Tanglewood Announces Jazz Festival Dates
LENOX, Mass. — Tanglewood Jazz Festival will open on Saturday, Sept. 4, 2010, at 2 pm, with "Radio Deluxe," co-hosted by John Pizzarelli and Jessica Molaskey. The program will be taped live at the festival for later broadcast on more than 60 stations nationwide. Normally broadcast from their living room "high above Lexington Avenue," the Tanglewood program will be the second consecutive year the duo has taken their show on the road since the program’s inception in 2005."Radio Deluxe" from Tanglewood will feature two special guests to be announced at a later date.
On Saturday, Sept. 4, at 8 p.m., jazz vocalist and 2010 Grammy winner for the Best Vocal Jazz Album of the Year, Kurt Elling, makes a triumphant return to Seiji Ozawa Hall. Nine-time Grammy nominee, Elling captured the award for his latest CD, "Dedicated to You: Kurt Elling Sings the Music of Coltrane and Hartman" (Concord Records 2009). With a four-octave baritone voice, Elling is known for his cutting edge vocalese technique and has toured with his musical "father figures" Jon Hendricks and Mark Murphy in "Four Brothers."
Opening for Kurt Elling on Saturday night will be Elling’s long-time collaborator Laurence Hobgood and his trio. Referred to as "one of the most incredible pianists I’ve ever heard" by Dave Brubeck, Hobgood has worked with Elling since 1995 when they co-produced "Close Your Eyes," their first of six Grammy nominated records on the Blue Note label. Hobgood received his own Grammy nomination in 2010 for "Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying a Vocalist" for "Dedicated to You."
The Sunday afternoon concert on Sept. 5 will open at 2 p.m. with a rare and exclusive performance by clarinetest/saxophonist Eddie Daniels and pianist Bob James, in a new program called "Broadway Boogie." Musical collaborators for 40 years, Daniels and James refer to this swinging, integrated quartet as "chamber jazz."
Bob James, best known for his smooth and fusion-flavored music and collaborations with guitarist Earl Klugh, David Sanborn and Fourplay, has a wide range of musical talent from classical music to straight-ahead jazz. Pianist for Sarah Vaughn in the 1960’s, James’ discography includes work with guitarist Lee Ritenour, bassist Dave Holland and pianist Joe Sample as well as an eastern-influenced CD "Angels of Shanghai" that features students from the Shanghai Conservatory of Music.
Following "Broadway Boogie" on Sunday afternoon will be the Legendary Count Basie Orchestra. Since it’s creation in 1935 by William “Count” Basie, the orchestra has toured and performed around the globe for fans and dignitaries in every country. Since Basie’s death in 1984, the orchestra has been led by Thad Jones, Frank Foster, Grover Mitchell and–currently–by Bill Hughes (who was hired by Basie in 1953).
Sunday evening’s performances on Sept. 5 at 8 will begin with the Julian Lage Group. While Lage has performed several times at the Tanglewood Jazz Festival (most recently with Mark O’Connor’s Hot Swing in 2008) this marks the first appearance on the Ozawa Hall stage with his own group. Regarded a guitar prodigy at the age of 13, Lage spent several years under the tuttelege of instrumentalist Gary Burton and subsequently gained recognition from jazz superstars Herbie Hancock and Bela Fleck. His premier recording "Sounding Point" (EmArcy Records 2009), was nominated for Best Contemporary Jazz Album that year and received critical acclaim for Lage’s thoughtfully composed works and innovations in duo and trio settings.
The festival will close on Sunday evening with an encore performance by pianist/composer Donal Fox, performing a new program called "Piazzolla to Bach," with a very special guest to be announced. Fox appeared at the Tanglewood Jazz Festival in 2008 and returns by popular demand. Named a Martin Luther King visiting artist at MIT in 2009, Fox crosses the classical music and jazz music boundaries and continuously receives critical acclaim for his compositions and integration of the two musical genres.
Artists to perform at the popular Jazz Café will be announced in the near future.
