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| Just Jazz: Saluting Andre Previn at 80 at Zankel Hall Just Jazz: Saluting Andre Previn At 80, a duo performance with Previn on piano and David Finck on bass, will take place at Carnegie Hall's Zankel Hall, 57th Street & Seventh Avenue, on Thursday, February 19, at 8:30 pm. The concert is presented by George Wein as part of the Just Jazz Series, dedicated to his wife Joyce. "Previn, one of the master musicians of the 20th century, has always loved jazz. Throughout the season, Carnegie Hall is celebrating the genius of the composer/conductor/pianist in a series of concerts featuring the classics. I was honored when they asked me if I would present him as part of the Joyce Wein series, " said George Wein. André Previn, who studied classical piano for many of his formative years, started playing jazz as a teenager. In the early 1950s, he became enthralled with the bebop of Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker. By 1954, he was performing with bebop masters and in 1956, Previn made his own jazz history. With drummer Shelley Manne and bass player Leroy Vinegar, he recorded the first jazz version of a Broadway score for My Fair Lady - the first jazz album to sell one million copies. Previn's other jazz albums include Triple Play, Old Friends, Like Love and Alone: Ballads for Solo Piano. Previn and Finck continue to draw accolades for their CD We Got Rhythm: A Gershwin Songbook as well as for Previn's discs We Got It Bad and That Ain't Good: An Ellington Songbook and Live at the Jazz Standard. Maestro Previn has received a number of awards and honors for his outstanding musical accomplishments. He holds both the Austrian and German Cross of Merit, was honored by the Kennedy Center for his lifetime achievements, and was knighted by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in 1996. In addition, he has received several Grammy awards for his recordings. A frequent guest with the world's major orchestras, both in concert and on recordings, Previn appears annually with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, New York Philharmonic and Vienna Philharmonic. He has held the chief artistic posts with the Houston Symphony, London Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Pittsburgh Symphony and Royal Philharmonic, among others. His compositions include the opera A Streetcar Named Desire, Tango Song and Dance, Diversions for the Vienna Philharmonic, a piano concerto for Vladimir Ashkenazy, a cello sonata for Yo-Yo Ma and song cycles for Janet Baker, Kathleen Battle, Barbara Bonney and Anthony Dean Griffey as well as the double concerto for violin and contrabass, which Sir André wrote for Anne-Sophie Mutter and Roman Patkolo. In addition to Previn, David Finck's skills as a bassist have been heard in performance and on recordings with Dizzy Gillespie, Aretha Franklin, Sinead O'Connor, Natalie Cole, Rod Stewart, Herbie Hancock, Ivan Lins, Al Jarreau, Tony Bennett, Paquito D'Rivera, George Michael and Rosemary Clooney. Over the years, he has become one of the most sought-after musicians in Manhattan, equally revered for his work in jazz, popular, Brazilian and classical music. He's bridged musical diversity through his skills – but even more so through his ability to hear music as language in an almost literal sense. His discography lists more than 100 recordings including Platinum and Gold selling records with Rod Stewart, Natalie Cole, and Elton John. "I have worked with David Finck in many different circumstances and venues, for a period of eight years, and in my opinion, there is no one who is as good a jazz bass player and collaborator, " said Maestro Previn. Just Jazz: The Joyce Wein Series is sponsored by the Joyce and George Wein Foundation in memory of Joyce Wein. The series kicked off November 13, 2008 with Michel Camilo Solo/Trio and continues April 2 at 8:30 pm with To Joyce with Love: George Wein & Friends featuring Howard Alden, Regina Carter, Evan Christopher, Anat Cohen, Jimmy Cobb, Dick Hyman, Jay Leonhart, Ken Peplowski, Bucky Pizzarelli, Larry Ridley, Randy Sandke, Lew Tabackin, Warren Vaché and Jackie Williams. Just Jazz: The Joyce Wein Series, sponsored by the Joyce and George Wein Foundation in memory of Joyce Wein, is a series of three concerts produced by jazz impresario George Wein and presented by Carnegie Hall. The Weins' lives were filled with jazz, classical and opera music as well as art, food and wine and education. But, it was jazz that brought them together. Joyce loved Ellington, Amstrong, Billie Holiday and many new artists on the jazz scene. In addition to this series, George continues to present music at festivals and concert halls around the world. The Joyce & George Wein Foundation created the George and Joyce Wein chair of African American Studies at Boston University, the Joyce Wein Scholarship Fund in partnership with the Berklee College of Music and the Alexander Family Scholarship at Simmons College. The Foundation is also a major supporter of Geoffrey Canada and the Harlem Children's Zone. write your comments about the article :: © 2009 Jazz News :: home page |