FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 5, 2012 – New York, NY
Sue Mingus and Let My Children Hear Music/The Charles Mingus Institute and Justin DiCioccio and the Manhattan School of Music announce finalists (see attached) and an exciting lineup for the Charles Mingus High School Competition and Festival weekend. This year’s nationwide Competition will include events produced with Manhattan School of Music, as well as other events produced by Let My Children Hear Music including a public concert of Mingus music conducted by Gunther Schuller. The Mingus Big Band will perform all weekend at Jazz Standard, and on Sunday night, Outstanding Soloists from the Competition will have the opportunity to sit in.
Saturday begins with a full day of clinics and workshops at the Manhattan School of Music (122nd Street & Broadway) including master classes for instruments and sections, lectures, films, and clinics that explore aspects of Mingus music, followed by a student Mingus jam. Prominent educators and musicians have listened to tapes and will participate in the clinics and adjudicate the Competition on Sunday, also at MSM, which will feature the top 12 big bands and combos from around the country.
Please note various locations for the other events taking place. All events are open to the public. More details to be announced at http://mingusmingusmingus.com
2012 MINGUS HIGH SCHOOL COMPETITION FINALISTS
The finalists (in alphabetical order by school) are:
BIG BAND CATEGORY
-Lexington High School Jazz Ensemble, Lexington, MA. Band Director: Ken Gable
-Jazz Ensemble I, Medfield High School, Medfield, MA. Band Director: Douglas Olsen
-The Rivers Big Band, Rivers School, Weston, MA. Band Director: Philippe Crettien
BIG BAND CATEGORY-Specialized Schools and Programs
-Jazz House Big Band, Jazz House Kids, Montclair, NJ. Band Director: Julius Tolentino
-York College Blue Notes, New York, NY. Band Director: Tom Zlabinger
COMBO CATEGORY
-Lexington High School Jazz Combo, Lexington, MA. Band Director: Ken Gable
-Newark Academy Combo, Newark Academy, Livingston, NJ. Band Director: Julius Tolentino
-Rio Americano Combo, Rio Americano High School, Sacramento, CA. Band Director: Max Kiesner and Josh Murray
COMBO CATEGORY-Specialized Schools and Program (There was a tie for the 3rd spot so 4 combos will compete.)
-Batterman Ensemble, Wisconsin Conservatory of Music, Milwaukee, WI. Band Director: Mark Davis
-Jazz Ensemble 3, Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts, Hartford, CT. Band Director: Kris Allen
-Jazz House Small Group, Jazz House Kids, Montclair, NJ. Band Director: Radam Schwartz and Julius Tolentino
-LaGuardia High School Jazz Sextet, LaGuardia High School Jazz Sextet, New York, NY. Band Director: Kevin Blancq
SCHEDULE HIGHLIGHTS
FRIDAY, FEB 17-SUNDAY, FEB 19 MINGUS BIG BAND at Jazz Standard 116 E. 27th btw Park & Lex http://jazzstandard.com. Sets at 7:30pm/9:30pm. Fri & Sat third set at 11:30pm. Fri/Sat: $30/$15 students, Sunday $25/$12.50 students.
SATURDAY, FEB 18
-FULL DAY OF CLINICS, MASTER CLASSES, AND JAMS at Manhattan School of Music 122nd Street & Broadway http://www.msmnyc.edu. Free and open to the public.
-MINGUS ORCHESTRA conducted by Gunther Schuller. Details coming.
SUNDAY, FEB 19
-Mingus High School COMPETITION at Manhattan School of Music. 122nd Street & Broadway. MSM Mingus group and Mingus Dynasty performs. Free and open to the public.
-MINGUS BIG BAND at Jazz Standard. Sets 7:30 & 9:30 with Outstanding Soloists from the Competition sitting in. $25/$12.50 students
MONDAY, FEB 20 MINGUS band at Jazz Standard 116 E. 27th btw Park & Lex.
Sets at 7:30/9:30. $25/$12.50 students
“You are guaranteed a great and profound experience when you perform music by this giant of jazz composition.”
—Gunther Schuller, conductor/ Pulitzer Prize-winning composer/educator
“The deep study of this music has affected our lives. It’s changed us as people and players.”
—Jeffery Leonard, Lexington High School band director
SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT:
$33,000 FULL TUITION SCHOLARSHIP at MANHATTAN SCHOOL OF MUSIC **
will be awarded to:
BEST SOLOIST at
2012 MINGUS HIGH SCHOOL COMPETITION
** contingent on Level of Performance, Application & Acceptance
For a full calendar of weekend events: Mingus Orchestra at St. Bartholomew’s Church, Mingus High School Competition at Manhattan School of Music, and Mingus Big Band at Jazz Standard please visithttp://mingusmingusmingus.com/JazzEducation/hscompschedule.html
NPR is rebroadcasting the Mingus Big Band from the Jazz Standard – the Grammy-nominated music – as the first JazzSet of 2011. JazzSet airs on more than 100 stations nationwide and in Europe as well. Listeners should check with their stations for date and time of the broadcast(s).On WBGO and wbgo.org, JazzSet featuring the MBB airs on Sun, Jan 2, at 6pm and on Wed, Jan 5, at 6:30pm.Michael Bourne is the MC and the Grammy-nominated host is Dee Dee Bridgewater.The CD and mp3 downloads of the album go here: http://mingusmingusmingus.com/MingusBands/liveatstandard.html
“Three NEA grants (American Masterpieces) for chamber music in 2010-2011 support projects devoted to the works of Charles Mingus, including the four-concert series at the MacPhail Center for Music. Presented as part of its annual Jazz Thursdays program, “Meditations and Revelations” is the brainchild of bassist/MacPhail jazz coordinator Adam Linz, a longtime devotee of the “one-man avant garde,” to quote John McDonough in his article about the MacPhail grant in this month’s issue of Chamber Music magazine. In explaining the rationale for presenting the music of Mingus live, Linz told McDonough, “It’s the ability to find spontaneity in music that’s fifty years old [and to] take it somewhere it hasn’t been. That’s the spirit of Mingus… You have a band that rehearses without charts and adds to the performance…we want to keep that spirit that it may all fall apart….”article and photos by Andrea Canter
Pedro Costa SelectsAnthology Film Archives
32 Second Ave., (212) 505-5181
Through Nov. 16View Full Image
MOVIE2
Pedro CostaJeanne Balibar in Pedro Costa’s ‘Ne change rien.’
MOVIE2
MOVIE2A rock star to cinematic aesthetes, Pedro Costa is more punk than Dutch provocateur Lars von Trier. With seemingly no more than a digital camera, some natural light and a subject (for instance, the Lisbon slum and its loquacious denizens in his celebrated Fontainhas Trilogy) the Portuguese filmmaker achieves something fascinating, hypnotic and mysterious—and, in its fearless chiaroscuro, an austere yet rapturous beauty. For two weeks, Mr. Costa will present his most recent film, “Ne change rein,” a performance documentary starring French actress and singer Jeanne Balibar, alongside some of his favorite movies. He’s included some elusive choices, such as Jean Eustache’s obscured documentary debut “Numero Zero,” Jean-Luc Godard’s comic “Keep Your Right Up,” Thomas Reichman’s raw and bitter “Mingus: Charlie Mingus 1968.” Mr. Costa will discuss his films Friday evening, and will introduce various screenings throughout the series.
Appalachian’s Jazz Ensemble II performs Nov. 9BOONE—Charles Mingus, Mark Taylor and Chris Culver are among the jazz composers whose work will be performed Nov. 9 by Appalachian State University’s Jazz Ensemble II.The program begins at 8 p.m. in Broyhill Music Center’s Rosen Concert Hall. Admission is free.Rod Berry, an instructor in the Hayes School of Music, directs the ensemble in performances of Lennie Niehaus’ “Absolutely Awesome,” Chris Culver’s “Mongo Mood,” Mark Taylor’s “Bebop ‘N’ Georgia” and “Not Yet Over the Hill,” Charles Mingus’ “Goodbye Pork Pie Hat” and Mike Carubia’s “Buffalo Wings.”
“Every tune a classic, every player a master,
every tune sounding new, every player keeping the spirit
of Charles Mingus alive and swinging!” -Michael
Bourne, WBGO
“Crisp and crackling with life….the Mingus songbook
with fresh arrangements and top-notch musicianship.”
-All About Jazz-New York
Mingus Awareness Project features Adam Larrabee Plays Money Jungle and Mingus Awareness Project Big Band directed by Doug Richards and will take place on Sunday, October 24, 2010, 7pm, at Richmond CenterStage’s Rhythm Hall.Another article.
“In 1999, the late jazzman reflected on his early musical career, Central Avenue, Charles Mingus and the fusion of the segregated musicians’ unions.”RIP, Buddy Collette.
Revenge!The Legendary Paris ConcertEric Dolphy (alto saxophone, bass clarinet and flute),
Johnny Coles (trumpet on So Long Eric), Clifford Jordan
(tenor saxophone), Jaki Byard (piano), and Dannie Richmond
(drums), Charles Mingus (bass)
• Peggy’s Blue Skylight (12:53)
• Orange Was the
Color of her Dress, Then Blue Silk (11:38)
• Meditations
on Integration (22:39)
• Fables of Faubus (24:53)
• So Long Eric (28:50)
• Parkeriana (24:13)
Available on iTunes, eMusic,
and Amazon. Digital distribution by The Orchard.
more info: http://mingusmingusmingus.com/SueMingus/revenge.html
50 great moments in jazz: Charles Mingus’s The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady: It’s almost impossible to choose just one great moment from the legacy of this pioneering bassist and compositional genius….
Four-day residency with three bands. Highlight: Oct. 16, 2010, the Mingus Repertory Ensembles — the Mingus Big Band, Mingus Dynasty and Mingus Orchestra — perform the music of jazz legend Charles Mingus, with choreography by Danny Buraczeski.
WASHINGTON SQUARE MUSIC FESTIVAL ENDS 50th PARK SEASON WITH THE CHARLES MINGUS ORCHESTRA, A FREE JAZZ CONCERTOn Tuesday, July 27 at 8 pm in Washington Square,the Charles Mingus Orchestra closes the Washington Square Music Festival’s 52nd season by performing works by the late Charles Mingus. The concert is free and celebrates a great American composer, who left his legacy in the worlds of both jazz and the civil rights struggle.Seating is on a first-come, first served basis in front of the Holley Statue, in the northwest quadrant of the Square. The Festival is under the auspices of the Washington Square Association, Inc. Rainspace is St. Joseph’s Church, 371 Sixth Avenue.
Festival info: 212-252-3621 www.washingtonsquaremusicfestival.org
“Crisp and crackling with life….the Mingus songbook with fresh arrangements and top-notch musicianship.” CD reviewed in July issue of All About Jazz-New York.
Mingus Big Band/Mingus Mondays
Jazz Standard 116 E. 27th St., (212) 576-2232 Mondays
Also being honored at the JJA Awards is Sue Mingus, the widow of the late bassist-composer, who has seen to it that her husband’s music is more widely performed now than it was during the jazz iconoclast’s lifetime. (Even the Django Reinhardt-inspired Hot Club of Detroit is playing “Nostalgia in Times Square” on their new album, “It’s About That Time.”) “Mingus Monday” has become a tradition at Jazz Standard…. The 14-piece big band, which features saxophonists Scott Robinson and Wayne Escoffery, is also represented by its 10th album, “Live at Jazz Standard,” and demonstrates that, alongside Ellington and Monk, there’s no composer more worthy than Mingus of being a one-man franchise.
We hope our mailing list subscribers will welcome our shift
from weekly to monthly emails. Many of you now get updates from Facebook
and Twitter
(if not, please click on those links and join us!) so we’ll
use this mailing list to send a monthly announcement of Mingus
news, events, and perhaps an occasional extra special announcement!
And of course our
website will remain your primary source for all things Mingus:
weekly Mingus band lineups and tour dates, educational events,
and links to Mingus music in all its manifestations throughout
the world.
MINGUS
BIG BAND LIVE AT JAZZ STANDARD
CD Release Concert @ 7:30PM featuring works from Mingus
Big Band Live at Jazz Standard CD
including the rarely performed “New Now Know How” and
the seminal favorite “Goodbye Pork Pie Hat.” Line-up
includes Wayne Escoffery
& Abraham Burton
(tenor saxophone), Scott
Robinson & Doug
Yates (alto saxophone, flute), Lauren
Sevian (baritone saxophone), Conrad
Herwig, Ku-umba
Frank Lacy & Earl
McIntyre (trombones), Avishai
Cohen, Kenny
Rampton & Earl
Gardner (trumpets), Orrin
Evans (piano), Boris
Kozlov (bass), and Donald
Edwards (drums). Second set at 9:30PM.
“…every
tune a classic, every player a master, every tune sounding
new, every player keeping the spirit of Charles Mingus
alive and swinging!”
Yale Jazz Ensemble Concert To Feature Music Of Thad Jones, Charles Mingus, Duke Ellington
On CampusThe Yale Jazz Ensemble, directed by Thomas C. Duffy, will present its winter concert on Wednesday, Feb. 10 at 7:30 p.m., in Morse Recital Hall in Sprague Memorial Hall. The program will feature charts by Charles Mingus, Duke Ellington, Thad Jones, Phil Woods, Lester Young, Slide Hampton, and more. Admission is free and no tickets are required.The Yale Jazz Ensemble is an 18 piece big band that performs a wide variety of music, from Yale’s Benny Goodman archive to the newest and most progressive jazz compositions. The ensemble has performed extensively in the U.S. and internationally at such noted venues as New York’s Village Vanguard and Iridium Jazz Clubs and London’s Ronnie Scott’s.Call 203-432-4113 for more information.
February 9, 2010 Jazz for Curious ListenersJazz on Film: Charles Mingus/Billie Holiday
7:00 – 8:30pmLocation: NJMIH Visitors Center
(104 E. 126th Street, Suite 2C)FREE | For more information: 212-348-8300Hearing is one thing – seeing is another. What better to spend an evening that watching these two iconic figures in all of their originality and genius?
WWMD? A gaggle of devotees of Charles Mingus, the legendary jazz bassist-composer-rights activist, will brainstorm and barnstorm in the Jazz Composers Workshop, which gets under way at about 7:30 p.m. in Central Park Grill, 2519 Main St. On hand will be Nelson Starr, John Werick, Michael McNeill, John Anderson, Joe Hochulski, Kelly Bucheger and Tim Clarke.
6-9pm Wednesday, January 27th on WKCR 89.9FM NY.
“The Musician’s Show.”Conrad Herwig will guest host Mingus Big Band’s Conrad Herwig LIVE on-air on WKCR Radio next Wednesday 6-9PM. He’ll play his own music, recordings he has played on with the Mingus bands (such as the soon-to-be-released 2009 New Year’s Eve concert at Jazz Standard, broadcast on NPR), and other music that has inspired him.
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