Music, Theatre, and Dance: Benny Carter Jazz Festival

Friday, February 25, 2011

The Marywood Jazz Ensemble will perform a concert of music, which Mr. Carter generated for two ensembles during the 1960s. The first set is the album of music composed for the great Count Basie and his big band and entitled “The Legend.” The next set is for a saxophone ensemble and rhythm section and was composed for two albums by Mr. Carter and other saxophone greats such as Phil Woods, Coleman Hawkins, and Charlie Rouse. Those albums are entitled “Further Definitions” (1961) and “Additions to Further Definitions,” which featured Bud Shank, Bill Perkins, Teddy Edwards, and Bill Hood. The Marywood saxophone section will take up the challenge of recreating some of those arrangements. In addition to that repertoire, Marywoood studio professors, including Mr. Tom Heinze (alto sax) and Mr. Dave Jumper (trumpet) will perform some of Mr. Carter's best known small group works.

Saturday, February 26, 2011

The Marywood Jazz Ensemble will share the stage in a “side by side” concert with a selected area high school band and perform two joint selections from Mr. Carter's long and respected list of works for big bands. The guest ensemble will be chosen by a panel of judges who will listen to and adjudicate four invited student bands during an afternoon session. Those judges will then offer the young musicians some suggestions to improve their swing playing and ultimately choose a partner group to perform in the evening concert with the Marywood University band. During that program, each organization will offer selections of their own choosing and then join together for “Symphony in Riffs”(1929) and “Movin' Uptown” (1996). These two compositions are of interest to jazz scholars due to their almost seventy year difference in copyright dates, although displaying a series of stylistic similarities and contrasts by the same composer. They also provide a perfect platform for the two ensembles to collaborate on stage. This combination should be one of the highlights of the weekend's events.

Sunday, February 27, 2011

The “Benny Carter Jazz Festival” will conclude with the premier performance of a new jazz organization. The “Northeastern Pennsylvania Repertory Orchestra” will play an afternoon performance of the music Mr. Carter generated for the 1960 album, “The Kansas City Suite” by Count Basie and his big band. The “NPRO” is an ensemble of many of the finest jazz musicians who live and work in the Northeastern corner of Pennsylvania. Marywood University director Tom Heinze has invited these players to come together for the first of many special projects recreating the works and styles of the giants in the field of jazz. Marywood University's hope is to provide a welcome “home base” where this organization will continue to meet as it explores and performs the repertoire of other legends in jazz history. This first performance of the work of Benny Carter will offer the community an exciting opportunity to hear an ensemble that many feel will become a mainstay in our area.