The Symphony Center Presents (SCP) Jazz series continues with “A Tribute to Sarah Vaughan” featuring The Chicago Jazz Orchestra (CJO) on Friday, May 20, at 8:00 p.m. CJO Conductor and Artistic Director Jeff Lindberg leads his big band and an all-star roster of talented vocalists including Chicago’s own Dee Alexander and Ann Hampton Callaway, as well as GrammyⓇ-nominee René Marie in transcriptions of Vaughan’s chart-topping hits. The program honors the legacy of the incomparable Sarah Vaughan, a GrammyⓇ award winner, NEA Jazz Master award recipient and one of the most unforgettable voices in jazz.
Alexander, Callaway and Marie perform some of Vaughan’s signature hits including "Misty", "Tenderly", "Key Largo", "How High The Moon, "I Hadn't Anyone 'Til You" and "Until I Met You" among others. Lindberg, one of the foremost jazz arrangers, has recreated Vaughan’s original arrangements by such legendary musicians as Quincy Jones, Thad Jones, Hal Mooney and Ernie Wilkins.
“We have wanted to create a tribute to Sarah for years,” said Lindberg. “She had such a unique sound and was arguably perhaps one of the most virtuosic athletic jazz singer in history. This trio of vocalists will do justice to Sarah’s talent and style.”
Alexander and Callaway, as well as Marie credit Vaughan with being an inspiration in their work and lives. Alexander is well known to Chicago audiences, receiving numerous awards and accolades including the Chicago Tribune’s “Chicagoan of the Year” award in 2008 and “Jazz Entertainer of the Year” by the Chicago Music Awards. Callaway is best known for her Tony-nominated performance in the hit Broadway musical “Swing!” and recently released the album “From Sassy To Divine: The Sarah Vaughan Project: Live at Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola”. Marie, a GrammyⓇ nominee in the Best Jazz Vocalist category for her album “I want to be Evil: With Love from Eartha Kit”, is a talented singer and songwriter who began her vocal career at 42-years-old. Her signature style involves combining contrasting songs into a new rendition with dramatic results. Marie made her first Symphony Center appearance in a critically acclaimed performance with Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra in 2015.
The Chicago Jazz Orchestra (CJO) is a 17-piece premiere jazz ensemble that has garnered both national and international recognition. It celebrates and perpetuates music for jazz orchestra – an original American art form – for all audiences through unique performances, collaborations, and education programs. Under the direction of Lindberg, founder, artistic director and conductor, CJO is Chicago’s oldest professional jazz orchestra in continuous operation and one of the oldest jazz repertory orchestras in the country.
Tickets for all CSOA-presented concerts can be purchased by phone at 800-223-7114 or 312-294-3000; online at cso.org, or at the Symphony Center box office: 220 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago, IL 60604.
Discounted student tickets for select concerts can be purchased, subject to availability, online in advance or at the box office on the day of the concert. For group rates, please call 312-294-3040.
Symphony Center Presents Friday, May 20, 2016, 8:00 p.m.
Jazz A Tribute to Sarah Vaughan
The Chicago Jazz Orchestra
Jeff Lindberg, Director
Dee Alexander, vocals
Ann Hampton Callaway, vocals
René Marie, vocals
Tickets: $24-76
Chicago Jazz Orchestra/ Jeff Lindberg
The Chicago Jazz Orchestra (CJO) strives to develop and promote an appreciation for and understanding of music for the American jazz orchestra as it was originally conceived, performed, and recorded by jazz master composers and soloists. Through collaborative efforts and partnerships, the CJO seeks to provide listening and educational opportunities in a variety of settings and formats. The CJO is Chicago’s oldest professional jazz orchestra in continuous operation and one of the oldest jazz repertory orchestras in the country. CJO was founded by Jeff Lindberg and the late Steve Jensen in 1978 and has grown to a 17-piece premiere jazz ensemble that has garnered both national and international recognition. CJO has performed with such artists as Dizzy Gillespie, Nancy Wilson, Louis Bellson, Herbie Hancock, Jon Faddis, Kurt Elling, Jack McDuff, Kenny Burrell, and many more and has toured extensively in the United States and Europe including performances in Italy, Spain, Denmark, and Sweden.
Conductor and Artistic Director Jeff Lindberg is one of the foremost transcribers in jazz. His transcriptions have been performed by such artists as Joe Williams, Clark Terry, Gunther Schuller, and David Baker, and by such orchestras as the Count Basie Orchestra, the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra, the Woody Herman Orchestra, and the Carnegie Hall Jazz Band. In 1993, two of Lindberg’s transcriptions were performed at The White House by the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra. As well as holding the position of Artistic Director of the Chicago Jazz Orchestra, Lindberg is Music Director of the Wooster Symphony Orchestra in Ohio.
Featured Vocalists
Dee Alexander
Ann Hampton Callaway
René Marie