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| Jazz Inspired by Don Quixote Debuts at Rose Theater on May 5-7 Joining the worldwide celebration commemorating the 400th anniversary of the literary classic Don Quixote by Miguel Cervantes, Jazz at Lincoln Center will host Chivalrous Misdemeanors, a special concert event on May 5, 6 and 7 at 8pm in Rose Theater in the organization’s new home, Frederick P. Rose Hall. The Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis will debut original music composed by trombonist Ron Westray, based on and inspired by the literary work. Bank of America is the lead corporate sponsor of Chivalrous Misdemeanors. This performance is made possible, in part, through a grant from The Greenwall Foundation. Support for Jazz at Lincoln Center’s commissioning activities is also provided by Rockefeller Brothers Fund/Charles E. Culpeper. Although musical masterpieces inspired by Don Quixote are mainstays in classical culture, Chivalrous Misdemeanors may be the first composed and arranged for the complex jazz setting. The big band will perform these pieces that personify the characters, events and the composer’s personal impression of Don Quixote’s state of reality. Amongst the musical selections, audiences will hear I Get Caught Up On You, an original ballad in which a male vocalist (taking on the role of Don Quixote) admits to his paralyzing infatuation with his sovereign mistress Dulcinea del Toboso. The story Montesino’s Cave will be translated and transformed into an esoteric musical portrait entitled Apocryphal Myth. Guest artists Xavier Davis (piano), Jonathan Blake (drums), vocalists Sachal Vasandani and Jennifer Sanon and a conductor will join the orchestra for Chivalrous Misdemeanors. Actor Patrick Tull will join as narrator. Ron Westray (Trombone) was born on June 13, 1970 in Columbia, South Carolina. He began studying piano at age 5 and was introduced to the trombone at age 11. In 1991, while studying at South Carolina State University, Mr. Westray met Wynton Marsalis and Marcus Roberts in a Columbia jazz club and soon joined the Marcus Roberts Septet for several recordings and national tours. Mr. Westray received his B.A. in Trombone Performance from South Carolina State University and his M.A. from Eastern Illinois University. Mr. Westray toured Europe as a member of the group Jazz Futures II in the summer of 1992. In addition to leading his own ensembles and working as a sideman, Mr. Westray recorded a widely acclaimed album with fellow LCJO trombonist Wycliffe Gordon entitled Bone Structure. He first performed with the LCJO in 1993 in which he currently serves as lead trombonist and frequently contributes new compositions and arrangements. The Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra (LCJO), composed of many of the finest jazz soloists and ensemble players today, has been the Jazz at Lincoln Center resident orchestra since 1988. Jazz at Lincoln Center features the versatile LCJO in nearly all aspects of its programming: the LCJO performs and leads educational events in New York, across the U.S., and around the globe; in concert halls, dance venues, jazz clubs, public parks, river boats, and churches; and with symphony orchestras, ballet troupes, students, and an ever-expanding roster of guest artists. Under the leadership of Music Director Wynton Marsalis, the LCJO performs a vast repertory spanning the history of jazz, from masterpieces by composers such as Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Fletcher Henderson, Thelonious Monk, and Charles Mingus, to commissioned works by Benny Carter, Joe Henderson, Jimmy Heath, Chico O'Farrill, members of the LCJO, and others. Over the last few years, the LCJO has performed collaborations with many of the world's leading symphony orchestras, including the New York Philharmonic, the Russian National Orchestra, the Berlin Philharmonie, the Czech Philharmonic, the Boston, Chicago, and London Symphony Orchestras, and others. The members of the LCJO frequently conduct educational events produced by Jazz at Lincoln Center, including lectures, master classes, and Jazz for Young PeopleSM concerts while on tour, and serve as mentors in the annual Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Competition & Festival. In 1999, the LCJO was designated a Cultural Ambassador of the United States of America under the White House Millennium Council Program. In March 2001, Mr. Marsalis was designated a United Nations Messenger of Peace by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan. The LCJO has appeared on television broadcasts across North and South America, Europe, Asia (including China), and Australia, including “The Tonight Show” and seven “Live From Lincoln Center” broadcasts. The LCJO was also featured in the 1999 Thirteen/WNET “Great Performances” documentary “Swingin' with Duke.” The LCJO's most recent recording is A Love Supreme (2005), the big band’s rendition of the original by John Coltrane, on Palmetto Records. Other LCJO CDs available are All Rise (2002) on Sony Classical, which also features special guest ensembles the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Morgan State University Choir, the Paul Smith Singers and the Northridge Singers of California State University. Also available on Columbia Jazz are Live in Swing City (1999), Big Train (1999), Sweet Release & Ghost Story (1999), Jump Start and Jazz (1997), Blood on the Fields (1997), They Came to Swing (1994), The Fire of the Fundamentals (1993), and Portraits by Ellington (1992). write your comments about the article :: © 2005 Jazz News :: home page |