Artists Reviews

Chick Corea

Considering the staggering volume of his recorded output over the past 40 years, it is no overstatement to call 12-time Grammy Award winning pianist-composer-bandleader Chick Corea one of the most prolific composers of the second half of the 20th century. From avant-garde to bebop, from children’s songs to straight ahead, from hard-hitting fusion to heady forays into classical, Chick has touched an astonishing number of musical bases in his illustrious career while maintaining a standard of excellence that is simply uncanny. A restlessly creative spirit, he continues to explore and generate new material for a number of different vehicles, including his dynamic Elektric Band and his flamenco flavored Touchstone band.

Gary Burton

Gary's collaborations with other jazz giants as well as his own groups have won him many honors and awards the world over, including five Grammy Awards®. Burton remains the only vibraphonist of his generation to be measured alongside the other major interpreters and innovators in jazz, and his virtuosity has kept him in the forefront of contemporary music.  Gary Burton was the first player of the vibraphone to create a new and wholly original musical style.

Thursday,

September 14, 2006

KCC

An Evening with
Chick Corea
and
Gary Burton Duets

www.chickcorea.com

www.garyburton.com

“No musician has used the fusion concept with more variety, intelligence and unimpeachable taste than Chick Corea.”

– Len Lyons, jazz author and critic “The 101 Best Jazz Albums”

"Burton plays with a delicacy and drive that one rarely hears on a vibraphone."

The New York Times

$40 Adults

Student Discount not Available

Shout, Sister Shout

"Shout, Sister, Shout!" is a special tribute concert to Sister Rosetta Tharpe (1915-1973), one of the greatest sanctified gospel singers of her generation. A charismatic performer who accompanied herself on guitar, Sister Rosetta Tharpe combines spirituals with blues and swing music of the 1930's and 40's and became one of the most popular artists of the time. This concert features the historically important and continually vital artists who appear on the M.C. Records CD titled Shout, Sister, Shout!, which has received numerous rave reviews and been called "one of the year's best tributes" by the Dallas Morning News, and "solid as a church organ" by the Austin Chronicle.

Born Rosetta Nubin in Cotton Plant, Arkansas, she began performing at age four, billed as "Little Rosetta Nubin, the singing and guitar playing miracle", accompanying her mother, evangelist Katie Bell Nubin, who played mandolin and preached at tent revivals throughout the South. Exposed to both blues and jazz both in the South and after her family moved to Chicago in the late 1920s, she played blues and jazz in private, while performing gospel music in public settings. Her unique style reflected those secular influences: she bent notes the way that jazz artists did and picked guitar like Memphis Minnie.

Odetta

Odetta is one of the most influential artists of the 20th Century. Before Odetta, no solo woman performer (let alone an African American woman!) had toured the world singing folk, blues, Negro spirituals, jazz, work and protest songs, while telling the stories of America's Southern experience. Her 1950's and 60's classic recordings of "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands," "Kumbaya," "Goodnight Irene," "Amazing Grace" and "This Little Light of Mine" became folk and spiritual classics throughout the world and inspired an entire generation.

Sunday,

October 1, 2006

7 PM

KCC

Shout, Sister Shout

A Tribute to Sister Rosetta Tharpe

featuring

Odetta, The Holmes Brothers, and Marie Knight

http://concertedefforts.com/artists_shou.asp      

"One of the year's best tributes"
- Dallas Morning News

$30 Adults

$10Students under 18

Jeffrey Swann

Jeffrey Swann enjoys an international performing career that has taken him throughout the United States, Europe, Latin America and the Orient. He won first prize in the Dino Ciani Competition sponsored by La Scala in Milan, a gold medal at the Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels, and top honors at the Warsaw Chopin, Van Cliburn, Vianna da Motta and Montreal Competitions, as well as the Young Concert Artists auditions in New York City. His large and varied repertoire includes more than 50 concertos as well as solo works ranging from Bach to Boulez. 

Mr. Swann has performed with the symphonies of Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Seattle, Indiana, Dallas, Saint Louis, Houston, Baltimore and Minneapolis; and in Europe with the orchestras of Rotterdam, The Hague, Belgian National and Radio, Santa Cecilia, RAI Turin and Rome, and the London Philharmonia, among many others. In addition, he has lectured for three consecutive years at the Wagner Festival in Bayreuth, Germany, and taught courses and master classes in Italy and the United States.

A native of Williams, Arizona, Jeffrey Swann studied with Alexander Uninsky at Southern Methodist University and with Beveridge Webster and Adele Marcus at The Juilliard School, where he received his B.M., M.M. and D.M.A. Degrees.

Sunday, 

October 15, 2006

7 PM

KCC

Jeffrey Swan

 http://www.gharts.org/JeffreySwannFeb242006.pdf

"His Chopin--built on lines that bent and stretched but never sagged--was exquisite; his Liszt was a triumph of virtuosity."

-Cincinnati Post

$20 Adults

$10 Students under 18

Ying Quartet

Now in its second decade, the Ying Quartet continues to develop ways of making artistic and creative expression an essential part of everyday life.  Their current projects in this direction include an innovative visiting residency at Symphony Space in New York City connecting music with other art forms, including dance, poetry, and film; an exploration with the Turtle Island String Quartet of jazz, improvisation and the classical string quartet tradition; and a variety of visiting residencies on campuses and in communities across the United States. 

Natives of Chicago, the Ying siblings began their career as an ensemble in 1992 in the farm town of Jesup, Iowa (population 2000) as the first artists involved in the National Endowment for the Arts Chamber Music Rural Residencies Program.  The Quartet participated fully in the community, performing on countless occasions for audiences of six to six hundred people in a residency so successful that it was widely chronicled in the national and international media, including features in The New York Times and STRAD magazine and on CBS Sunday Morning. 

The Yings’ enthusiasm for performing in diverse settings has led to concerts in Carnegie Hall, the White House, hospitals and juvenile prisons. Frequent musical collaborations have included such artists as Menahem Pressler, Paul Katz, Gilbert Kalish, Jon Nakamatsu, and the St. Lawrence and Turtle Island String Quartets. 

Wednesday, 

November 16, 2006

7 PM

KCC

Ying Quartet   

www.yingquartet.com

"As close to the ideal as possible. Astonishing, refreshing exaltation and exhilaration."

Los Angeles Times

$25 Adults

$10 Students under 18

Chanticleer

Hailed by the New Yorker magazine as “America’s favorite choral ensemble” and praised by the Los Angeles Times for its “luxurious perfection,” the GRAMMY® Award-winning vocal ensemble Chanticleer in 2005-06 performs over 80 concerts in 16 states across the U.S., a fall tour to Japan, and a seven-country European tour in early 2006. The ensemble’s 29th CD debuts in September 2005: Sound in Spirit is a powerful and unusual exploration of transcendent chant and other primal vocal expression.

Chanticleer has developed a remarkable reputation for its vivid interpretations of vocal literature, from Renaissance to jazz, and from gospel to venturesome new music. With its seamless blend of twelve male voices, ranging from countertenor to bass, the ensemble has earned international renown as “an orchestra of voices.”

Named for the “clear-singing” rooster in Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, Chanticleer was founded in 1978 by tenor Louis Botto, who sang with the group until 1989 and served as Artistic Director until his death in 1997. In 1999, Christine Bullin joined Chanticleer as President & General Director. Music Director Joseph Jennings joined the ensemble as a countertenor in 1983, and shortly thereafter assumed his current title. A prolific composer and arranger, Mr. Jennings has provided the group with some of its most popular repertoire, most notably spirituals, gospel music, and jazz standards.

Friday,

January 12, 2007

7 PM

KCC

Chanticleer

www.chanticleer.org

"Chanticleer fascinates and enthralls for much the same reason a fine chocolate or a Rolls Royce does: through luxurious perfection." - Los Angeles Times

$30 Adults

$10 Students under 18

Campbell Brothers

The Campbell Brothers present Sacred Steel: African-American gospel music with electric steel guitar and vocal. This tradition is just now emerging from the House of God Keith Dominion Church, where for over sixty years it has been an integral part of worship and a vital, if little known, American tradition. As the music moves from sanctuary to concert hall -- including the Hollywood Bowl, the Kennedy Center, Brooklyn Academy of Music and Symphony Space -- secular audiences are now able to appreciate a performance both devoted and rocking.

Pedal steel guitarist Chuck Campbell and his lap steel-playing brother Darick are two of the finest in this tradition. Rounding out the band, which has been playing together for nearly two decades, is a high-energy rhythm section featuring brother Phil Campbell on electric guitar and his son Carlton on drums. Katie Jackson's classic, gutsy gospel vocals bring the ensemble to a level of energy and expression that defies description.

The Campbell Brothers present a compelling, rich variety of material from the African-American Holiness-Pentecostal repertoire with a new twist: the growling, wailing, shouting, singing and swinging voice of the steel guitar, played as you have never heard it played before.

Tuesday,

February 6, 2007

7 PM

KCC

Campbell Brothers

 www.campbellbrothers.com/about.html

"...different from anything you've ever heard... essential listening for anyone interested in blues guitar." - Jim DeKoster, Living Blues

$30 Adults 

$10 Students under 18

Aspen Santa Fe Ballet

Described as a deft ensemble…with engaging projection and an appealing largesse by Dance Magazine, Aspen Santa Fe Ballet is a company of eleven classically trained dancers who perform an eclectic repertoire by some of the world’s foremost choreographers. Celebrating its eighth season this year, Aspen Santa Fe Ballet performs year-round at home in Aspen and Santa Fe, and on tour throughout the United States.

Founded in 1990 by long-time Aspenite Bebe Schweppe, Aspen Santa Fe Ballet is an institution - home of a nationally recognized dance company, a center for dance education, and a gathering place for the finest dancers and choreographers in the world.

In 1995, at the invitation of Aspen Ballet Company and School founder Bebe Schweppe, Jean-Philippe Malaty and Tom Mossbrucker moved from New York City to embark on a vision of creating a professional dance company based in Aspen. Aspen Santa Fe Ballet debuted at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in October 1996.

In 1999 the company entered a co-venture with a presenting organization in Santa Fe and now performs under the name Aspen Santa Fe Ballet. This special partnership between the two cities that are known for their talented artist communities creates a unique cultural product and a strong dance presence in Aspen and Santa Fe.

Wednesday,

February 21, 2007

7 PM

KCC

Aspen Santa Fe Ballet

www.aspensantafeballet.com

"Aspen Santa Fe Ballet went for broke. . .with magical and poetic results."  -Clive Barnes, New York Post
 

"A repertory to die for…This is a company to see again and again."

-Helen Forsberg, The Salt Lake Tribune

$30 Adults 

$10 Students under 18

Poulenc Trio

The Poulenc Trio brings together three uniquely gifted virtuosos, oboist Vladimir Lande, bassoonist Bryan Young, and pianist Irina Lande.  Combining brilliant 21st-century vibrancy with the best of European instrumental tradition, the trio’s performances leap beyond the ordinary concert experience, transporting audiences into a world of beautiful sonorities, playful rhythms and dramatic excitement. The ensemble’s precision and versatility heighten the lyricism of Poulenc, the virtuosity of Rossini, the wit of Jean Francaix and the jazzy elegance of André Previn. As the best of a select few professional wind trios, the Poulenc Trio is committed to expanding the repertoire through the discovery of old masterpieces and new works.

Saturday,

March 3, 2007

7 PM

KCC

Poulenc Trio

www.poulenctrio.com

"The Poulenc Trio concert was terrific! Everybody was raving, and they played so well!" – Gary Clarke, Director Washington College Music Series

$25 Adults 

$10 Students under 18

Jacqui Naylor

Jacqui Naylor is not an easy artist to categorize. There are times when she performs straight-ahead vocal jazz, but at other times she favors more of a folk-rock/adult alternative approach. Depending on the mood she is in at a given moment, the northern Californian can bring to mind anyone from Cassandra Wilson or British jazz vocalist Claire Martin to Sarah McLachlan or Shawn Colvin -- she is as comfortable among jazz improvisers as she is in the singer/songwriter world. During one of her live performances, Naylor has no problem singing smoky jazz one minute and folk-rock or adult alternative the next -- and there are times when she blurs the line between the two.

Born and raised in Saratoga, CA, Naylor attended San Francisco State University after graduating from high school in the '80s. Naylor entered that college to study marketing, but along the way she became interested in drama and acting -- and after hearing the album Sarah Vaughan Sings George Gershwin in a music appreciation class, Naylor became seriously interested in vocal jazz.

Naylor, who is very jazz-friendly but far from a rigid jazz purist, brings a long list of influences to her introspective work -- influences ranging from Billie Holiday, June Christy, and Nina Simone to Tracy Chapman, Natalie Merchant, Carole King, and Sheryl Crow. That is an unlikely combination of influences, certainly, but it is one that works well for Naylor (who has used all of them to fashion a personal, recognizable style of her own). Naylor has a highly diverse repertoire; on-stage, she is likely to perform a Tin Pan Alley standard right after something by the Rolling Stones or Talking Heads (in addition to performing songs of her own). Naylor is not an overly aggressive or forceful type of singer; she favors subtlety, restraint, and understatement, which are things that Holiday and Christy (one of the goddesses of jazz's cool school) were both masters of.

Saturday,

March 24, 2007

7 PM

KCC

Jacqi Naylor

www.jacquinaylor.com 

"Jacqui's 'acoustic smashing' of the great American songbook with the classic rock and roll songbook brings both forms to life in a way never heard before, bringing the audience to its feet in thunderous appreciation. There is true genius at work here."

Ken Dashow Q-104 Radio, New York

$25 Adults 

$10 Students under 18

Trio con Brio Copenhagen

Trio con Brio Copenhagen, formed by the Korean sisters Soo-Jin Hong and Soo-Kyung Hong and the Danish pianist Jens Elvekjaer, drew attention by the sensational success at the ARD-competition in Munich. The trio belongs, since its formation in Vienna 1999, to the most exciting young piano trios performing today. Critics especially praise the trio for “sparkling joy of life”, “magic dialogue” and the virtuoso technique of the ensemble.

Highlights of past years´ performances are Konzerthaus Berlin, Max-Josephs-Saal der Residenz Munich, Mozart-Saal Vienna, Kölner Philharmonie, Herkulessaal Munich, Seoul Arts Centre, Korea, Bunka Kaikan, Tokyo and Teatro Olimpico Vicenza, Italy. In summer 2003 Trio con Brio Copenhagen performed all Beethoven piano trios in a cycle of three concerts in Tivoli Concert Hall in Copenhagen with great success.

In 2005/6 the trio will return to Korea/Japan where a CD-recording is planned in Seoul Arts Center. Also the trio will go on its first USA tour and perform at the Newbury Festival, Lake Side Festival and Leamington Festival, England, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Holland, Bergen Festspil and Kristiansand Festival, Norway, Tivoli Concert Hall, Copenhagen, in a number of tours in Germany with concerts in Sendesaal, Frankfurt, Nürnberg, Bayreuth and in major cities in Denmark.

Sunday,

April 15, 2007

7 PM

KCC

Trio con Brio Copenhagen

www.trioconbrio.dk   

"The concert with Trio con Brio Copenhagen in Frimurerlogen was simply great…. Trio con Brio Copenhagen played so that one almost forgot to breathe…..."

Adresseavisen, Trondheim (Norwegian Newspaper)

$25 Adults 

$10 Students under 18

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