When you talk about the best jazz albums of all time no matter who you are talking to or which list you're consulting Miles Davis's Kind of Blue will be somewhere near the top. It is a seminal work and one of my favorites from that era along with Coltrane's Love Supreme and Favorite Things, and Brubeck's Time Out. Why was does Kind of Blue still resonate? On the 50th anniversary of Kind of Blue Fred Kaplan wrote a great article for Slate magazine on just that topic. Kind of Blue: Why the best-selling jazz album of all time is so great - check it out. http://www.slate.com/id/2225336/
You should also check out Jimmy Cobb's So What Band at the MAC on Friday, Oct 16 - 8PM. Cobb was the drummer in Mile's band that laid down Kind of Blue in 1959. Trumpeter Wallace Roney and the rest of the band under Jimmy will celebrate the "greatest jazz album ever" and play much of the album along with other great jazz compositions. Professor of music and local jazz trumpeter Tom Tallman will give a little history of the album and the man at the MAC Chat preceding the concert. Sure to be a special night.
be well
Stephen
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Chicago Tonight Features Muspratt and Roman
WTTW Channel 11's Chicago Tonight will feature Maestro Kirk Muspratt and cellist Joshua Roman tonight, Wednesday, Oct 7 at 7PM. It will be a fantastic opportunity to get a preview of the amazing talent who will perform Shostakovich's Cello Concerto no. 1 with the New Philharmonic this Friday and Saturday evening at the MAC. The 25 year old phenom has received many accolades most recently being named Musical America's artist of the month for August. Tune in.
be well
Stephen
be well
Stephen
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Corrido Project/ Sones de Mexico
This Sunday the MAC will host Sones de Mexico, a wonderful Grammy nominated traditional Mexican folk ensemble from Chicago. The 3PM concert will be authentic and musically engaging; however, the truly exciting music has been happening out in West Chicago.
Last winter Sones member and ethnomusicologist Juan Diez provided an artist residency at West Chicago schools teaching students about Corridos - a traditional Mexican folk song which celebrates a tragic event or hero. The students embraced Juan and the tradition; by the spring each participant had composed their own corrido. Next, the students worked with Javier Chavira creating a print to illustrate each story. Juan concluded the residency with a performance at an after school assembly and presenting each student with a recording and print of their work.
The project which was generously funded by the DuPage Community Foundation was enormously fun and culminated this week with Juan teaching a group of West Chicago teachers how they could replicate song writing project in their own classrooms. I thank Juan, Javier, and Janey Sarther the MAC's Education and Community Engagement Coordinator for engaging the kids of DuPage County.
The kids work will be displayed in the MAC lobby during the Sones de Mexico concert and Juan will perform a couple of the Corridos at the beginning of the performance - Sunday, Oct 4 - 3PM.
be well
Stephen
Last winter Sones member and ethnomusicologist Juan Diez provided an artist residency at West Chicago schools teaching students about Corridos - a traditional Mexican folk song which celebrates a tragic event or hero. The students embraced Juan and the tradition; by the spring each participant had composed their own corrido. Next, the students worked with Javier Chavira creating a print to illustrate each story. Juan concluded the residency with a performance at an after school assembly and presenting each student with a recording and print of their work.
The project which was generously funded by the DuPage Community Foundation was enormously fun and culminated this week with Juan teaching a group of West Chicago teachers how they could replicate song writing project in their own classrooms. I thank Juan, Javier, and Janey Sarther the MAC's Education and Community Engagement Coordinator for engaging the kids of DuPage County.
The kids work will be displayed in the MAC lobby during the Sones de Mexico concert and Juan will perform a couple of the Corridos at the beginning of the performance - Sunday, Oct 4 - 3PM.
be well
Stephen
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Paul Taylor at the MAC
Last night I had the great fortune to be in the audience at Ravinia for the premiere of Fondly Do We Hope... Fervently Do We Pray by renowned choreographer Bill T. Jones. The work, commissioned by Ravinia for the bicentennial celebration of Abraham Lincoln, was stirringly choreographed and staged by Bill T Jones. A script of traditional and spiritual songs, poems, speeches, and reflections on what Lincoln's life means to people today was penned by Jones with Janet Wong. The evenings event with dance, spoken and sung word, live music, and projected images was beautiful and thought provoking.
The MAC will host another icon of the dance world, dancemaker Paul Taylor's company will perform at the MAC on Thursday, Oct 1. We have recently worked through the programming with the company and are thrilled to be able to present three works, Changes, Beloved Renegade, and Brandenburgs.
Changes was commissioned by the San Francisco Ballet in 2008 and this performance will mark the first Chicagoland presentation of the work danced to music by the Mamas and the Papas. Beloved Renegage, like Bill T Jones's Fondly..., uses the words of Walt Whitman with the music of Francis Polenac's Gloria. The Work that also premiered in 2008 was met with rave reviews, Village Voice, "luminous" and "The beloved renegade could be Taylor himself—with his eccentricities, his dark humors, his wicked wit, and the beauty he finds in innocence", The New York Times, "deeply affecting... feat of poetically virtuoso layering". I cannot wait for this one. The final offering will be a classic from the Taylor's repertoire from 1988 Brandenburgs, danced to Bach's Brandenburg Concertos.
We are thrilled to have the Paul Taylor Dance Company back on our stage. The last time they were with us was for our 20th anniversary party in the Spring of 2007. It is sure to be an amazing night for dance enthusiasts and new comers to dance.
be well
Stephen
The MAC will host another icon of the dance world, dancemaker Paul Taylor's company will perform at the MAC on Thursday, Oct 1. We have recently worked through the programming with the company and are thrilled to be able to present three works, Changes, Beloved Renegade, and Brandenburgs.
Changes was commissioned by the San Francisco Ballet in 2008 and this performance will mark the first Chicagoland presentation of the work danced to music by the Mamas and the Papas. Beloved Renegage, like Bill T Jones's Fondly..., uses the words of Walt Whitman with the music of Francis Polenac's Gloria. The Work that also premiered in 2008 was met with rave reviews, Village Voice, "luminous" and "The beloved renegade could be Taylor himself—with his eccentricities, his dark humors, his wicked wit, and the beauty he finds in innocence", The New York Times, "deeply affecting... feat of poetically virtuoso layering". I cannot wait for this one. The final offering will be a classic from the Taylor's repertoire from 1988 Brandenburgs, danced to Bach's Brandenburg Concertos.
We are thrilled to have the Paul Taylor Dance Company back on our stage. The last time they were with us was for our 20th anniversary party in the Spring of 2007. It is sure to be an amazing night for dance enthusiasts and new comers to dance.
be well
Stephen
Monday, August 31, 2009
Jazz @ Sunset
Although it feels like summer in Seattle some 400 people came out to Jazz @ Sunset on Saturday night and they got a real treat. Intrepid Bobby Lewis played a closing set with temps in the low sixties and he and Alejo Poveda lit a fire under everyone. Sabertooth was sharp with their Hammond B3 infused funky sax sound. The crowd loved Goran Ivanovic and Andreas Kapsalis. These guys walked in two minutes before their set, plugged in their guitars, no introduction, and blew away the audience. They sold every CD they brought. We promised a sunset and provided a chilly one. Beautiful night - beautiful music.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Illinois Arts Council Funding
The McAninch Arts Center has received valued support in past years from the Illinois Arts Council as a Partner in Excellence. Annually State Rep Sandra Pihos has proudly presented us with a check from the IAC to support the arts programming we bring to our community. In the last two years under the Blagojevich administration we have lost approximately 30% of our funding and now with the recent state budget crisis we look to lose an additional 50% of state grant money. In good times monies we received made up 2.5% of our operation, but in addition to the finances the grant was a validation of our commitment to the arts in our community. Our annual grant application is peer reviewed by artists, curators and arts administrators from across the state and the stamp of approval we receive along with the funds helps us meet our mission.
My real concern is for small arts groups. At the MAC we will tighten our belts, perhaps alter programming, scale back a community outreach program, but we will still be here. The MAC has the broad trunk of the College to support us during this storm. However, it is those small groups without deep root systems that are two bad months away from folding. Terry Scrogum, Executive Director of the Illinois Arts Council sagely likened the situation to turning off a spigot. Without water often things wither and sometimes die. Later it is hard to get the spigot turned on again and it might be to late for some organizations. Let your voice be heard contact your state representative and get in touch with the Arts Alliance Illinois http://www.artsalliance.org/ , the statewide arts advocacy organization. Donate to arts groups when you can, demand arts education in your schools, and let artists know that you believe they are a vital part of your community. Keep the spigots flowing.
be well
Stephen
My real concern is for small arts groups. At the MAC we will tighten our belts, perhaps alter programming, scale back a community outreach program, but we will still be here. The MAC has the broad trunk of the College to support us during this storm. However, it is those small groups without deep root systems that are two bad months away from folding. Terry Scrogum, Executive Director of the Illinois Arts Council sagely likened the situation to turning off a spigot. Without water often things wither and sometimes die. Later it is hard to get the spigot turned on again and it might be to late for some organizations. Let your voice be heard contact your state representative and get in touch with the Arts Alliance Illinois http://www.artsalliance.org/ , the statewide arts advocacy organization. Donate to arts groups when you can, demand arts education in your schools, and let artists know that you believe they are a vital part of your community. Keep the spigots flowing.
be well
Stephen
Monday, August 17, 2009
Tickets on Sale!!
It is always an exciting time when single tickets go on sale. For better than a month now subscription ticket sales have been steady (subscribers are those folks who buy three or more events each year). Tomorrow, August 18, we open the doors to those art lovers who want to see fewer than three events at the MAC. Those Peterik, Brickman or Hornsby fans who have been patiently waiting for single ticket day - their wait will end at 10:00 AM Tuesday morning. A little inside information: the best sellers to date are The Flying Karamazov Brothers, Paula Poundstone, Bruce Hornsby, and Great Big Sea, but there are still plenty of tickets left for all of the 48 MAC Artist events next year. There is no waiting online or you can call in and receive the personal touch and talk to our friendly staff. I'll be answering phones too so maybe we'll chat.
be well
Stephen
be well
Stephen
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