Jazz Ensemble
On Saturday, December 8, in Old Cabell Auditorium, the UVA Jazz Ensemble, directed by John D’earth, will celebrate the season with a variety of instrumental and vocal offerings. Duke Ellington will be front and center with the first three movements of his famous arrangement of Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker Suite, along with two of his most celebrated and innovative compositions, Cottontail and Harlem Airshaft.
Christmas will be well represented by the Hoo-V-I Vocal Jazz Ensemble, a newly-formed, student-organized, jazz vocal choir that now sings with the Jazz Ensemble. They will be performing Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas and Let it Snow! Jazz Ensemble Director John D’earth is contributing two Christmas offerings: Joy to the World, featuring tenor sax players Cameron Fard and Aamir Javaid, and Boppin’ Santa Claus is Coming to Town, featuring vocalist Grant Frazier.
The band is developing its own hard-bop treatment of a traditional Hannukah song, S’Vivon and Joy Collins, a veteran vocalist with the Jazz Ensemble, will sing drummer Rami Stucky’s blistering arrangement of The Song Is You. The band also presents a new vocalist, Tina Hashemi, who will sing Ella Fitzgerald’s version of I’ve Got My Love to Keep Me Warm.
Community trombonist and composer, Zack Beamer has contributed a new shout chorus for the band to play on D’earth’s Santa Claus is Coming…
“This is a highly creative band,” says D’earth. “A lot of people are writing and contributing musical ideas. The amplification of the vocal element, with the inclusion of the jazz vocal choir, is adding a new dimension to our concerts. I have to thank fourth year Colleen Callahan for, first, coming to me with her dream of starting such a group and, then, proactively making the dream come true. I must also express profound gratitude to our community lead trombonist, and one of my oldest friends, Doug Bethel, for his marvelous playing and generous spirit. Every solo by Doug is a masterclass in jazz trombone!”
The UVA Jazz Ensemble comprises undergraduates, graduate students, and community members. They offer three concerts per academic year and present numerous guest artists both from our area, and from the national and international jazz scene. In 2019 they will give a winter concert on Saturday, February 23, and their second annual Jazz4Justice, guest-artist concert on April 13, to raise money for Legal Aid.
The Holiday Concert will focus on musical “gifts” as much as on music that evokes the season, starting with a two-and-a-half-minute explosion from the Count Basie Band, The Kid From Red Bank, featuring Thomas Kehoe on stride piano. The deep groove of Michael Brecker’s African Skies, featuring tenor saxophonist Aimir Javaid, will round out the evening.
Stay warm with the UVA Jazz Ensemble on Saturday, December 8, in Old Cabell Hall, for a night of musical joy in a joyful season!
Old Cabell Hall is located on the south end of UVA's historic lawn, directly opposite the Rotunda (map). Parking is available in the Central Grounds parking garage on Emmet Street, in the C1 parking lot off McCormick Road, and in the parking lots at the UVA Corner.
Tickets are $10 for the General Public, $9 for UVA Faculty and staff, $5 for students, and free for UVA Students who reserve in advance. Tickets can be purchased at the UVA Arts Box Office at http://www.artsboxoffice.virginia.edu/ or 434.924.3984. Tickets will also be sold in the lobby of Old Cabell Hall one hour prior to the event start time.
All events are subject to change.