WEST MICHIGAN JAZZ
Winter
2012 Jazz Calendar
The performance
itinerary heats up along our West coast...time to see and hear some
swinging musicians hailed for infectious tones and grooves....from St.
Joseph to Kalamazoo, Grand Rapids and beyond......click here.
Michigan
State University Jazz Orchestra
Saturday, February 2, 2011 - 4pm CST
29th
Frank Mantooth Jazz Festival - New Trier High School (Winnetka, IL)
plus...Chicago Jazz
Ensemble, Nicholas Payton,
high school bands
OAKLAND UNIVERSITY
JAZZ
OU
Percussion Day featuring Joe Reilly (and Sean Dobbins)
Saturday,
January 28, 2012
10:00
AM - 6:00 PM
Varner Hall, Oakland
University
Rochester
Hills, MI 48309
(248)
370-2030
Register:
http://www.oakland.edu/
percussionday12
Featuring:
Jazz drum-off and drum clinic with Sean
Dobbins
OU
percussion day covers a wide range of percussion (classical, Indian,
African, and Jazz). Sean Dobbins will be presented a jazz drum
set clinic at 4pm and from 2-4pm drum set players can come in and play
for him individually or with a small combo. This "jazz drum-off"
from 2-4pm is meant to give drum set players a "solo and ensemble" type
of experience. All workshops are free!
A full day of percussion from around the world including:
º Solo
and ensemble coaching with Dan Maslanka (fine tune your MSBOA
percussion pieces);
º
Drumming
in the classroom with Mike Medvinsky (featuring students from Brandon
Fletcher Intermediate School Indaba Drumming Ensemble);
º
South
Indian rhythmic structures with Sam Jeyasingam (musical math);
º
Jazz
drum-off clinic with Sean Dobbins
(perform with a jazz combo);
º
Native
drum and song with Joe Reilly (heartbeat of the people);
º
Kalimba
clinic with Mark Stone (music of Uganda and South Africa);
º
Jazz
Drum Set 101 with Sean Dobbins (develop
your jazz knowledge);
º
Drum
circle with Sandy Mabery (equality through rhythm).
WAYNE STATE UNIVERSITY JAZZ
WSU
Jazz Jam @Cliff Bell's
Sunday, January 22,
2012; 7pm
Join WSU jazz faculty and
students at this free monthly jam at Detroit's legendary jazz venue
GRAND RAPIDS BIG BAND SWING
Grand Rapids Jazz
Orchestra
See the GRJO this coming
weekend:
Sunday, January 15, 2012; 5:30pm & 7:30pm
Founders Brewing Co., 235 Grandville Ave., S.W., Grand Rapids
Hear the live webcast: http://www.grjo.com
Ph: (616) 776-1195
Free admission!
Now in its third decade the Grand
Rapids Jazz Orchestra is a leader
among large ensembles pushing musical boundaries in the thriving West
Michigan jazz corridor. Featuring recognized jazz educators from West
Michigan, GRJO is directed by drummer Tim Froncek and boasts
top-notch soloists such as tenor saxophonists Bob
Nixon and Greg Marsden,
trumpeter Dan
Jacobs, pianist Steve Talaga,
and trombonist Mike
McLeod. The band is highly regarded for introducing new
compositions by many leading composers and arrangers.
JAZZ CAFE @MUSIC HALL
Scott Gwinnell
Dectet - A Tribute to Herbie Hancock
Thursday, January 12, 2012; 8:30pm
- 12:30am - $3 cover
Jazz
Cafe at Music Hall
350 Madison Avenue, Detroit
Directions / Contact Info: http://jazzcafedetroit.com/contact
The premiere of the SGD at Music Hall will feature original, new
arrangements by pianist-composer Scott
Gwinnell and James Hughes.
The band boasts a major ''A-list'' of Detroit musicians, including Carl Cafagna, Steve Wood, Mark Berger,
Patrick Hession, Walter White, Terry Kimura, Andy James, Jordan Schug,
and Jesse Kramer.
Hancock's career work gets preferred attention but other jazz greats
(Lee Morgan, Joe Henderson, Kenny Dorham, Thelonious Monk) also get
program tribute nods.
PAUL KELLER ORCHESTRA BIRTHDAY @ZAL GRAZ
GROTTO
Paul Keller Orchestra
featuring Paul Keller, Sarah D'Angelo & Mr. B
Friday, January 12, 2012; 8 & 10pm - $10 cover
Zal Gaz Grotto
2070 W. Stadium Boulevard (between Liberty St. & Pauline), Ann Arbor
Ph: (734) 663-1202
A celebration of 23 years together plus their latest 1-year anniversary
at Zal Gaz Grotto, where every Monday night their big band appeal
emboldens street cred as Ann Arbor's grandest jazz export. Acclaimed
bandleader and bassist Paul
Keller always ramps up spirited good times thanks to a tight,
crisp big band sound sporting flavorful arrangements and a zesty
smorgasbord of tasteful soloing.
Vocalist Sarah D'Angelo sings
a few standards while (Ann Arbor) Boogie Woogie virtuoso Mr. B makes a special
appearance. Happy anniversary cheers to Paul & the PKO, a
Michigan jazz treasure!
OAKLAND UNIVERSITY JAZZ
OU
Jazz Night @Cliff Bells
Sunday, December 18,
2011; 6-10pm
FREE admission!
Featuring
the OU Jazz Combos, Jazz Band
and the Oakland Jazz Quartet
OU
Jazz: http://oakland.edu/jazz
Cliff Bells
2030
Park Avenue
Detroit,
MI
Visit:
http://www.cliffbells.com
Ph: (313) 961-2543
KERRYTOWN CONCERT HOUSE
 Rodney Whitaker Quartet
Friday,
December 16, 2011; 8pm
Kerrytown
Concert House, Ann Arbor
415
N. Fourth Avenue | 734-769-2999
http://www.kerrytownconcerthouse.com
Rodney Whitaker, bass
Diego Rivera, saxophones
Reggie Thomas, piano
Randy Gelispie, drums
Michigan
State University bassist and professor-director of jazz studies Rodney Whitaker leads a stalwart
quartet, all of whom also comprise the acclaimed MSU Professors of
Jazz. Whitaker is a force to admire anytime he unleashes his
Detroit jazz pedigree; he tastefully pushes the rhythm section in any
setting worthy of having him on stage. A renowned educator, he
brings exuberance and distinction from his many years with Wynton
Marsalis and a member of Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra. Reggie
Thomas is the newest piano addition to the MSU jazz faculty while
saxman Diego Rivera and
venerable drummer Randy Gilespie nimbly
extoll exemplary thrusts in classic jazz swing.
INTERLOCHEN JAZZBEATS
Mike Vax with
the IAA Jazz Ensembles: A Tribute to Stan Kenton
 Jazz
Director:
Bill Sears
Thursday,
December 15, 2011; 7:30pm
Corson Auditorium
Interlochen,
MI
Artist's
website: http://www.mikevax.net/
Tickets:
$16 adult, $14 senior, $9 student
https://tickets.interlochen.org/
ph:
800.681.5920 (toll free) / 231.276.7800
fax: 231.276.7444
e: boxoffice@interlochen.org
Celebrate
the 100th birthday of jazz pioneer Stan
Kenton with a very special guest. Mike Vax has played lead and solo
trumpet with the Stan Kenton Orchestra, the Clark Terry Big Bad Band
and the U.S. Navy Show Band; performed on more than 75 albums; and
currently leads several groups, including the Stan Kenton Alumni Band.
JAZZ @KERRYTOWN CONCERT HOUSE
Ellen
Rowe Trio - 'All About the Trio'
Ellen Rowe, piano, chair-University of Michigan School
of Music
Paul
Keller, bass
Pete
Siers, drums
Kerrytown Concert House, Ann Arbor
Sunday, December 11, 2011; 2pm
415 N. Fourth Avenue | 734-769-2999
http://www.kerrytownconcerthouse.com
(U-M
professor Ellen Rowe,
with bassist Paul Keller, drummer Pete Siers at KCH)
Ellen Rowe, jazz
department chair and associate professor of jazz piano at University
of Michigan's School of Music, shows
off her celebrated trio as part of a monthly music series at KCH
covering different historical and aesthetic aspects of the jazz trio.
MSU Jazz
Orchestras In Performance
Jazz
Orchestra I, II, and III
Jazz
Director: Rodney Whitaker, Etienne Charles,
Benjamin Jansson
Friday, December 9, 2011; 7:30pm
Demonstration Hall [map]
College of Music, Michigan
State University, East
Lansing
Tickets:
$10 adults, $8 seniors, students/under age 18 FREE
Ph: (517) 353-5340
MSU jazz director/professor Rodney Whitaker & Jazz Orchestra I
'The Radiohead Project' featuring the
Hope College Jazz Ensemble / Holland
Jazz Orchestra
Tuesday,
December 6, 2011; 7:30pm FREE admission
Jazz
Director: Brian Coyle
Hope College, Holland, MI
Dimnent
Memorial Chapel, 277 College Avenue at 12th Street
Hope College in
Tribute Presents 'The Radiohead Project'
JAZZ@WMU
'Jazz For
The Holidays'
Sunday, December 4, 2011; 3pm
Miller Auditorium,
Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo
School of Music Jazz Director: Tom Knific,
Chair, Professor of Jazz Double Bass
Tickets:
$15; seniors $12; students $5 w/ID
Ph: (269) 387-2300 -or- (800) 228-9858
WMU's
School of Music presents 'Jazz For The
Holidays,' a music scholarship benefit concert at Miller
Auditorium featuring holiday favorites performed by the university's
award-winning jazz studies program (wmujazz.com).
WMU JazzLab Band
& special guest Paquito D'Rivera (left)
Popular with audiences of all ages, this holiday
concert has become a regular part of celebrating the season for many
area families. More than 100 musicians will present this year's holiday
extravaganza, featuring a delightful, fun-filled show geared towards
the entire family. Performers include the Western Jazz Quartet, Gold Company (Dr. Steve Zegree,
Director), the University Jazz
Orchestra (Dr. Scott Cowan, Director), GC II (Michael Wheaton, Director), University Jazz Lab Band (Tom
Knific, Director), the WMU Drum Choir
(Keith Hall, Director), and Tri-Fi,
plus a holiday sing-along.
INTERLOCHEN JAZZBEATS
Arts Academy Jazz Ensemble with Percussion
Ensemble
 Jazz
Director:
Bill Sears
Friday,
December 2, 2011; 7:30pm
Dendrinos Chapel & Recital Hall
Interlochen, MI
Tickets: $9 adults, $6 seniors & students
ph: 800.681.5920 (toll free) / 231.276.7800
fax: 231.276.7444
e: boxoffice@interlochen.org
Double excitement comes to the stage once the IAA jazz ensemble
presents a historical mix of old and new signature arrangements, right
before the IAA percussion ensemble program offers selections from the
baroque period fused with 20th century modernism.
WESTERN MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY
29th Annual Salute to the Great Swing Bands
WMU University Jazz
Orchestra, Scott Cowan,
director
University Jazz Lab
Band, Tom Knific,
director
Saturday, November 19, 2011; 8:15pm
Dalton Recital Hall, Western Michigan
University, Kalamazoo
Ph: 269-387-4667
Website: Jazz@WMU http://www.wmujazz.com/
Tickets: $10 adults; Students $5 with ID
Miller Auditorium Ticket Office (269) 387-2300 -or- (800) 228-9858
http://www.millerauditorium.com/som
The WMU Jazz
Studies Program presents its yearly concert presentation looking at
history-making big bands from the Golden Age of Jazz. This year's show
features immortal arrangements
by the Duke Ellington Orchestra, The Terry Gibbs Big Band, and the Boyd
Raeburn Orchestra. The 18-member UJO is directed by
trumpeter-professor Scott Cowan,
and the 10-member University Jazz Lab Band is directed by
bassist-professor Tom Knific.
OAKLAND UNIVERSITY
OU
Jazz Band - 'Thursday Arts After Work'
Thursday,
November 17, 2011; 6pm
Varner
Recital Hall, Oakland University, Rochester
Jazz
Director: Miles
Brown
The
Oakland
University Jazz Band, featuring Jason Price on trumpet, will recreate Gil
Evans and Miles Davis' landmark record 'Sketches of Spain'. Pre-concert
talk by Dr. David Kidger.
Enjoy
savory delights from 5-6pm on the Varner Hall Mezzanine, featuring an
enticing variety of chef-inspired menu appetizers as a culinary prelude
to the concert.
Tickets:
(248) 370-2030
WAYNE STATE UNIVERSITY
A
Jazz Tribute to Matt Michaels - Wayne State University Big Band
'Mondays
at the Max with WSU'
November 14, 2011;
7:30 - 9:00pm
Max
M. Fisher Music Center
3711
Woodward Avenue, Detroit
Tickets:
$15 adults, $10 students, $5 WSU students
ph:
(313) 576-5111
Featuring the WSU Jazz Big Band,
conducted by jazz studies director Chris Collins.
Also performing are
select WSU jazz faculty and student guest soloists from the Detroit-Torino Urban
Jazz Project, a musically inspired
multimedia presentation created by saxophonists Collins and Emanuel Cisi
that melds audio and visual depictions in urban living and
cultural diversity recognized as descriptive links connecting Torino,
Italy and Detroit, MI.
Special
guest artists include John
Trudell, Dwight Adams, Rob Pipho, Russell Miller, Dan Pliskow, Cliff
Monear, Jerry McKenzie, Bob Mojica, Ron Kischuk, Emanuele Cisi (Torino,
Italy) and Fabio
Giachino (Torino, Italy).
Acclaimed
pianist, composer and arranger Matt Michaels,
WSU Professor Emeritus, was director of jazz studies at Wayne State
University in Detroit for many years, and was directly involved in the
initial founding (in 1979) and development of the WSU Jazz
Studies Program to the present. Michaels died from cancer on November
2, 2011 at age 79. Proceeds from
this 'Mondays at the Max' concert will go to the Matt Michaels
Endowed Jazz Studies Fund, which will fund student concert tours
and the Wayne State Jazz Guest Artist Series.
WEST MICHIGAN - HOLLAND
Hope
College Jazz Series 2011-12
Jazz
Director:
Brian Coyle,
Department of Music
Hope College,
Holland
Ph:
(616) 395-7650
Website:
http://www.hope.edu/academic/music/
The fall jazz
season at Hope College features an outstanding roster of
jazz clinicians including pianists
Kenny Barron (Nov-11), Fred Hersch and Robert Glasper, saxophonist
Dave Liebman, and guitarist Joel Harrison.
General
admission seats are on sale by contacting the Department of Music.
WESTERN MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY
Dave Liebman Group
Sunday,
October 30, 2011;
8:15pm
Dalton Center Recital Hall, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo
Tickets $15; Students $5
Miller Auditorium - (269) 387-2300 or (800) 228-9858
Jazz Masters @Miller with Paquito D'Rivera
Thursday, November 3, 2011; 7:30pm
Miller Auditorium, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo
Cuban
jazz sax-clarinet legend Paquito
D'Rivera guest stars with the WMU
University Jazz Orchestra, directed by Scott Cowan.
Also performing will be the acclaimed vocal jazz ensemble Gold Company, directed by Steve Zegree.
Tickets $33 thru Miller Auditorium Box Office
ph: (269) 387-2300 -or- (800) 228-9858
Note: educators/student musicians qualify for a discount; contact Scott
Cowan at WMU Jazz.
Joel Harrison & Singularity -
October 20
Clinic:
4:00pm / Concert 7:30pm
Knickerbocker Theatre, Hope College
Jazz
Director:
Brian Coyle,
Department of Music
Guitarist
Joel Harrison and
his septet Singularity performs
Thursday,
October 20, at 7:30 p.m. at the Hope College Knickerbocker Theatre in
downtown Holland.
The New
York-based jazz guitarist and composer leads his seven-piece band in a
special program showcasing how the techniques of his favorite modernist
composers (among them John Adams, Charles Ives, and Olivier Messiaen)
underscore his own writing.
Harrison's
septet features Christian
Howes on
violin, Seamus
Blake on
sax,
cellist Dana
Leong, Jacob
Sacks on
piano, Drew
Gress on
bass and drummer Dan
Weiss.
Harrison
was named a Guggenheim Fellow in 2010, is a two-time winner of
the Jazz Composer's Alliance Composition Competition, and has received
four grants from Chamber Music America and other commissions and grants
from Meet the Composer, the Flagler Cary Trust, NYSCA, and the Jerome
Foundation.
EDGEFEST 2011 @KERRYTOWN 
Wednesday-Saturday,
October 19-22, 2011
Kerrytown Concert House, Ann Arbor
415 N. Fourth Avenue
Tickets: 734-769-2999 -or- http://www.kerrytownconcerthouse.com
Fall color in October
signals the
arrival of creative improvisational music where elements of jazz,
classical, rock and touches of folk become a one-time music genre. Kerrytown Concert
House presents the 15th annual Edgefest
from
Wednesday, October 19 to Saturday, October 22, 2011, in a theme titled
'Blending Out'. The cast of headliners features superb artistry and a
provocative cross-section of instrumentation. Artists this year
include:
Joel Harrison 7:
Search
Tony Malaby @ Encore
Feldman / Courvoisier
Duo
Tamarindo Trio
Bishop/Cleaver/Flood
Ned Rothenberg &
Mivos Quartet
Lucian Ban & John
Hébert: Enesco Re-Imagined
James Cornish's Short
Opera Project
Vinny Golia &
Friends
KERRYTOWN CONCERT HOUSE
Ellen
Rowe Trio - 'All About the Trio: Back to the Basics'
Ellen Rowe, piano,
Chair-University of Michigan School
of Music
Paul Keller, bass
Pete
Siers, drums
Wednesday, October 12, 2011; 8pm
Kerrytown Concert House, Ann Arbor
415 N. Fourth Avenue | 734-769-2999
Website: http://www.kerrytownconcerthouse.com
(U-M professor
Ellen
Rowe, bassist Paul Keller, drummer Pete Siers at KCH)
Ellen Rowe, jazz
department chair and associate professor of jazz piano at University
of Michigan's
School of Music, shows off her celebrated trio as
part of a monthly music series at KCH covering different
historical and aesthetic aspects of the jazz trio.
WESTERN MICHIGAN
UNIVERSITY
WMUsic Showcase Spectacular - a
music scholarship benefit concert
Featuring WMU University Jazz Orchestra, Gold Company
Sunday, October 2, 2011; 3pm
Miller Auditorium, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo
Ph: 269-387-4667
Web Site: Jazz@WMU
http://www.wmujazz.com/
Miller Auditorium
Ticket Office: Ph: (269) 387-2300 -or- (800) 228-9858
Produced by
nationally recognized
vocal jazz educator Dr. Steve Zegree, the performance showcases
polished ensembles playing and gifted individual talents of the
students, faculty, and ensembles in the School of Music. The Showcase
will feature performances by WMU ensembles including the Bronco
Marching
Band, Gold Company, University
Symphony Orchestra, University Chorale,
Grand Chorus, University Jazz
Orchestra (above), and
the Western Wind Quintet,
among others.
Proceeds from the concert will help fund Jazz@WMU scholarships.
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MICHIGAN
STATE UNIVERSITY - COLLEGE OF MUSIC
MSU
Professors of Jazz with trumpeter Etienne Charles
"Caribbean
Night"
Friday,
September 30, 2011; 8pm, Creole Gallery, Lansing -Old Town District
Creolle
Gallery, 1218 Turner St., Lansing [map]
Jazz
Director: Rodney
Whitaker,
College of
Music
Charles is recognized as one of the new generation of influential jazz
musicians. He has performed and recorded with Wynton Marsalis, Marcus
Roberts, Roberta Flack, Count Basie Orchestra, Gerald Wilson, and Maria
Schneider. In 2006, he won the National Trumpet Competition, jazz
division, in Fairfax, Virginia.
WESTERN MICHIGAN
UNIVERSITY
Tom Knific, Double Bass /
Gene Bertoncini, Guitar
- Faculty & Guest Artist Jazz Recital -
Tuesday, September 27, 2011; 8:15pm
Dalton Center Recital Hall Hall, Western Michigan University,
Kalamazoo
Ph: 269-387-4667
Web Site: Jazz@WMU
http://www.wmujazz.com/
Gene Bertoncini is one of the pre-eminent jazz guitarists active
today. His fluid technique and lyricism have won him international
praise and accolades as the "Segovia of jazz." An eloquent and
versatile improviser, Bertoncini has been heard with an
extraordinary range of jazz greats, including performances and
recordings with Benny Goodman, Buddy Rich, Wayne Shorter, Hubert Laws,
Paul Desmond among others, as well as such distinguished singers as
Tony Bennett, Lena Horne, Nancy Wilson, Vic Damone, and Eydie Gorme.
Besides touring and performing, Bertoncini teaches at the Eastman
School of Music and William Patterson University. A New York City
native, he graduated from the University of Notre Dame with a degree in
architecture. New Yorker magazine
warmly says, "Bertoncini is an affecting, highly original guitarist
that moves easily back and forth between classical and jazz guitar."
Western
Jazz
Quartet - Faculty Recital
Wednesday, September 21, 2011; 7:30pm
Dalton Center Recital Hall, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo
Ph: 269-387-4667
Web Site: Jazz@WMU
http://www.wmujazz.com/
Program: An entire concert of
compositions by Trent Kynaston
Trent
Kynaston,
saxophone
Steve
Zegree, piano
Tim
Froncek, drums
Tom
Knific, bass
The Western Jazz Quartet melds the
talent, experience, passion and professionalism of four gifted
musicians whose artistic vision and performance have garnered
international acclaim. The group's unique ability to blend culture,
education and aesthetics demonstrates multifaceted versatility that
energizes and tantalizes contemporaries and audiences alike.
OAKLAND UNIVERSITY SPECIAL
EVENT
 OU Jazz Faculty Inaugural Concert
-Thursday
Arts After-Work-
Thursday, September 22, 2011; 6:00-7:00pm
Varner Recital Hall
Oakland University, Rochester
Ph: (248) 370-2030
Web Site: http://www2.oakland.edu/mtd
OU
Jazz Faculty Ensemble:
Miles Brown,
jazz director/bass
Carl Cafagna, saxophone
Vincent Chandler, trombone
Sean Dobbins, drums
Mark Kieme, saxophone
Mark Stone, percussion
Tad Weed, piano
Food and beverages will be available on the
mezzanine outside of Varner Recital Hall beginning at 5pm.
MSU/WHARTON CENTER JAZZ
Jazz
at
Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis
@MSU
Thursday,
September 22, 2011; 7:30pm
Great Cobb Hall, Wharton Center
Michigan
State University, East
Lansing
Ph:
(517) 353-1982
Tickets:
Wharton-LCJO
Meet
JLCO saxophonist: Victor Goines
 Expressions in improvisation at the
University of Michigan routinely invokes the letters UMS, as in the University
Musical Society, symbolic of prestigious blends of music and dance arts
since 1879. UMS remains
one of the top performing arts presenters in the U.S. and continues to
influence music education across Michigan. Since 2000, UMS has
served 345 schools and nearly 100,000 students through its popular
youth education program, which includes live performances, in-class
visits, teacher workshops, and more.
For Fall-Winter 2011-12, the UMS 18th annual Jazz Series
welcomes virtuoso headliners in pianist Ahmad Jamal (left), Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with
trumpeter Wynton
Marsalis, saxophonist Charles
Lloyd New Quartet, and the
Rebirth Brass Band providing an infectious New Orleans groove.
Tickets: http://www.ums.org/s_tickets/
All other performances and
special events are linked
through individual
websites of colleges and universities
profiled on our Education page.
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