Event

Vanguard Jazz Orchestra
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Vanguard Jazz Orchestra

Saturday, October 10, 2009, at 7:30pm | Tryon Festival Theatre

After more than 40 years, this band is not just a vaunted 2008 Grammy winner for the hard-swinging Monday Night Live at the Village Vanguard—it’s “a national treasure” (All about Jazz). And that win joins five nominations plus another Grammy win for the suite “Past, Present, and Future” on The Way: Music of Slide Hampton and an Association for Independent Music Award for Thad Jones Legacy.

Mondays on New York City’s Seventh Avenue haven’t been quiet since 1966, when cornetist and composer Thad Jones booked a three-show gig with drummer Mel Lewis at the legendary Village Vanguard jazz club—and the group has kept a standing date ever since. Time, fluctuating musicians, the departure of Jones, and the death of Lewis have led to name changes, but the tight, bodacious sound remains a constant in this 16-piece ensemble of big band wizards. Now they relish being fronted by “the music,” although the profound influence of composer-in-residence, pianist, National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master, and U of I alum Jim McNeely is undeniable. His showcases Up from the Skies and Lickety Split each grabbed one of those Grammy nominations, and McNeely continues to pen succulent, sophisticated fare for the VJO. Along with modern arrangements of the classics, the orchestra also serves up generous helpings of W.C. Handy and Fats Waller tunes laced with its signature “everlasting hipness” (JazzTimes).

Download the program for this performance
Patron Co-sponsors:
Margaret and Larry Neal
Anonymous

Corporate Bronze Sponsor:
University of Illinois Employees Credit Union