2010 Tanglewood Jazz Festival
Annual Event September 4 and 5
By: Bob Fowler - Aug 24, 2010
Featured Artists to Include Kurt Elling, John Pizzarelli, Donal Fox, Maya Beiser, Jane Monheit, Eddie Daniels,Bob James, Peter Erskine, the Legendary Count Basie Orchestra, Julian Lage, Jessica Molaskey, Laurence Hobgood, Noah Baerman, Audrey Silver, Kelley Johnson, and Brandon Wright
The annual Labor Day Weekend Tanglewood Jazz Festival will take place September 4-5 at the summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra in Lenox,Massachusetts. Jazz Greats highlighting this year’s festival include Kurt Elling,John Pizzarelli, Donal Fox, Maya Beiser, Jane Monheit, Eddie Daniels, BobJames, Peter Erskine, the Legendary Count Basie Orchestra, Julian Lage, JessiaMolaskey, Laurence Hobgood, and Jazz Café Video Contest winners NoahBaerman, Audrey Silver, Kelley Johnson and Brandon Wright. All shows will be held at Seiji Ozawa Hall and in the Jazz Café tent.
On Saturday, September 4, at 2 pm the 2010 Tanglewood Jazz Festival will openwith “Radio Deluxe” co-hosted by John Pizzarelli and Jessica Molaskey. The program will be taped live at the festival for later broadcast on more than 60 stations nation wide. Normally broadcast from their living room “high atop
Lexington Avenue,” the Tanglewood program will be the second consecutive year they have taken it on the road since the program’s inception in 2005. The show’sformat, marked by the duo’s urbane, sophisticated humor, inventive playlist and extensive knowledge of the Great American Songbook, has an expanded repertoire to include such rock era voices as Randy Newman and Joni Mitchell. “Radio Deluxe” from Tanglewood will feature special guest vocalist, Jane Monheit.
Monheit skyrocketed to the top of the list of female jazz vocalists ten years ago with her first recording, “Never Never Land,” and has subsequently released recordings that often debut as number one on the Billboard charts. Her upcoming release, “Home” (September, 2010, Emarcy/Universal Records), features guest artists Pizzarelli, violinist, Mark O’Connor, pianist, Larry Goldings, guitarist, Frank Vignola and vocalist, Peter Eldridge. Ms. Monheit last performed at the Tanglewood Jazz Festival in 2008 with Mark O’Connor’s “Hot Swing” with Vignola and guitarist, Julian Lage.
On Saturday, September 4, at 8 pm, pianist, composer and arranger Laurence Hobgood and his trio will bring Hobgood’s exquisite original compositions and arrangements of jazz standards to the stage of Ozawa Hall. Referred to as “one of the most incredible pianists I’ve ever heard” by Dave Brubeck, Hobgood has collaborated with vocalist Kurt Elling since 1993. Within a year they co-produced “Close Your Eyes,” their first of six Grammy nominated records on the Blue Note label. Hobgood received his own Grammy statue in 2010 for his collaboration on “Dedicated to You: Kurt Elling Sings the Music of "Coltrane and Hartman” (Concord Records 2009). A powerful, imaginative innovator from the Chicago school of hard-driving swing, Hobgood’s latest CD, “When the Heart Dances,” (Naim Records), features legendary bassist, Charlie Haden.
Following the Laurence Hobgood Trio, Grammy winning vocalist, Kurt Elling will make a triumphant return to the Tanglewood Jazz Festival. Recipient of the 2010 Grammy for Best Vocal Jazz Album of the Year (“Dedicated to You: Kurt Elling Sings the Music of Coltrane and Hartman”), Elling is known for his cutting edge vocalese technique and four-octave baritone voice. A native of Chicago, Elling has worked extensively with the Steppenwolf Theater on multi-disciplinary events incorporating music, poetry, acting, dancing and visual art. He hasrecorded and toured extensively and was awarded the Prix Billie Holiday from the Academie du Jazz in Paris, placed eleven consecutive years at the top of the Downbeat Critics Poll and five times on the Downbeat and Jazz Times Reader’s polls. The Jazz Journalists Association has awarded Elling six times for Best Male Vocalist.
The Sunday afternoon concert on September 5 will open at 2 pm with a rare performance by clarinetist/saxophonist Eddie Daniels, pianist, Bob James,drummer Peter Erskine and bassist James Genus in a new program called “Broadway Boogie.” Musical collaborators for forty years, Daniels and James refer to this swinging, integrated quartet as “chamber jazz. “Chamber jazz,” says Daniels, denotes music in a close setting that is finely tuned and woven together, even in its improvisation and composition, that pulls the listener into the utter intimacy of the setting. I believe this approach can transform the performer as well as the listener.”
Repertoire ranges from jazz standards to Bach. Bob James, best known for his smooth and fusion-flavored music and collaborations with guitarist Earl Klugh, David Sanborn and Fourplay, has a wide range of musical talent from classical music to straight-ahead jazz. Pianist for Sarah Vaughn in the 1960’s, James’ discography includes work with guitarist Lee Ritenour, bassist Dave Holland and pianist Joe Sample as well as an eastern influenced CD entitled, “Angels of Shanghai, that features students from the Shanghai Conservatory of music.
James says, “Perhaps more than any other art form, jazz happens in the moment. You can talk about it, you can rehearse, you can theorize, but what I crave most is the unique feeling I get when I’m about to embark into unknown territory, especially when my captain for the journey is someone I trust and respect. Individually and together Eddie and I want to inspire and challenge our listeners. We’ve spent our lives with a deep passion for jazz and the dialogue we plan to engage in during this long overdue reunion will give our audience the opportunity to hear the influences that have shaped our styles.”
Following “Broadway Boogie” on Sunday afternoon will be the Legendary Count Basie Orchestra. Since its creation in 1935 by William “Count” Basie, the
orchestra has toured and performed around the globe for fans and dignitaries in every country. Since Basie’s passing in 1984, the orchestra has been led by ThadJones, Frank Foster, Grover Mitchell and—currently—by Bill Hughes (who was hired by Basie in 1953). The multi-Grammy winning orchestra continues to tour the world and perform for enthusiastic fans of every age.
Sunday evening’s performances on Sept 5 at 8 pm will begin with the Julian Lage Group. While Lage has performed several times at the Tanglewood Jazz Festival (most recently with Mark O’Connor’s “Hot Swing” in 2008) this marks the first appearance on the Ozawa Hall stage with his own group. Regarded a guitar prodigy at the age of 8, Lage spent several years under the tutelage of Gary Burton and subsequently gained recognition from jazz superstars Herbie Hancock and Bela Fleck. His premier recording “Sounding Point” (Emarcy Records 2009) was nominated for Best Contemporary Jazz Album.
The Julian Lage Group has received critical acclaim for their unique compositions and improvisational style blending the influences of classical, blues, jazz and folk music. The 21-year old Boston based guitarist recently performed with Mark O’Connor’s “Hot Swing” and with the Julian Lage Group at the Newport Jazz Festival in August.
The festival will close on Sunday evening with an encore performance by pianist and composer Donal Fox, performing a new program titled the “Piazzolla to Bach Project,” with special guest, classical cellist Maya Beiser. Fox appeared at the Tanglewood Jazz Festival in 2008 with his Scarlatti Jazz Suite Project and returns by popular demand.
Named a Martin Luther King Visiting Artist at MIT in 2009, Fox crosses theclassical music and jazz music boundaries and continuously received criticalacclaim for his compositions and integration of the two musical genres. Following Fox’s world premiere in December of his piano concerto “Peace Out”
for Improvised Piano and Orchestra to a standing ovation at Carnegie Hall, Anthony Tommasini of the New York Times wrote, “Mr. Fox’s piano playing,
bursting with violent, keyboard-spanning runs, drove the music. A searching middle section quotes fragments of a Charlie Parker blues tune, “Now’s theTime.” After a steely solo piano cadenza, the piece concludes with a pensive finale based on a descending and strangely haunting four-note refrain…an arresting piece…compelling music…exceptionally interesting.”
Called a “cello goddess” by The New Yorker, Maya Beiser has captivated audiences worldwide with her virtuosity, electric repertoire and quest to redefine
her instrument’s boundaries. She has collaborated with Philip Glass, Mark O’Connor, Brian Eno, Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails and Tan Dun (Crouching Tiger Concerto) among many others. Her major teachers were Aldo Parisot, Uzi Weizel, Alexander Schneider, and Isaac Stern. Beiser was the founding cellist of the legendary new music ensemble, the Bang on a Can All-Stars. This will be her first appearance at the Tanglewood Jazz Festival. Beiser’s latest CD, Provenance, peaked at #6 in overall music sales and #1 in classical music on Amazon. It also hit #1 in world music on iTunes and #3 in classical music on Billboard.
Also appearing with Donal Fox and Maya Beiser will be Cuban born drummer Dafnis Prieto whose arrival in the US has been compared to that of an asteroid hitting New York. “Bedazzlement is a proven strategy for Mr. Prieto,” the New York Times said, and Latin jazz musician Eddie Palmieri calls him “extraordinary.” Vibraphonist Warren Wolf and bassist John Lockwood round out the quartet.
This year, for the first time, the Tanglewood Jazz Café conducted a video contest for four Café slots throughout the weekend. Artists were asked to submit video “auditions” for consideration and were judged by an illustrious panel of jazz experts: Christopher Loudon of Jazz Times Magazine; Lois Gilbert of jazzcorner.com; Sachal Vasandani, jazz vocalist and Jazz Café veteran performer; Steve Schwartz, jazz programmer at WGBH Radio in Boston’; Jane Monheit, jazz vocalist and Tanglewood Jazz Festival veteran; and James Gavin, jazz journalist and biographer of Lena Horne, Chet Baker, and other iconic performers.
The winning artists who will be presented in this year’s Jazz Café are: pianist Noah Baerman (CT) performing with his trio; vocalist Audrey Silver (NYC) performing with her quartet; saxophonist Brandon Wright (NYC) and his quintet; and vocalist Kelley Johnson (Seattle) and her quartet. Jazz Café concerts are presented before each main stage concert and are free with a ticket to the main stage event.
“The competition was a brilliant initiative,” says Loudon. “At a time when it isincreasingly difficult for emerging artists to connect with audiences, it is heartening to see as esteemed a festival as Tanglewood opening up so valuable an opportunity. Bravo to Tanglewood for taking this important and inspiring step forward. It was an honor and a privilege to be part of the inaugural competition and I applaud not just the four winners, but everyone who entered.”
Judges were impressed with the variety and dedication demonstrated by so manyaspiring artists. “It was so inspiring to view the videos and hear the diverse jazz talent from all over the world,” says Lois Gilbert, “and I was honored to adjudicate with such a great team of judges.” Veteran Jazz Café performer, Sachal Vasandani concurred. “The talent level is very high and the breadth of artisticchoices are wide, which made making decisions very difficult. I tried to select artists who brought honesty and weight to their performances no matter what the style.”
Tanglewood Jazz Festival prices range from $18-77. All ticket prices include a $1 Tanglewood grounds maintenance fee.
Tickets to the Tanglewood Jazz Festival are available through www.tanglewoodjazzfestival.org, by calling SymphonyCharge at 617-266-1200 or
888-266-1200. Tickets are also available for purchase in person at the Tanglewood Box Office at Tanglewood’s Main Gate on West Street in Lenox, MA. American Express, Visa, MasterCard, Diners Club, Discover, personal checks, and cash are all accepted at
the Tanglewood Box Office. For further information and box office hours, please call the Boston Symphony Orchestra at 617-266-1492 or visit www.bso.org.
The Tanglewood Jazz Festival is sponsored by Jazz Times Magazine. The online media partner for the Tanglewood Jazz Festival is jazzcorner.com.