Richie Cole has performed all over the world and recorded more than 50 albums.  He is heralded by critics and fans wherever he goes, and draws a crowd whenever he performs.

Cole has recorded over 50 albums and CDs, including his top hit album “Hollywood Madness” (1979 Muse Records) and his tribute album to Leonard Bernstein, “Richie Cole Plays West Side Story” (1997 Music Masters Jazz). A prolific composer, Cole also finds time to arrange for full big bands, symphony orchestras and frequent performances at jazz festivals worldwide.  Moreover, he enjoys sharing his love of music with younger generations and is active recording, touring and presenting university master classes.
For more information visit: web.me.com/radiodays/Richie_Cole

In 1976, Henry Johnson went on the road with jazz organist Jack McDuff and was called to work with vocalist, Donny Hathaway in 1977. In 1979, Johnson began playing with jazz pianist, Ramsey Lewis. And in 1985, jazz legend, Joe Williams added Johnson to his regular group. Johnson's musical roots run deep into gospel, blues, and jazz. His strongest and earliest influences were Kenny Burrell, George Benson, and most significantly, Wes Montgomery. While influenced by these great guitarists, Johnson also cites the music of Herbie Hancock, Oscar Peterson, Freddie Hubbard, Miles Davis, big bands, and jazz orchestras as integral forces which shaped his sound and style. For more information visit www.henryjohnsonjazz.com

 


The Green Mill is located at 4802 N. Broadway Ave in Chicago. Call 773-878-5552 or visit www.greenmilljazz.com for more information.

 



Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites
Digg! Reddit! Del.icio.us! Google! Live! Facebook! Slashdot! StumbleUpon! MySpace! Yahoo! Ask!