THE
SEATTLE REPERTORY
JAZZ ORCHESTRA
Clarence Acox and Michael Brockman, Co-Directors
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SRJO Welcomes NEA Jazz Master Toshiko Akiyoshi
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Dates, times and ticket prices:
- Saturday, March 7, 2009 7:30pm
Illsley Ball Nordstrom Recital Hall (at Benaroya Hall)
- Sunday, March 8, 2009, 3:00pm
Kirkland Performance Center
Tickets: $22-$38
(plus special student pricing of $15 for ALL SEATS).
Available at:
- SRJO offices (206-523-6159) www.srjo.org
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The award-winning Seattle Repertory Jazz Orchestra (SRJO) welcomes
composer, pianist and National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Jazz
Master Toshiko Akiyoshi as a special guest for concerts on Saturday,
March 7 (7:30 p.m.) in the Nordstrom Recital Hall at Benaroya Hall,
and on Sunday, March 8 (3:00 PM) at the Kirkland Performance Center.
Ms. Akiyoshi is the second NEA Jazz Master that the SRJO has
presented this concert season (saxophonist James Moody appeared with
the SRJO in November 2008), and the 10th NEA Jazz Master hosted by
the SRJO in the band's 14-year history. Akiyoshi will perform on
piano and lead the SRJO for several of her most popular and
interesting compositions for jazz ensemble, drawn from her many
acclaimed recordings and decades of worldwide performances with the
Toshiko Akiyoshi/Lew Tabackin Big Band. Selected works include "Road
Time Shuffle," "Studio J," "Transcience" and much more.
Born in Manchuria, Akiyoshi took up piano as a child. Her family
returned to Japan when she was 16 and she was soon performing in
public. In 1952, pianist Oscar Peterson discovered her playing jazz
in a Ginza club and persuaded producer Norman Granz to record her. In
1955, Toshiko received a full scholarship to the Berklee College of
Music and became the first Japanese student to attend the famed
school. Immersed in the sounds of Basie and Ellington and influenced
by leaders Gil Evans and Thad Jones, Akiyoshi became a driving force
in jazz. Her musical excellence has earned 14 Grammy Award
nominations as well as "Best of" recognition in Down Beat Magazine's
Critics' Polls for Best Jazz Album, Best Big Band, Best Arranger, and
Best Composer. She was the first woman named Best Arranger and
Composer by the magazine's Readers' Poll. In 2007 she received the
highest honor in jazz in the U.S. when she was named an NEA Jazz
Master.
"She is the most articulate conductor in jazz, since Duke Ellington."
-John S. Wilson, New York Times
"Genius is a term tossed around by hucksters, but if it was ever
merited this unique composer-arranger-pianist-band leader deserves
it."
-Leonard Feather, Los Angeles Times
"Toshiko Akiyoshi is like no other big band leader-writer in the jazz world."
-Nat Hentoff, The Progressive
TICKETS AND INFO
Ticket prices for the three subscription series concerts range from
$15 to $38, and can be purchased from the SRJO offices (206-523-6159)
and online at www.srjo.org. The discount for purchasing the series
subscription is 15%. Tickets for other concerts can be purchased
from their individual venues.
SPECIAL OFFER TO STUDENTS
A new discount program for students (ages 18 and below) offers single
tickets at $15 for ALL SEATS in the house (note: supplies of special
discount tickets may be limited).
SEASON BROCHURE AVAILABLE
Jazz fans who have not yet received a season brochure for the SRJO
2008-09 concert series can download it from
http://www.srjo.org/seasonbrochure.htm or can request a brochure by
calling 206-523-6159.
ABOUT THE SRJO
Now in its 14th concert season, which features 20 concerts and
educational outreach activities, the 17-piece SRJO is co-directed by
saxophonist/arranger Michael Brockman, a long-time faculty member of
the UW School of Music and an authority on the music of Duke
Ellington, and drummer Clarence Acox, award-winning conductor of the
Garfield High School bands. The SRJO includes many of the region's
best-loved jazz soloists and band leaders, including trumpeters Jay
Thomas and Thomas Marriott, bassist Phil Sparks, saxophonists Bill
Ramsay, Hadley Caliman, Travis Ranney and Mark Taylor, and
trombonists Scott Brown, David Marriott, Bill Anthony, and Dan
Marcus, and pianist Randy Halberstadt.
In previous years, the SRJO has received Golden Ear awards from
Earshot Jazz for "Best Acoustic Jazz Group" and "Concert of the Year"
as well as two "Starlight Awards" from the Kirkland Performance
Center. The band's recent concerts featuring guest composers Jimmy
Heath and Gerald Wilson were named in the "Best Concerts of 2006" and
"Best Concerts of 2005" by the Seattle Times. Several members of the
all-star group have been named to the Seattle Jazz Hall of Fame, with
bassist Phil Sparks recently inducted at the 2009 Golden Ear Awards.
The band's first compact disc, "SRJO Live," is now in its second
pressing after receiving wide acclaim on a national scale, and is one
of the best selling titles at local record outlets. Their newest CD,
"Sacred Music of Duke Ellington" featuring Dee Daniels was released
in 2006, is now also in its second pressing and was named in "Best
Recordings of 2006" by AudiophileAudition.com. It has been featured
widely on nation-wide broadcasts, and is included in the "best picks"
of PRI's Jazz After Hours radio show with Jim Wilke. For more
information about the SRJO, visit www.srjo.org.
SPONSORS
The 14th season of the SRJO is supported in part by the Paul G. Allen
Family Foundation, ArtsFund, the 4Culture Lodging Tax of King County,
the City of Seattle Mayor's Office of Arts and Cultural Affairs, the
Washington State Arts Commission, Earshot Jazz, the Norcliffe
Foundation, the Nesholm Family Foundation, the Seattle Foundation,
Glaser Foundation, Lucky Seven Foundation, PONCHO, Fred Meyer Stores,
Mills Music, KPLU FM88.5, KUOW FM94.9, KBCS FM91.3, and KING FM98.1,
and the Mayflower Park Hotel.
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THE SEATTLE REPERTORY JAZZ ORCHESTRA
Clarence Acox and Michael Brockman, Co-Directors
o Named in "Best Recordings of 2006" by AudiophileAudition.com
o Named in "Best Jazz Concerts of 2006" by the Seattle Times
o Winners of Northwest Best Acoustic Jazz Ensemble at the 2005
Earshot Jazz Golden Ear Awards
o Named in "Best of 2005" by Public Radio International's Jazz After Hours
o Named in "Best Jazz Concerts of 2005" by the Seattle Times
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