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Cleveland Jazz Orchestra celebrates Rhapsody in Blue alongside more ‘20s music & four premieres

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by Jarrett Hoffman

The Cleveland Jazz Orchestra is taking an intriguing approach to the 100th anniversary of Rhapsody in Blue. This weekend’s program will feature the Gershwin classic alongside more music from the 1920s — not to mention four world premieres by Aidan Plank and Brad Wagner of the CJO, and Margi Griebling-Haigh and Ty Alan Emerson of the Cleveland Composers Guild.

At the piano in the Gershwin will be the Orchestra’s own Jackie Warren. At the podium will be Cleveland Pops Orchestra music director Carl Topilow. And joining the CJO will be string players from the Cleveland Pops, BlueWater Chamber Orchestra, CityMusic Cleveland, and Case Western Reserve University.

Performances take place Friday, March 15 at 7:30 pm at the Maltz Performing Arts Center and Saturday, March 16 at 8:00 pm at BLU Jazz+. [Read more…]

“Smooth and Smart…Rodgers & Hart” — Cleveland Jazz Orchestra & Musical Theater Project (Jan. 27)

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 by Kevin McLaughlin

There is something both artful and nonchalant about the songs of Rodgers & Hart. There is no sales job, no “look at this clever harmony, or this sly lyric.” Only effortless joy, romance, and wit. And sometimes performances — like the one by the Cleveland Jazz Orchestra and The Musical Theater Project at Maltz Performing Arts Center on Saturday night, January 27 — are just as smooth and smart.

“Smooth and Smart…Rodgers & Hart,” an evening of 25 songs with commentary — written, co-produced, and co-hosted by The Musical Theater Project’s Bill Rudman and the Jazz Orchestra’s Paul Ferguson — only confirmed the songs’ perfection. Rudman and Ferguson (pictured) were joined onstage by five horns from CJO, singer-pianist Joe Hunter, drummer Holbrook Riles III, bassist Aidan Plank, and vocalists Evelyn Wright and Michael Shirtz.

Rudman’s scripted commentary between musical numbers kept momentum on a smooth glide, as did film, audio clips, and slides. [Read more…]

Akron Symphony: adaptable, exceptional (Jan. 13)

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by Peter Feher

The Akron Symphony pulled off an exceptional concert at E.J. Thomas Hall on January 13 that would have stretched any other ensemble to its limit.

Between the different instrumental configurations and the sheer variety of musical styles, there were what sounded like four distinct orchestras onstage Saturday night.

But the Akron Symphony came up with a pragmatic solution that made the performance possible. Music director Christopher Wilkins kept the ensemble small — scarcely more than 30 musicians for the biggest work of the evening. If the orchestra wasn’t exactly out in full force here, this tight-knit group of players nonetheless had all the power and finesse of a seasoned symphonic unit.

[Read more…]

CD Review
Collage Project: Off Brand

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by Jarrett Hoffman

There’s a fascinating and colorful gray area between jazz and contemporary classical music, as evidenced by this past summer’s album Off Brand from the Collage Project. Joining bassist Aidan Plank, electric guitarist Dan Bruce, and guitarist Daniel Lippel are three guests — drummer Nathan Douds, saxophonist Noa Even, and trombonist Chris Anderson — together harvesting a bounty of unique and compelling combinations of sound.

[Read more…]

Pulse Quartet to perform
at Bop Stop October 29

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by Barnaby Woods

“Nothing could have prepared me for this scenario” bassist Aidan Plank said over the phone. In March 2020, the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic threw the livelihood of freelance musicians into question. Jazz professionals with flourishing careers suddenly found themselves without work and unable to safely collaborate with their colleagues. Since then, the world has found ways of adjusting to the pandemic — Cleveland’s Bop Stop has installed state of the art streaming equipment to facilitate live performances for audiences to enjoy safely from their homes. On Thursday, October 29th at 7PM, Plank and his Pulse Quartet will be performing a set at The Bop Stop for a restricted live audience. You can also tune in via the jazz club’s Facebook page.

In addition to Plank, the ensemble features Anthony Fuoco on piano, Dustin May on drums, and Brad Wagner on saxophone. Plank is a well known bassist in Northeast Ohio. Outside of Pulse, he performs in Cleveland Jazz Orchestra, Cleveland Jazzworks, and Dan Bruce’s Beta Collective and was featured on NPR’s “Jazz Night in America” in 2019. Having started on piano in elementary school, he was introduced to jazz at a young age by his grandfather. “As a kid I would go to his house and there would be jazz records playing all the time — I remember looking at the album covers and I simply liked the way the bass looked — it looked big and fun and I loved how it sounded.” [Read more…]

Tuesday Musical to celebrate “Akron Legends of Jazz and Dance”

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by Jarrett Hoffman

To begin this season’s FUZE Series on Thursday, October 10 at 7:30 pm at E.J. Thomas Hall, Tuesday Musical will honor the memory of two local arts icons: jazz pianist and composer Pat Pace, and Ohio Ballet founder and choreographer Heinz Poll, who both passed away in 2006.

“Akron Legends of Jazz and Dance” will feature Verb Ballets and players from the Chamber Music Society of Ohio. Leading the group is flutist George Pope, who became familiar with Pace and Poll as far back as 1978, when he began teaching at the University of Akron and performing as principal flute of the Akron Symphony.

“I knew quite a lot about Pat and his amazing musicianship from the beginning,” Pope said during a telephone interview. “We did performances with him in the Akron Symphony and the University orchestra, and I had friends who studied and performed with him. He was teaching a lot of the young jazz artists of his time — pianists as well as other musicians performing with him. He was inspiring the next generation.”

[Read more…]

Cleveland Trombone Seminar: Mark Lancaster Lusk (June 20)

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by Nicholas Stevens

Last week, as part of the seventh annual Cleveland Trombone Seminar, a concert by Mark Lancaster Lusk took listeners into the heart of the brass player’s world: a region dominated by vocal music, modernist explorations, and jazz.

[Read more…]

Les Délices ventures into jazz standards with its “Songs Without Words” concerts

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by Mike Telin

NAGY-Debra“Instrumentalists, especially during the last couple of decades of the 17th century, would often turn to vocal music as a source of repertory for their solo playing,” said Debra Nagy, Les Délices Artistic Director, during a recent interview. “This program uses that idea as its point of departure and brings the concept into the 20th century with jazz standards arranged for and improvised by the ensemble.”

On Saturday, October 15 at 8:00 pm at SPACES, and on Sunday at 4:00 pm at Herr Chapel, Plymouth Church, Les Délices will kick off its new season with a program titled “Songs Without Words.” The program will feature torch songs spanning the 17th to 20th centuries, including music by Michel Lambert, Marin Marais, Billy Strayhorn, and Nina Simone. [Read more…]

Preview: Tremont’s Arts in August: a conversation with trombonist and bandleader Paul Ferguson

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by Mike Telin

Ferguson-Paul“I’m kind of all over the map right now,” says trombonist, educator composer, arranger and band leader Paul Ferguson. In addition to serving as associate artistic director of the Cleveland Jazz Orchestra and director of jazz studies at Case Western Reserve University, Ferguson’s current projects include commissions from the University of Michigan Jazz Ensemble and the Nordonia Junior High Jazz Band, and he has recently finished arranging the twelve trio sonatas by Henry Purcell for three trombones or any three bass clef instruments as well as some sacred music for jazz ensemble.

He is also putting the finishing touches on arrangements for rock singer Todd Rundgren, who will be performing with the Akron Symphony later this month. But this Friday, August 16, Paul Ferguson will put on his performer’s hat when he brings his Quintet to Tremont’s Lincoln Park for a free evening of jazz beginning at 7:00 pm. Part of the Arts in August series, the concert is presented in collaboration with the Tremont West Development Corporation and Arts Renaissance Tremont (ART). [Read more…]

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