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14th Annual Jazz Series
The Highland Park Community House proudly present its 14th Annual Jazz Series featuring renowned artists of the jazz scene. All performances are at 3PM in the intimate cabaret setting of the Highland Park Community House.
Tickets are $10/Adults; $5/Children under 16 years of age; $25/Series subscription. Each Series subscription entitles you to admission to all three concerts plus one complimentary lawn pass each good for two one-day admissions to the lawn during the 2010 Ravinia season (some date restrictions apply).
The Jazz Series always expands and enriches our community's cultural horizons by offering diverse and multi-cultural musical experiences presenting the finest, critically-acclaimed musicians playing the finest jazz. The concerts are popular with families, young adults and seniors alike.
Sunday, January 24, 3PM
Strings that Swing
Ron Surace's "In Full Swing" Jazz Orchestra
Dr. Ron Surace studied with the great Geroge Shearing, and was a winner of the "Silver Award" and the "Outstanding Musical Performance Award," at Downbeat magazine's Musicfest USA National Finals. SUrace's jazz recordings havebeen released on the Columbia Pictures and Southport Recording labels to great critical acclaim. The Jazz Review/New York wrote: "Chicago pianist and composer Surace...if he were based in NY, LA or Paris he'd be known the world 'round."
Surace hsa performed with Bill Watrous, Dick Oates (Thad Jones/Mel Lewis jazz orchestra), Willie Smith, and John Faddis. As a big band pianist, he has played with Glen MIller, Bob Crosby, and Ralph Martieri big bands and has presented music for the Bob Hope and Steve Allen road show productions.
Surace's "In Full Swing" jazz orchestra performs regulary for television, community centers, fundraisers, and schools/universities. Their mission is to create authentic classic big band works in both style abd form, presenting masterpieces of big band jazz music from 1920 to the present.
Sunday, February 21 – 3PM
"Swing's the Thing!"
Frank Winkler Quartet
Veteran Chicago pianist and conductor Frank Winkler has led a wide array of ensembles from jazz to classica. He has performed with legendary stars Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis, Jr., Liza Minelli, and Buddy Rich. Winkler's performance credits also include the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Royal English Ballet, Bolshoi Ballet, and the Ravinia Festival Orchestra. As a conductor, Winkler has led the Harper Symphony Orchestra, the Symphonic Pops Orchestra of Chicago, and many other ensembles.
The Frank Winkler Quartet, featuring virtuoso guitarist Frank Portolese, is one of the most exciting jazz quartets to ever appear in the MIdwest. Nick Tountas on bass and Highland Park's own Rick Shandling on drums round out this stunning ensemble, which is as cohesive and thrilling as a top-flight string quartet. The ensemble's arrangements include roaring big-band hits, soulful ballads and effervescent bossa-novas. They are not to be missed!
Sunday, March 14, 2010 – 3PM
Original Jazz Trio Concert
Karl E.H. Seigfried
Composer and bassist Karl E.H. Seigfried brings his critically-acclaimed trio to Highland Park for this special concert of original jazz. Seigfried's music combines swing, blues, soul, and New Orleans street music to create jazz that is both memorable and danceable. He has performed jazz bass on stage and on recordings with artists as diverse as Bobby McFerrin and Motorhead. Lauded by Reverend Al Sharpton as one of the "innovative jazz musicians who have come to public attention since the early 1990's," Seigfried has appeared as a character in British comic books, is a recognized writer on boxing, and is an in-demand speaker on topics including jazz history and Norse mythology.
The Highland Park Community House 14th Annual Jazz Series is made possible through the generous support of The Illinois ARTS Council, THE HIGHLAND PARK CULTURAL ARTS COMMISSION and YEA! HIGHLAND PARK.
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