The Chicago Jazz Philharmonic will be making their indoor concert debut on Saturday, March 4th at 8PM. This barrier-breaking and genre-bending 55-piece orchestra performs music ranging from big band classics to symphonic works. The March concert will feature the music of Louis Armstrong, Sarah Vaughn, Igor Stravinsky, Giacomo Puccini and CJP Conductor/Artistic Director Orbert Davis. Among the works will be the world premiere of Davis's newest work, Chicago@173., which was written to celebrate Chicago's 173rd birthday - which is on March 4th, the date of the concert.
We asked Orbert Davis a few questions about himself, CJP and the works they'll be playing at their Auditorium concert.
The Chicago Jazz Philharmonic brings classical music and jazz together. What inspired you to meld these different musical forms?
In my experience as a professional musician, I’ve always lived in both worlds. My degree from DePaul is in trumpet performance and my ultimate goal growing up was to be a studio musician, which I’ve definitely done in my career. With that I’ve been called on to play many different styles, not knowing from day to day what I’d be playing. I lived in both worlds. That soon applied not just to my trumpet playing, but to my general interest in music.
What is the history of the Chicago Jazz Philharmonic?
In early 2004 I received a call from Lauren Deutsch, the Executive Director of the Jazz Institute of Chicago. She was calling to ask me to perform at the Jazz Festival, and she had the idea of doing something big. I told her I’d written a piece for an orchestra, and I don’t know if she fainted or laughed. I sent a proposal to Boeing for the project and they accepted it. That started the ball rolling for the first concert. We could not have doing it without the support of Boeing. Our first idea was to put together a student ensemble from the local university but we ultimately decided to do it ourselves, that way I would get what I wanted out of the compositions. The performance at the 2004 Chicago Jazz Festival was a success and we decided to continue the orchestra. I can’t say how much of an unbelievable experience it was. The musicians were having such a good time and were so relaxed and yet so serious – it was the epitome of classical and jazz. Not just the music, but also the attitude and demeanor of the musicians and audience. We are extremely excited that our first indoor concert is going to be in the Auditorium Theatre, the best sounding building in the city, if not the country. I remember hearing music there when I was younger and being awestruck at the quality of the sound.
What is it about the musicians in the Chicago Jazz Philharmonic that gives them the flexibility and talent to perform music ranging from big band to symphonic works?
When I put the Chicago Jazz Philharmonic together I looked for musicians who, like me, take a personal interest in music of different genres. They are very willing to take risks and I would say most of the musicians I work with knew what to expect from me, since we’ve worked together previously – it wasn’t a culture shock. We take our music very seriously, it is very serious. My brass section is made up of studio musicians, it’s not a typical brass section. That’s what gives us the power to play big band arrangements; at the same time, members of our string section are able to improvise. As a composer, my palette is full of possibilities of the many directions I can take the music.
Tell us about the pieces we'll be hearing on March 4th.
The concert will include my work Four Tone Poems for Jazz Quintet and Orchestra. These pieces are symbolic of our mission to blend classical music with jazz. Included are “The Best of Jackson Payne,” based on the Jack Fuller novel and featuring Ari Brown on the tenor sax, and “Variations on a Train,” based on Billy Strayhorn’s composition “Take the A Train,” made famous by Duke Ellington.
We'll also be doing pieces from my Collective Creativity Suite, which was commissioned by the Illinois Arts Council and Chicago Jazz Partnership. “1000 Questions, One Answer” blends the orchestration of Igor Stravinsky with the energy of Charlie Parker and contains themes of unity and diversity. “Seraphim” is based on the idea of individuality and is based on a cha-cha. It features Nicole Miller on alto flute. “An Afternoon with Mr. Bowie,” with themes of legacy, is dedicated to trumpet player Lester Bowie and is based on “Berceuse” from Stravinsky’s The Firebird Suite. The first part of “An Afternoon with Mr. Bowie” blends classical, jazz and blues, with Ari Brown on tenor sax playing the bassoon part. Replacing the bassoon solo with a sax solo gives the classical piece a blues sound. The second part of the piece is a trumpet solo in the fashion of a Miles Davis tone poem. “Vice-Versa” blends free improvisation with African/Caribbean/Latin inspired rhythms to portray the story of the African diaspora through the Americas.
You'll hear an arrangement of the aria “E Lucevan Le Stele” from Puccini’s Tosca. The arrangement is in the style of Gil Evans and features Ryan Cohan on the piano.
Chicago@173. was commissioned by a City Arts Grant. I wanted to draw on certain aspects of Chicago’s history. The opening is a sonic picture of the birth of Chicago, when DuSable took his first steps in Chicago, and the emotional response he must have felt looking at this land. There is a section that will build suspense, but also depict the tragedy of the Chicago Fire, a very emotional point in Chicago’s history. Another is a picture of Chicago’s current skyline; looking at the skyline as buildings of various heights, in the music there will be peaks and valleys of the melody.
We'll also be playing “Going to Chicago,” the Count Basie classic, featuring Terisa Griffin on vocals. Our Louis Armstrong medley features “Weatherbird,” Armstrong’s 1928 duet with pianist Earl Hines reorchestrated for orchestra. “Heebie Jeebies” is the song that introduced the world to the scat style. The medley ends with “What a Wonderful World,” featuring vocalist Kevin Davis. Kevin is a senior at Chicago’s Curie High School and a former participant in my MusicAlive program. After participating in MusicAlive, he went from failing 8th grade math to being an honors student. MusicAlive provided a way for Kevin to discover his own talents and learn a work ethic. The Sarah Vaughn medley features Terisa Griffin, with “Great Day,” “Misty,” “The Midnight Sun Will Never Set” and “I Got Rhythm.”
This concert will be 100% classical and 100% jazz!
What other projects are you currently working on?
We’re planning to record and I would love to do a national tour soon.
Tell us about “Music Alive," your educational program.
Music Alive is a program that uses music and the arts to teach and enhance life and academic skills for children who are deemed at risk. We take a very interdisciplinary as well as interactive approach to the curriculum. Our goal is not necessarily to teach the mechanics of music, but to use music to teach other things. We find at the same time that the students learn a lot about music and once they are connected, a fire is lit. We create a spark, and the students take that spark and create a blaze. I have 9 mentors who I’ve trained in our curriculum and most of our programs are yearlong – we work with the same group for a whole school year. We also have touring performances where we can present music presentations to entire school programs.
Where did you train? Is Chicago your home or did you choose to settle here?
I was born in Chicago and grew up an hour south in Momence, IL. But I moved backed to Chicago to attend DePaul and I’ve been here ever since. I got my masters from Northwestern in 1997 in Jazz Pedagogy. Chicago will always be my home.
