November 13, 2007

Purdue jazz bands to explore Count Basie to Village Vanguard

The Purdue Jazz Band, American Music Repertory Ensemble and the Lab Jazz Band will perform in the concert in Stewart Center's Loeb Playhouse. Admission is free.

Basie, whose music was characterized by his trademark "jumping" beat, went on to nurture some of the best jazz musicians of that era.

One of those, trumpeter Thad Jones, went on to play a pivotal role in establishing the Village Vanguard, a Greenwich Village jazz nightclub, which opened in 1965.

"The Village Vanguard started in the middle of the rock and roll era when no one wanted to listen to big bands," said Purdue jazz director M.T. "Mo" Trout. "They started it for musicians to get together on Monday nights and read through music."

The music Jones put before the musicians was challenging, original and stylistically much different than the music he'd played with Basie, but audiences flocked to it, Trout said.

"The club just took off and has become an institution," he said.

In 2007, the Vanguard is still known for its cutting edge jazz, and many musicians still record in the basement club. Numerous stars, including Sonny Rollins, John Coltrane and Wynton Marsalis, have made live recordings there.

At the concert, the American Music Repertory Ensemble will present a variety of Basie tunes as audiences would have originally heard them, such as "Basie Boogie" from 1941, "Flight of the Foo Birds" from 1957, "Whirly Bird" from 1958 and "The Queen Bee" from 1954. They also will play a Duke Ellington tune, "In a Mellowtone," that was arranged for the New York Voices and Count Basie Orchestra in 2005.

Tunes from the Vanguard, performed by the Purdue Jazz Band, will include Jones' "Greetings and Salutations" and "Rhoda Map," and Bob Brookmeyer's "Hello and Goodbye" among others.

The Lab Jazz Band will open the evening with tunes by other classic 20th century composers including Hoagy Carmichael's "The Nearness of You" and Cole Porter's "Love for Sale."

Purdue Bands & Orchestra is presenting the concert as part of its Jazz Series. The department's next jazz event is "Holiday Cheer & All That Jazz" on Dec. 7. For information, visit https://www.purdue.edu/bands

Writer: Christy Jones, (765) 494-1089, christyjones@purdue.edu

Source: Kathy Matter, Purdue Bands public relations director, (765) 496-6785, kcmatter@purdue.edu

Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu

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