Mellon Jazz Sponsors Wynton Marsalis at the Benedum, NAACP Freedom Jazz, Manchester Craftsmen's Guild and Pittsburgh Jazz Societ
01 April 2004 - 12:51AM
PR Newswire (US)
Mellon Jazz Sponsors Wynton Marsalis at the Benedum, NAACP Freedom
Jazz, Manchester Craftsmen's Guild and Pittsburgh Jazz Society
Concerts -Mellon Jazz Web site showcases year-round celebration of
jazz excellence- PITTSBURGH, March 31 /PRNewswire/ -- Mellon Jazz
is turning up the musical heat in Pittsburgh, bidding winter
goodbye with an exciting series of springtime events as part of its
year-round celebration of jazz excellence. The great sounds begin
with a concert by the Wynton Marsalis Quartet on Monday, May 3 at
7:30 p.m. at the Benedum Center for the Performing Arts. Other
Mellon Jazz attractions this spring include the NAACP's Fifth
Annual Freedom Jazz Concert on Monday, April 12 at Dowe's on Ninth
downtown; Manchester Craftsmen's Guild's Jazz Across The Americas
Concert on April 15-18 and Clayton Hamilton Jazz Orchestra Concert
on April 29-May 2; and Pittsburgh Jazz Society Mellon Jazz Sunday
concerts featuring the Real Silk Band on April 25 and Judi Figel on
May 23. "As impressive as this spring Mellon Jazz lineup is, it's
important to note that there's still more great jazz in store later
this summer and fall," said Rose M. Cotton, senior vice president
and director of Mellon Corporate Affairs. "Together withour
non-profit partners we've succeeded in making Mellon Jazz a
year-round celebration of excellence in the Pittsburgh area, and we
encourage jazz fans to keep current on events by checking the
Mellon Jazz Web site at http://www.mellon.com/jazz." Trumpet player
Wynton Marsalis is one of the most accomplished and acclaimed jazz
artists and composers of his generation. Richly credentialed as an
accomplished classical musician when he made his recording debut as
a bandleader in 1982, Marsalis has produced an incomparable
catalogue of nearly 40 outstanding jazz and classical recordings
for Columbia Jazz and Sony Classical over the last two decades.
Recipient of nine Grammy Awards, he became in 1983 the first and
only artist to win both classical and jazz Grammy Awards in one
year, a feat he repeated in 1984. In 1999, he released eight new
recordings in his unprecedented "Swinging into the 21st" series.
Music Director of the world-renowned Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra
(LCJO), Marsalis will be performing with Wynton Marsalis Quartet
members Carlos Henriquez (Bass), Ali Jackson (Drums), and Eric
Lewis (Piano). The quartet's Pittsburgh appearance, part of The
Pittsburgh Cultural Trust Presents 2004 season, is sponsored by
Mellon Jazz and co-presented with MCG Jazz. The Manchester
Craftsmen's Guild's Jazz Across The Americas and Clayton Hamilton
Jazz Orchestra concert events ring down the curtain on MCG Jazz's
17th Jazz Concert Season. Co-curated with top jazz presenting
organizations in California, Chicago, Cleveland, Columbia, Mo.,
Detroit, New Orleans, Syracuse and Vancouver, Jazz Across the
Americas will create an all-star ensemble made up of artists from
each region to celebrate North America's rich musical history.
Named the resident jazz orchestra for the Los Angeles Philharmonic
in 1999, the Clayton Hamilton Jazz Orchestra also is host ensemble
for the popular summer jazz series at the Hollywood Bowl. Co-led by
John Clayton, his brother, reed player Jeff Clayton, and drummer
Jeff Hamilton, the group has developed a unique big band sound, and
has received critical and commercial acclaim for their live
performances and award-winning recordings. An important date on the
calendar of Pittsburghers committed to both freedom and jazz, the
NAACP's 5th Annual Freedom Jazz concert will feature a veritable
who's who listing of nearly two dozen distinguished local jazz
artists, along with host bands The Al Dowe Quintet and The Tim
Stevens Project. The event's $30 cover includes free horsd'oeuvres,
a new NAACP membership ($15 donation for current NAACP members),
NAACP Civil Rights Discounts, and a two-month free subscription to
the New Pittsburgh Courier. Presented once each month as part of
the Pittsburgh Jazz Society's long- running series of weekly Sunday
night jazz parties at Foster's in the Holiday Inn Select-Pittsburgh
University Center, the Pittsburgh Jazz Society's Mellon Jazz Sunday
concerts have become a mainstay of the Mellon Jazz program.
Providing free parking (based onavailability) and discounted food
and drinks for current Jazz Society members, the Sunday night jazz
parties present great jazz every Sunday night from 7 to 10 p.m.,
with no cover or minimum. The Mellon Jazz Sunday concert on April
25 features The Real Silk Band, headed by bassist Arnold Stagger.
Drawing its inspiration from across the jazz spectrum, the group
blends a variety of styles ranging from funk, Brazilian and
Caribbean to form an eclectic, entertaining sound distinctly its
own. The May 23 concert features Judi Figel, who has entertained at
jazz venues throughout the Pittsburgh area. DATASOURCE: Mellon
CONTACT: Ron Sommer of Mellon, +1-412-236-0082, or Web site:
http://www.mellon.com/ http://www.mellon.com/jazz
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