The 47th season of Highlights In Jazz kicks off with an all-star concert featuring pianist/vocalist Daryl Sherman, saxophonist Houston Person, trumpeter Warren Vaché, clarinetist/saxophonist Ken Peplowski, pianist Norman Simmons, bassist Boots Maleson, and guitarist James Chirillo, plus a special surprise guest.
“Producing all-star jams is my stock in trade,” series originator and producer, Jack Kleinsinger notes. “What you’ll hear at these concerts is different from what you’d hear in a club. These great musicians get together here to play with people they don’t play with every night of the week.”
A mainstay of the New York jazz scene, Daryl Sherman has built a devoted following with her talent and creativity as a pianist and singer, and her distinctive take on the Great American Songbook. A frequent guest on Marian McPartland’s “Piano Jazz,” Daryl presided over Cole Porter’s Steinway at the Waldorf-Astoria for 14 years, and was legendary bandleader Artie Shaw’s vocalist of choice.
Saxophonist Houston Person is known for his affinity with singers, honed during his 20-plus years with vocalist Etta Jones. Besides releasing dozens of albums as a leader in the company of greats such as Ron Carter, Steve Nelson, Cedar Walton, Bill Charlap, Joey DeFrancesco, Bernard Purdie, Les McCann, Benny Green, Grady Tate, Curtis Fuller, and other notables, Person has appeared on scores more as a sideman.
Warren Vaché made his mark from Broadway pit orchestras to big bands to free-wheeling jazz ensembles. He’s appeared in the company of Howard Alden, George Shearing, Bucky Pizzarelli, Bill Charlap and dozens of others. Vaché lists Louis Armstrong, Roy Eldridge, Bobby Hackett, Fats Navarro, Tom Harrell and Ruby Braff among his favorite trumpet players.
Saxophonist/clarinetist Ken Peplowski was still in elementary school when he landed his first pro gig, playing in a Polish polka band in his native Cleveland. Ken studied with Sonny Stitt, and played with the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra and with Benny Goodman. He’s also collaborated with Mel Torme, Charlie Byrd, Peggy Lee, George Shearing, Hank Jones, Dave Frishberg, Rosemary Clooney, Tom Harrell, James Moody, Cedar Walton and Bill Charlap.
Norman Simmons wears many hats: composer, arranger, pianist, educator and more. In his native Chicago, he led the house band at one of the most renowned clubs of the era The Beehive, backing greats such as Wardell Gray, Lester Young, and Charlie Parker. Besides providing the arrangement for Ramsey Lewis’ hit “Wade in the Water,” Simmons is widely known for his work with legendary vocalists including Carmen McRae, Anita O’Day, Betty Carter, and Joe Williams and for his special feel for the compositions of the great Duke Ellington.
In-demand bassist Boots Maleson is a veteran of ensembles large and small, including the big bands of Harry James, Jimmy Dorsey, and Bob Alexander, the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, and the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra. He has also accompanied Milt Jackson, Elvin Jones, Jaki Byard, Archie Shepp, Kenny Barron, Dexter Gordon, Stanley Cowell, Benny Carter, and Marlene Verplanck and many others.
Versatile guitarist James Chirillo has been heard with a spectrum of talent that spans Wynton Marsalis, Paquito D’Rivera, Wycliffe Gordon, Michael Feinstein, Tony Bennett, Joe Lovano, Marcus Roberts, Dick Hyman, Benny Goodman, Benny Carter, Eddie Durham, Eddie Barefield, Frank Wess and Joe Wilder. The winner of a composition grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, James has also appeared on Broadway and movie soundtracks.
Jack Kleinsinger’s HIGHLIGHTS IN JAZZ 2019 continues with:
Thursday, March 28, 2019 – 8 P.M. Satchmo & Sidney Revisited with David Ostwald’s Louis Armstrong Eternity Band, Produced in Association with the Sidney Bechet Society
Thursday, May 16, 2019 – 8 P.M. Salute to Randy Brecker with Jazz Millenials Saxophonists Peter & Will Anderson and Singer Veronica Swift
Thursday, June 20, 2019 – 8 P.M. Remembering Erroll & Randy, The Erroll Garner Project
All Shows are at BMCC TRIBECA Performing Arts Center/Borough of Manhattan Community College, 199 Chambers Street, New York, NY, http://tribecapac.org
Ticket Prices are $50.00 or $45.00 (student rate with valid ID) and $180.00 per subscription
Tickets can be purchased in advance at the box office, by calling (212) 220-1460 oronline at Tickets.Tribecapac.org
If paying by check, made payable to Highlights In Jazz, please send to: Highlights In Jazz, 7 Peter Cooper Road, Apt. 11E, New York, NY 10010 (Please enclose a self-addressed, stamped envelope).
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