2004 Chicago Jazz Festival (Petrillo Band Shell, Grant Park)
in Chicago, Illinois on September 4, 2004
The Chicago Jazz Philharmonic was conceived and brought into being by Chicago trumpeter Orbert Davis to play compositions by him, and others, which attempt to achieve a synthesis of classical music and jazz--a genre dubbed "third-stream music" almost 50 years ago.
For its set at the 2004 Chicago Jazz Festival an orchestra consisting of 30 strings, harp, five brass and a rhythm section played music composed or arranged solely by Davis. Unlike some other "third-stream music," these works, by and large, were tilted more to the jazz than to the classical side of the ledger.
The Philharmonic was joined by several guests. Orbert Davis' mentor, tenor saxophonist Ari Brown, is a veteran of Elvin Jones' Jazz Machine. Playing very powerfully, he was featured on Davis' "The Best of Jackson Payne", inspired by the Jack Fuller novel of that name.
Dee Alexander is one of Chicago's most respected female vocalists/songwriters. She was featured on an Ella Fitzgerald-Gerswhin medley.
Chicago pianist Willie Pickens spent several years in the early '90s with Elvin Jones' Jazz Machine, and more recently did a duet recording with Marian McPartland. He was featured on Orbert Davis' arrangement of "E Lucevan Le Stelle" from Puccini's Tosca.
JazzReview.com
