Month: March 2012

Concert and IMW not to miss: This Sunday, March 25th with Hobgood, de Broux, Becker, and Lang

Madison Music Collective’s

“Jazz on a Sunday" 

presents:

Laurence Hobgood

Kurt Elling’s Long-Time Pianist, Arranger and Musical Director

Guest Artists:

Sally de Broux, vocals

John Becker, drums

Laurie Lang, bass

Sunday, March 25, 2012

The Brink Lounge, 701 East Washington Avenue, Madison

Concert at 3:30 pm

Improvisational Music Workshop at 6:00 pm (free and open to the public)

General Admission: $15 at the door / $12 advance

Discount rate for members of Madison Music Collective, Madison Jazz Society, and students w/ID:

$10 at the door/$8 advance

Advance tickets available online at http://www.thebrinklounge.com/March.html

Marian McPartland calls him “a pianist and composer of extraordinary talent and unusual ideas. This coupled with a brilliant technique makes his every performance a musical gem.”  Dave Brubeck calls him simply “one of the most incredible pianists I’ve ever heard.”  They’re speaking about virtuoso jazz pianist Laurence Hobgood, who’ll be performing at Madison’s Brink Lounge on Sunday, March 25^th as part of Madison Music Collective and Mad Toast Live’s “Jazz on a Sunday” series.  Mr. Hobgood will perform solo and with the Madison-based trio of vocalist Sally deBroux, bassist Laurie Lang, and drummer John Becker.  Following the concert, Ms. Lang will lead a conversation with Mr. Hobgood about his approach to music-making.  He will also take questions and then invite musicians in the audience (both amateur and professional) to the stage to make music together.

ABOUT LAURENCE HOBGOOD

Pop in a recording by the great vocalist Kurt Elling and you’ll hear not only the best jazz singing but also the exquisite sound of Elling’s long-time pianist, arranger and musical director, Laurence Hobgood.  Best known for his work with Mr. Elling, Hobgood is a multiple Grammy nominee and 2010 Grammy winner who has enjoyed a multi-faceted and dynamic career.  Musical director for Mr. Elling since 1995, he’s played on, composed/arranged for, and co-produced all of Elling’s CDs, each of them Grammy-nominated.  And their 2009 CD, “Dedicated To You: Kurt Elling Sings The Music Of Coltrane and Hartman,” recorded live at Lincoln Center, won the 2010 Grammy for Best Vocal Jazz Record.

Mr. Hobgood has performed both with Elling and with his own trio at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Ozawa Hall at Tanglewood, Chicago’s Symphony Center and Ravinia, Sydney Opera House, London’s Barbican and Queen Elizabeth Halls, as well as the world’s most prestigious jazz festivals including Montreux, North Sea, Monterey, Spoleto USA, Newport, Umbria, Montreal, JVC festivals in Paris and Japan and many others.  Hobgood also appeared with Ellingat the 2009 State Dinner given at the White House where President Obama welcomed India’s Prime Minister Singh.

Over the years, Mr. Hobgood has played and/or recorded with Larry Coryell, Lee Konitz, John Pattitucci, Jon Hendricks, Regina Carter, Stefon Harris, Christian McBride, John Pizzarelli, Terence Blanchard, Marc Johnson, Joe Lovano, Benny Maupin, Paul Wertico, Bobby Watson, Clark Terry, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Anat Cohen, Mark Murphy, Von Freeman, Peter Erskine, Paul McCandless, Gary Burton and Eddie Daniels, among many others.

His latest solo CD, “When The Heart Dances”, is a duet recording with iconic bassist Charlie Haden and has received worldwide critical acclaim, garnering 4-star reviews from DownBeat and the UK’s Mojo magazine among others.

Hobgood’s latest project, POEMJAZZ, is an adventurous collaboration with poet Robert Pinsky, the only three-term U.S. Poet Laureate.  Their POEMJAZZ CD was released in February of 2012, and features Pinsky’s energetic readings of his poems with an emphasis on musical (rather than dramatic) phrasing, coupled with Hobgood’s engaging, thematic improvised accompaniment, played live in studio simultaneously with the distinguished poet’s recitations.

Mr. Hobgood will begin a national “barnstorming” tour with his New York-based trio (Jared Schonig on drums, and Matthew Rybicki on bass), with performances on March 30-31 at Chicago’s legendary Uptown club, the Green Mill.  They will be joined there by tenor saxophonist John Wojciechowski, and on the rest of the tour by tenor saxophonist Ernie Watts.

ABOUT OUR MADISON-BASED GUEST ARTISTS

Sally de Broux.  Primarily a jazz musician, vocalist Sally de Broux enjoys playing with the standards, using her voice as an instrument to explore them with freshness and improvisational flair.  Her repertoire also includes red hot blues as well as eclectic pieces from other genres.  On her latest CD, “The Way Love Can Be,” de Broux joins with Jane Reynolds, Cliff Frederiksen, Laurie Lang and John Becker to explore the implications of jazz standards with imagination, improvisational daring, and nuanced expression.  A long-time Madison resident and UW grad, Ms. de Broux has appeared at Jazz at Five, the Isthmus Jazz Festival, Orton Park Festival and the Willy Street Fair, performing as a leader as well as in ensembles with fellow vocalists Gerri DiMaggio, Joy Dragland and Jeanne Woodall and their “Bad Boys” band.  She has also performed ensemble improvisation pieces in concert with international touring artist and Berklee College of Music faculty member Rhiannon, with whom she has studied and taught.  Ms. de Broux teaches vocal improvisation, including adult classes as well as teaching to school age children through UW-Madison’s College for Kids program, and is a founding member of the Madgadders, a family rock band that includes her son Isaac.

Laurie Lang.  Former Madison Music Collective President and founder and Director of Madison’s Improvisational Music Workshop, bassist, composer, arranger, and educator Laurie Lang has been a vital and multi-dimensional force on Madison’s creative music scene for over two decades.  A founding member of Harmonious Wail and frequent collaborator over the years with Joan Wildman, she is at home musically in a variety of genres.  Ms. Lang has performed at celebrated Midwestern venues such as the Artist’s Quarter in Minneapolis, with nationally-recognized vocalists such as long-time Basie collaborator Dianne Schuur, and with the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra.  At UW-Madison, where she earned a degree in Jazz Studies, Ms. Lang studied with legendary bassist Richard Davis and performed with the UW Symphony.  Ms. Lang has recorded two CDs as a leader, “Crossing Over” (1996) and “Beautiful Friendship” (2009) on Dolphin Dance Records, with collaborators Sally de Broux and John Becker as well as Stan Godfriaux, Marilyn Fisher, Brad Pregeant, Doc DeHaven, Joel Adams, and Jim Huwe.

John Becker.  Percussionist-pianist-composer John Becker has been a busy jazz musician and orchestral player in the Madison area for many years, and in Los Angeles for 8 years.  He graduated from the UW-Madison School of Music and received a Masters in music performance from California State University-Northridge.  Mr. Becker has performed with conductor Andre Previn, legendary jazz vocalist Sheila Jordan, clarinetist Eddie Daniels, the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra (at “Concerts on the Square”) and the Madison Symphony Orchestra.  He has also performed at the Isthmus Jazz Festival and Jazz at Five.  Mr. Becker teaches general music at Middleton’s Sauk Trail Elementary School, and taught percussion at UW-Whitewater from 1992-97.  He has also conducted adult and children’s choirs at Madison’s Wisconsin Lutheran Chapel and at St. Andrew’s Church in Middleton.  Mr. Becker has recorded with Sally de Broux and Laurie Lang, and has recorded two CDs as a leader, "Time Stands Still" and "Are You in a Band?"

THANKS TO OUR SUPPORTERS

This program is made possible in part by grants from the John and Carolyn Peterson Charitable Foundation and the Dane County Cultural Affairs Commission (with additional funds from the Overture Foundation and Pleasant T. Rowland Foundation), dues from Madison Music Collective members, and charitable gifts from MMC board members and other local friends of the music.  The producers are also grateful for support from Presenting Sponsor Ward-Brodt Music, Program Sponsors the Edgewater Hotel, Farley’s House of Pianos, Janus Galleries, Tri-Unity Wellife, and the Cardinal Bar, as well as promotional support from WORT-FM and Isthmus and support from our program hosts, The Brink Lounge.

by Laurie Lang