INFORMATION FOR
Grammy winner Ryan Truesdell brings Birth of the Cool Live to the stage for the final concert of the fall 2021 Jazz Room series at William Paterson University on Sunday, November 14 at 4:00 p.m. in the Shea Center for Performing Arts on campus in Wayne, NJ.
An acclaimed arranger, bandleader and producer, Truesdell has established a major reputation in recent years for his work on the Grammy Award-winning Gil Evans Project, recreating and performing the music of the great arranger. There is perhaps no more significant music in the past 70 years than the historic 1949 Birth of the Cool album, arranged by Evans and Gerry Mulligan, featuring Miles Davis, Lee Konitz, Mulligan, John Lewis, Kenny Clarke, and others.
Truesdell has done an extensive amount of work to reassemble the original scores from that album, which will be performed live for this concert by a nine-piece band made up of the best young jazz stars that New York has to offer, all dedicated to combining their own voices with the authenticity of this breathtakingly lush music.
The concert will be preceded by “Sittin’ In,” the Jazz Room’s accompanying “meet the artist” concert preview featuring interviews with jazz artists and guest speakers. This informal discussion, free to all Jazz Room ticket-holders, begins at 3 p.m., one hour prior to the concert, in the Shea 101 Recital Hall.
William Paterson University’s Jazz Room series is the longest-running program of its kind in the United States. Launched in 1978, the Jazz Room has welcomed more than 500 jazz legends to the stage, including Sonny Rollins, Wynton Marsalis, Wayne Shorter, Joe Williams, Marian McPartland, Slide Hampton, Kenny Burrell, Joe Lovano, Kenny Garrett, Clark Terry, Michael and Randy Brecker, the Vanguard Orchestra, and more. Concerts have encompassed the entire spectrum of jazz, from early jazz and swing to avant garde, and from intimate solo performances to big bands. The performance series provides support for the University’s internationally renowned Jazz Studies Program, founded in 1973, which draws students from across the United States and abroad under the current direction of pianist Bill Charlap.
Tickets are $15 for the general public, $12 for WP faculty, staff, alumni, and senior citizens, $8 for non-WP students, and WP students are admitted free. Tickets are an additional $3 if purchased on show day. For tickets, visit wp-presents.org, or contact the box office at 973.720.2371 or boxoffice@wpunj.edu.
The Jazz Room at William Paterson University has been made possible, in part, by funds from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts.
For information, call the Shea Center for Performing Arts Box Office at 973-720-2371 or visit wp-presents.org.
