LOS ANGELES (Angels Univercity Consultans) - Bill Evans will be honored by his Alma Mater the week of February 21-24. Ted Rosenthal will be featured at the conclusion of the four-day jazz festival at Southeastern Louisiana University, from where Evans graduated with honors in 1950. Evans was a recipient of 7 Grammy Awards and scores of recordings prior to his death in 1980.
The Bill Evans Jazz Festival began four years ago, and since that time has welcomed Debby Evans, (Bill's niece for whom he wrote Waltz for Debby) Eddie
Gomez Trio, and Kenny Werner. This year the Ted Rosenthal Trio will include drummer Eliot Zigmund, who recorded with Evans, and Sean Smith on bass. Rosenthal was twelve years old when he first met Bill Evans at Yale University, and said 'I heard Bill give a master class for John Mehegan's jazz class in 1979. It was great to hear him play and talk about music. He continued by saying, 'I was given the music to a transcription of 'Turn Out the Stars' by my piano teachers. It was really beyond me, but I learned it by studying the recording.' Rosenthal concluded by adding, 'I honored to be playing at the festival. I think it's a great thing that the Bill Evans Jazz Festival exists, and I'm very happy to be saluting Bill's legacy and influence on jazz piano.' Rosenthal has included many of Evans' compositions on CD, notably The Three Bs. (Bud Powell, Bill Evans, and Beethoven).
David Evenson, Chairman of the Department of
Music and Dramatic Arts, commented 'this year, we depart from the format established in previous Bill Evans Jazz Festivals by increasing the number of activities and increasing it from three to four days. From its inception, the BEJF became one of the artistic highlights of the spring artistic season at the university, and we expect that the audience will continue to grow." Two new events include the addition of a clinic and critique of six high school jazz ensembles by the Ted Rosenthal Trio, and performances by area professional musicians.
Win Hinkle, publisher of Letter From Evans, will present a lecture entitled 'Do Transcriptions Really Tell The Bill Evans Story?' Hinkle said his presentation 'will compare commercially available notated transcriptions with the actual recordings and attempt to determine just what can and cannot be captured by traditional music notation. Selections studied will include "My Foolish Heart," "On a Clear Day" and "Autumn Leaves." The lecture is open to both performers of, and listeners to, Bill Evans' music.
Richard Schwartz,
Director of Jazz Programs at SLU, commented that "This festival represents a microcosm of Bill Evans' achievements. Specifically, it highlights two of Evans' most notable qualities; his drive to explore new musical frontiers and his gentle manner of sharing jazz with others."
The Southeastern One O'clock Big Band will be featured on February 21st and include Phil Woods' arrangement of 'Waltz for Debby,' Leonard Bernstein's "Prelude Fugue and Riffs," and a world premier of a composition by Michigan Composer Blair Johnston. On the 23rd the SLU Jazz Guest will include Ron Nethercutt, who established the Bill Evans Archives at the university. Nethercutt is now visiting professor at the University of the Philippines.
The full schedule for the festival is as follows:
February 21 Bill Evans Jazz Festival:
Southeastern One O'clock Big Band,
Richard Schwartz, director; Andrew Seigel, clarinet
7:30 pm, Pottle Auditorium
February 22 Bill Evans Jazz Festival: Win Hinkle,
Guest Lecture: 2:00 pm, Pottle Auditorium
Do Transcriptions Really Tell The Bill Evans Story?
February 22 Bill Evans Jazz Festival: Southeastern
Jazz Combos 7:30 pm, Pottle Auditorium
February 23 Bill Evans Jazz Festival:
Faculty and Guests Jazz Quintet 7:30 pm, Pottle Auditorium
February 24 Bill Evans Jazz Festival:
High School Big Band Workshop with Ted Rosenthal 2:00 pm, Pottle Auditorium
February 24 Bill Evans Jazz Festival: Jazz Master
Classes with Southeastern Faculty 4:00 pm, Pottle Building
February 24 Bill Evans Jazz Festival: The Ted Rosenthal Trio 7:30 pm, Pottle Auditorium
All events take place on the campus of Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond, Louisiana.
Inquiries for additional information should be directed to
[email protected]. Phone: 985 549 2184 Fax: 985 549 2892 Mail: 2184 SLU Box 10815 Hammond, LA 70402-0815
Submitted by Ron Nethercutt, Angeles University Consultant, Angeles City, Philippines.
[email protected] https://www.jazzprof.com
