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Rebecca Parris We Love Parris with Brad Hatfield (piano), Peter Kontrimas (bass) and Who better to launch our silver anniversary season than Boston’s First Lady of Jazz? Parris is an incomparable singer with a world-class voice, from her lyrical scatting to the velvet-wrapped warmth of her ballads. A Newton native, Parris has performed around the world with her own groups as well as with jazz legends including Dizzy Gillespie, Buddy Rich, Woody Herman and Nat Pierce. “Her big, gutsy voice combines a Ben Websterish feel with a streak of rhythm and blues, and the sound is all hers,” read the liner notes to A Beautiful Friendship, her seventh album. “She idolizes Carmen McRae and Sarah Vaughan, but she doesn't recycle their licks; she's got plenty of her own, both bold and tender.” Among today’s flock of jazz vocalists, Parris is truly a rare bird. Just as with her sold out Highland Jazz show in 2005, we’re in for a special treat. |
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Saturday, September 29, 8:00 p.m. Newton South High School |
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Julian Lage Group Julian @ Lage with Petr Cancura (saxophones, mandolin), Peter Stoltzman (piano/keyboards), Jorge Roeder (bass) and Richie Barshay drums/percussion) Lage is the musical prodigy who quickly became an accomplished star of the jazz guitar. At age 11, he was spotted by vibraphonist Gary Burton while performing on a nationally televised Grammy Awards telecast. Burton invited Lage to join him in some performances, and a collaboration began. Lage recorded with Burton on his 2003 CD, Generations, and again two years later on Next Generation. Now 19, Lage has toured with the Gary Burton Generations Quintet, and has performed at the San Francisco Jazz Festival, the Monterey Jazz Festival and the Newport Jazz Festival. The California native also has recorded with longtime musical collaborator, pianist Taylor Eigsti, on Eigsti's Grammy-nominated album, “Lucky To Be Me.” Lage will appear with Joshua Redman on Eigsti’s album, “Fall Back Plan,” due out in February. |
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Saturday, November 3, 8:00 p.m. Newton South High School |
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Set 1: BC bOp! : The Jazz Ensemble of Boston College Set 2: Tenor Madness - Bill Easley, Bill Pierce and Tim Mayer with by Rusty Scott (piano), Luther Gray (drums) and BC bOp! This instrumental and vocal jazz ensemble performs traditional and contemporary jazz literature from the 1940s to the present. Repeated performances at national jazz festivals have garnered the ensemble awards and accolades from as far away as Moscow, Idaho. Annual performances at the Boston College Arts Festival have included swing dances and featured performances with local jazz greats, Mike Monaghan and Herb Pomeroy. In 1996, the group was one of a handful of college bands selected to attend a three-day jazz workshop in Orlando, Florida, sponsored by Downbeat magazine, the Thelonius Monk Institute of Jazz, and Universal Studios. In 1997, BC bOp! attended Jazzfest USA, a competitive jazz festival presented by these same organizations and was deemed the top college big band at the festival. At the end of April 1998, BC bOp! competed in the prestigious Reno Jazz Festival at the University of Nevada, Reno, and was awarded a superior rating. Among the most thrilling of BC bOp!’s performances was an appearance at Carnegie Hall in 1992.
Tenor Madness Our inaugural Tenor Madness concert was performed in 1987 with saxophonists Pierce, George Garzone, and Alex Elin, a musician who played a vital role in the early years of our organization. For our 25th anniversary series, we reprise a concert that was one of the most popular in Highland Jazz history. For this ‘08 edition we are thrilled to feature Bill Easley, a versatile New York jazzman who has worked with Isaac Hayes and has performed with the Duke Ellington Orchestra, Benny Carter, George Benson, Jimmy Smith, Ruth Brown, Bill Mobley, Victor Gaskin, Mulgrew Miller, Ron Carter, and Grady Tate, among others. Pierce, a member of HJ’s inaugural Tenor Madness concert, chairs the woodwind department at Berklee College of Music. This outstanding performer has played alongside the likes of Stevie Wonder, Art Blakey, Tony Williams, Freddie Hubbard and Wynton Marsalis. In his fifth decade as a professional reedman, Pierce is still going strong. Mayer, a member of The Rusty Scott Quartet who has studied under Pierce, is now building his reputation as an exceptional musician. |
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Saturday, March 29, 2008, 8:00 p.m. Newton South High School |
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Semenya McCord Quartet The Lady with Sax Appeal with special guest Stan Strickland (saxophone) McCord has entertained audiences for more than 30 years with her exquisite style, dynamic range and captivating stage presence. An award-winning vocalist, she has brought the legendary Billie Holiday to life for fans who never had the chance to hear the gardenia-adorned singer perform in person. McCord was named Outstanding Jazz Vocalist in 1988 by the Boston Music Awards; she received the Martin Luther King, Jr. Award in Musical Excellence in 1990 from the city of Boston. As artistic director of Hemisphere Associates, a collaboration of New England performing artists, McCord directs annual tributes to Martin Luther King, Jr., Holiday and Duke Ellington and has led community events that celebrate cultural diversity through the arts. A resident of Galesburg, Illinois, McCord teaches jazz at Carl Sandburg College and Knox College. |
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Saturday, April 26, 2008, 8:00 p.m. Newton South High School |
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Celebrating Our 25th Year of Jazz Excellence |
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2007-2008 Season |
