Purdue News
Purdue News
|
|
January 7, 2000 T.S. Monk Sextet, Nnenna Freelon Trio kicks off festWEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The T.S. Monk Sextet and the Nnenna Freelon Trio will kick off the 2000 Purdue Jazz Festival at 8 p.m. Friday, Jan. 21, in Loeb Playhouse at Stewart Center on the university campus. A presentation of Purdue Convocations, the concert is sponsored by United Technologies. The Purdue Jazz Festival was launched 10 years ago when Purdue Convocations teamed up with Purdue Bands to create a weekend of live jazz performing, teaching, and listening – not only by some of the greatest musicians working in jazz, but also by junior and senior high school musicians from across Indiana. The first year, about 250 students attended. Ten years later, this two-day festival has become the biggest of its kind in the Midwest. More than 2,000 students from 90 schools will be on campus Jan. 21-22 to play and sing for veteran adjudicators and to attend clinics and master classes. In addition, the students will have the opportunity to hear live performances by Freelon and Monk, as well as The Tony Zamora Jazz Ensemble and New York Voices. For further information and a complete schedule of festival events, call Purdue Bands at (765) 496-6785. Monk, the drummer, band leader, composer and vocalist who is the son of Thelonious Sphere Monk, most recently received the New York Jazz Awards' first annual "Recording of the Year" honor for his 1997 "Monk on Monk," an 80th anniversary birthday tribute to his father, who died in 1982. Critics and the public lauded Monk as his father's true musical heir. A concert tour sold out performances across the United States and Europe. To further honor his father's legacy, Monk formed the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz. The institute has launched a number of programs that range from sponsoring music education scholarships to funding and supporting after-school athletic programs. In 1992, Monk formed his jazz sextet, which has since performed at the JVC Jazz at the Bowl festival, Sun Valley Center, Lied Center for the Performing Arts, and many of the legendary jazz clubs. For the special 80th birthday tribute to his father, the sextet formed the core of the 11-musician touring show. Freelon, winner of the Billie Holiday Award from the prestigious Academie du Jazz in France and the Eubie Blake Award from New York's Cultural Crossroads, has been heralded for her unique voice and style. She has recorded five albums and received three Grammy nominations, two Soul Train "Lady of Soul" nominations and several other honors and awards. Freelon has toured extensively in the United States and abroad and has opened for Ray Charles, Al Jarreau and Tony Bennett. Freelon has collaborated with a number of acclaimed musicians on noteworthy projects, including the "Monk on Monk" recording and tour. Their New Year's Eve performance was broadcast live on National Public Radio's 10th annual "Cognac Hennessey's New Years Eve Coast to Coast." Her recent touring, plus requests to fill in for one of her idols, the late Betty Carter, and carry on her tradition of educating young musicians, as well as her work as the spokeswoman for the National Association of Partners in Education, have firmly established Freelon as the leading female jazz educator and arts advocate. New this year, each Purdue Convocations Jazz Set concert will have a casual and informative Jazz Cafe, starting at 6:30 p.m. before the concert. "This will be a time to grab a drink and a handful of munchies and mingle with friends," explained Don Seybold, Convos associate director and jazz expert. "Plus you'll have the opportunity to pick up a thing or two about that concert's musicians – background, influences, discography. The cafe is meant to give new listeners to jazz an opportunity to learn a little, become more comfortable, more knowledgeable, about what they'll be hearing. We'll have displays on the musicians that you can roam around and read at your leisure. There won't be a formal program of any kind." The Jazz Cafe for the Monk/Freelon concert will be in the Sagamore Room on the second floor of the Purdue Memorial Union and is free to patrons coming to the concert. Tickets to the Jan. 21 concert by Monk and Freelon are $25 for the public and $15 for Purdue students. Charge by phone at (765) 494-3933 or (800) 914-SHOW or stop by campus box offices. CONTACT: Sue Stevens, Convocations publicist, (765) 494-5045, snsteven@purdue.edu
|
