Symphonic Jazz Orchestra in Concert September 25, 2010

SYMPHONIC JAZZ ORCHESTRA IN CONCERT
SPECIAL GUESTS GEORGE DUKE, LUCIANA SOUZA & RAUL MIDÓN

Saturday, September 25, 2010, 8 PM at UCLA’s Royce Hall

Concert also Features World Premiere of “Elements,” a SJO Commissioned
Piece from Composer/Conductor Charles Floyd

The Symphonic Jazz Orchestra (SJO), the only ensemble of its kind in the country dedicated to the unique American genre of symphonic jazz – music that blends the American language of jazz with European orchestral traditions – will perform in a rare concert on Saturday, September 25, 2010 at UCLA’s Royce Hall. Conducted by Mitch Glickman, the Symphonic Jazz Orchestra will perform with special guests George Duke, Grammy Award winning jazz vocalist and Brazilian native Luciana Souza and vocalist, guitarist and songwriter Raul Midón, in an eclectic night of jazz, Brazilian, funk, classical and world premieres. Comedian/actor/singer, Tommy Davidson, will host the evening.

The 67-member professional ensemble, under the leadership of Music Directors George Duke and Mitch Glickman, is dedicated to the commissioning and performing of symphonic jazz compositions. Since its debut in 2002, the Orchestra has performed six world premieres along with three U.S. premieres in concerts throughout Southern California including Royce Hall, Ford Amphitheatre, Schoenberg Hall, San Gabriel Mission Playhouse, and the Walt Disney Theater at CalArts.

The evening will also feature the world premiere of “Elements,” written by composer and conductor Charles Floyd that was commissioned by the Symphonic Jazz Orchestra with support from the James Irvine Foundation. This piece showcases the Orchestra and will also feature soloists from within the orchestra.

The SJO also has an active Community Outreach Program which has presented free family and educational concerts, master classes, assemblies, workshops, and in-school residencies to over 21,500 students and their families throughout underserved areas of Los Angeles County. As part of the California Arts Council's "Artists-in-Schools" program, the Symphonic Jazz Orchestra began a yearlong pilot music program for second grade students in the Fall of 2007 that has grown to include a weekly residency program for first grade students and an Instrumental Workshop program for third grade students. For 2008/09, over 1,200 students received sequential, comprehensive music education taught by members of the Symphonic Jazz Orchestra. The program, funded by a seed grant from the California Arts Council, provides for weekly music classes for five public schools in the Culver City Unified School District.

Sponsors for the evening include Luxe Sunset Boulevard Hotel, a Brentwood luxury boutique hotel; Glendon Bar & Kitchen, a Westwood Village restaurant and lounge; and Rudi Wiest Selections, leading importer of fine German wines. Media sponsors include KJAZZ, 88.1 FM and KUSC Classical FM 91.5.

Tickets for the concert range from $35 to $69 and can be purchased online through www.ticketmaster.com or the Royce Hall Box Office (310) 825-2101. VIP tickets, which include preferred seating and a post-show reception are $150.00 and are also available through Ticketmaster, the Royce Hall Box Office, or by calling the SJO office at (310) 876-8130. Royce Hall is located on the UCLA Campus; enter the Campus at Royce Drive off of Sunset Blvd., one mile east of the 405 fwy. Parking is $10.

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The Symphonic Jazz Orchestra’s mission is to commission symphonic jazz compositions, a musical genre that blends the American language of jazz with European orchestral traditions; perform commissioned works in concerts throughout Southern California; record its commissioned works for an international audience; and inspire the next generation of listeners through its Community Outreach Program and specially designed free Family and Educational Concerts.
The Symphonic Jazz Orchestra’s roots began in the 1920s and into the '30s, bandleader Paul Whiteman presented a series of concerts called "Experiments in Modern Music," which included the commissioning of George Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue." In the 1940s and '50s, arranger Gil Evans expanded the jazz palette by incorporating orchestral instruments and composer Gunther Schuller developed "Third Stream" music, which furthered the mixing of jazz and classical music on a larger scale. The 1960s and '70s included such bandleaders as Don Ellis and Stan Kenton giving opportunities to composers to continue to develop the jazz/classical sound. The 1980s and '90s saw Jack Elliott and the American Jazz Philharmonic commission and perform over 100 new symphonic jazz works in concerts across the country. Following this rich tradition of blending jazz and classical influences, the Symphonic Jazz Orchestra is the next torchbearer. The ensemble is uniquely equipped to carry on this special genre of American music well into the new century.
Born in San Rafael, California, George Duke studied the piano at school (where he ran a Les McCann-inspired Latin band) and emerged from the San Francisco Conservatory as a Bachelor of Music in 1967. From 1965-67 he was resident pianist at the Half Note, accompanying musicians such as Dizzy Gillespie and Kenny Dorham. This grounding served as a musical education for the rest of his life. He arranged for a vocal group, the Third Wave, and toured Mexico in 1968. In 1969, he began playing with French violinist Jean-Luc Ponty, using electric piano to accompany Ponty's electric violin. He played on King Kong, an album of music Frank Zappa composed for Ponty. He then joined Zappa's group in 1970, an experience that transformed his music. As he put it, previously he had been too "musically advanced" to play rock 'n' roll piano triplets. Zappa encouraged him to sing and joke and use electronics. Together they wrote "Uncle Remus" for Apostrophe (1972), a song about black attitudes to oppression. His keyboards contributed to a great edition of the Mothers Of Invention - captured on the outstanding Roxy & Elsewhere (1975) - which combined fluid jazz playing with rock and avant-garde sonorities. In 1972, he toured with Cannonball Adderley (replacing Joe Zawinul). Duke had always had a leaning towards soul jazz and after he left Zappa, he went for full-frontal funk. I Love The Blues, She Heard My Cry (1975) combined a retrospective look at black musical forms with warm good humor and freaky musical ideas; a duet with Johnny "Guitar" Watson was particularly successful. Duke started duos with fusion power-drummer Billy Cobham, and virtuoso bass player Stanley Clarke, playing quintessential 70s jazz rock - amplification and much attention to "chops" being the order of the day. Duke always had a sense of humor: "Dukey Stick" (1978) sounded like a Funkadelic record. The middle of the road beckoned, however, and by Brazilian Love Affair (1980) he was providing high-class background music. In 1982, Dream On showed him happily embracing west-coast hip easy listening. However, there has always been an unpredictable edge to Duke. The band he put together for the Wembley Nelson Mandela concert in London backed a stream of soul singers, and his arrangement of "Backyard Ritual" on Miles Davis' Tutu (1986) was excellent. He collaborated with Clarke again for the funk-styled 3 and in 1992 he bounced back with the jazz fusion Snapshot, followed by the orchestral suite Enchanted Forest in 1996, and Is Love Enough? in 1997. Further albums have followed, showing that Duke was on a creative roll at the turn of the century, and beyond.

Grammy winner Luciana Souza is one of Jazz’s leading singers and interpreters. Hailing from São Paulo, Brazil, she grew up in a family of Bossa Nova innovators. Her work as a performer transcends traditional boundaries around musical styles, offering solid roots in jazz, sophisticated lineage in world music, and an enlightened approach to classical repertoire and new music. As a leader, Luciana Souza has eight acclaimed releases including her four Grammy nominated records "Brazilian Duos," 2002, "North and South," 2003, and "Duos II," 2005, and “Tide,” 2009. Her debut recording for Universal/Verve (produced by her husband, Larry Klein), "The New Bossa Nova," (2007) was met with critical acclaim (Billboard Latin Jazz Album of the Year) and on “Tide,” Luciana “continued her captivating journey as a uniquely talented vocalist who organically crosses genre borders. Her music soulfully reflects, wistfully regrets, romantically woos, joyfully celebrates… (Billboard).” Souza has performed and recorded with greats like Herbie Hancock (on his Grammy winning record, River – The Joni Letters), Paul Simon, Maria Schneider, Danilo Perez, John Patitucci, Hermeto Pascoal, and many others. Luciana Souza’s singing has been called "transcendental, "perfect, "and of "unparalleled beauty." Entertainment Weekly said, "Her voice traces a landscape of emotion that knows no boundaries.

Singer/guitarist Raul Midón is a contemporary soul singer whose impassioned acoustic percussive guitar playing -- a mix of jazz, rock, classical, and flamenco -- has gotten him just as much attention as his silky, soulful tenor singing. Blind since birth, Midón was born in New Mexico, to an Argentine father and African American mother. Midón also uses his improvisational mouth horn technique, in which he creates a bebop “trumpet” solo entirely with his lips, earning himself a spontaneous burst of mid-song applause from the audience in the process. Midón funnels all that creativity and fiery passion into his third album, Synthesis, which he recorded in Los Angeles in June 2009 with legendary producer and bassist Larry Klein, who is noted for his work with such luminaries as Joni Mitchell, Herbie Hancock, and Peter Gabriel. A genre-defying blend of soul, pop, jazz, folk, and Latin elements, Synthesis showcases Midón’s evolution as an artist as he sets some of his more biting insights about betrayal, fear, loss, and the American Dream to deceptively up-tempo swinging rhythms and deliriously catchy melodies. Now comes Synthesis, which Midón began working on last summer, demoing the songs at his home studio using a PC-based software program called Sonar, which makes Windows accessible to blind people. Synthesis will be released by Universal in fall 2009 in Europe and Japan and in Spring 2010 in the United States.

Composer and conductor Charles Floyd's compositions range from chamber music to large orchestral and vocal works. Highlights include One Man's Dream for narrator and orchestra, commissioned and premiered by the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra. His Four Spirituals for soprano and orchestra was premiered at Boston's Symphony Hall with the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra. As a conductor, Floyd has been heard in concert with more than 500 orchestras including performances with the Detroit Symphony, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Chicago Symphony Orchestras. Floyd is an annual guest conductor of the Boston Pops Orchestra and has also appeared with the Scottish National Radio Orchestra, Toronto Symphony, Sydney Symphony, and the London Philharmonic. His eleven-year partnership with singer Natalie Cole included such projects as the multiple Grammy Award-winning tribute to Nat King Cole entitled Unforgettable.
As a composer, conductor, and producer, Mitch Glickman's diverse music career covers the fields of concert, jazz, film, and recordings. He founded the Symphonic Jazz Orchestra in 2001, and formerly served as Associate Music Director of the American Jazz Philharmonic, created by composer/conductor Jack Elliott. As a composer, Glickman's concert works have been commissioned and premiered by a wide range of leading American ensembles including the Symphonic Jazz Orchestra, American Jazz Philharmonic, Henry Mancini Institute Orchestra, Oberlin Orchestra, Turtle Island String Quartet, and the Wind Syndicate. His choral, chamber and symphonic works have been performed in concert halls across the country including Royce Hall, Ford Amphitheater, Walt Disney Theater at CalArts, Cerritos Center for the Arts, and Broward County Performing Arts Center. His film credits include scores for the acclaimed independent films “Street of Pain” starring Steve Carell, and “Proudheart" starring Lorrie Morgan, along with such notable television series as “Cheers,” “Life Goes On,” “Night Court,” “Grammy Living Legends” and the annual “Grammy Awards” telecast. Glickman has produced a number of Grammy nominated recordings including The Bud Shank Sextet Salutes Harold Arlen, Young Musicians Debut Orchestra with conductor Lalo Shifrin, Guido Basso, and the American Jazz Philharmonic for GRP Records. He has produced over 1,000 concerts across the country in his 25+-year career. As an educator, he leads assemblies, master classes and workshops across the country, and is a teaching artist for the Los Angeles Music Center's Educational Division. Glickman also serves as Director of Music Programs for LACMA (Los Angeles County Museum of Art) and is a graduate of the Oberlin Conservatory of Music.
EVENT:
Symphonic Jazz Orchestra
Mitch Glickman, conductor
Special guests: George Duke, Luciana Souza and Raul Midón

Concert also Features World Premiere of “Elements,” a SJO Commissioned
Piece from Composer/Conductor Charles Floyd

DATE/TIME:
Saturday, September 25, 2010, 8 PM

VENUE:
Royce Hall - UCLA Campus
Enter the Campus at Royce Drive off of Sunset Blvd., one mile east of the 405 fwy.
Los Angeles, CA 90024

TICKET PRICE/INFORMATION:
General Seating: $35 - $69 – www.ticketmaster.com – Royce Hall Box Office (310) 825-2101
VIP Tickets: $150 – SJO Office (310) 876-8130 or www.SJOmusic.org

Official Website: http://www.sjomusic.org