In 1923, many seminal jazz musicians of the 20th century were born. In this 30th year of the Summer Jazz Room, the Workshop Faculty Ensemble pays tribute to a selected group of musicians: Milt Jackson, Dexter Gordon, Wes Montgomery, Thad Jones, Fats Navarro, and Sam Rivers. The program will feature selections from the abundant and vital body of work of these great musicians. The ensemble includes Tim Newman, bass trombone; David Demsey, saxophones; Mike LeDonne, piano, Marcus McLaurine, bass; and Jon DiFiore, drums. This combined anniversary celebration is not to be missed!
Ticket Prices: $10 per evening concert | $40 for weeklong pass (on sale through Thursday, July 13).
A $5 per ticket fee is added to all ticket sales the night of the event.
Duke Ellington’s music lives on through the exuberant trombonist Art Baron, who joined the Ellington Orchestra during the last year Duke led the band and was the last trombonist Ellington hired. With his distinctive musical voice, Baron continues in a long line of unique trombone stylists like “Tricky Sam” Nanton, Lawrence Brown, and Tyree Glenn. Baron has performed and/or recorded with a wide spectrum of world-famous musicians such as Buddy Rich, Bruce Springsteen, Lou Reed, James Taylor, IIlinois Jacquet, and Mel Tormé, among countless others. For this performance, Baron leads The Duke's Men, a band comprised of Ellington alumni. It is sure to be a rollicking night of classic Ellingtonia!
This concert brings together two dynamic family duos and a jazz orchestra! Trombonist, arranger, and band leader Caleb Rumley and singer Allison McKenzie, partners in life, have been making music with the Big Beat Big Band since 2014. With its funky, groove-filled repertoire, the band has become a regular mainstay of Summer Jazz Room Wednesday night programs. Featured with Big Beat this year are two extraordinary brothers from an extraordinary musical family. Trombonist Robin Eubanks has played with Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers, Elvin Jones, Slide Hampton, Dave Holland, Son Ra, Stevie Wonder, and the SF Jazz Collective, and is a founding member of the M-Base cooperative. Trumpeter Duane Eubanks has performed with the Dave Holland Big Band, Mulgrew Miller, Oliver Lake, and the Wu-Tang Clan, among others. Be there to experience and enjoy this grand aggregation of musical talent!
Bassist and longtime WP jazz faculty member Steve LaSpina is one of the most respected and versatile bassists in jazz. A Chicago native, he has spent years on the road and in recording studios with Stan Getz, Benny Carter, Dave Liebman, Bob Brookmeyer, and Al Cohn, and with singers Morganna King, Suzanna McCorkle, and Chris Conner. He has been one of the most recorded artists on Steeplechase Records since the 1990s. This concert reunites an all-star group which has recorded 11 CDs together since 1992, and includes alto saxophonist Billy Drews, trumpeter Dave Ballou, pianist Marc Copeland, and drummer Jeff Hirshfield. This is bound to be adventurous and cutting-edge music!
Acclaimed pianist and composer Helen Sung’s desire to write for larger ensembles received a high-octane boost when she had the opportunity to arrange a piece for the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra (JLCO) in 2016. Since then, she has honed her craft at the BMI Jazz Composers Workshop, winning the 2022 BMI Charlie Parker Prize for big band composition. Receiving a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2021 afforded her the chance to create Portraits in Jazz, a suite of big band musical tributes to the jazz masters she studied with at the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Performance (now the Herbie Hancock Institute). Sung will unveil her large ensemble, Big Band & Beyond, for WP’s Summer Jazz Room closing concert, presenting selections from Portraits in Jazz and more, including the JLCO arrangement that started it all.
William Paterson University
300 Pompton Road
Wayne, New Jersey 07470
973-720-2000
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