JAZZ AND THE PHILHARMONIC FEATURING BOBBY MCFERRIN, CHICK COREA, DAVE GRUSIN, TERENCE BLANCHARD

JAZZ AND THE PHILHARMONIC is a one-of-a-kind concert project conceived by music producer and impresario Larry Rosen featuring a star-studded roster of award-winning jazz and classical artists performing iconic compositions by legendary composers. This historic event is a collaboration of four major national arts organizations--the National YoungArts Foundation, which identifies and mentors the nation's most outstanding young artists; the University of Miami's Phillip and Patricia Frost School of Music, home of the Henry Mancini Institute Orchestra; the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County, one of the country's leading performing arts presenters; and JAZZ ROOTS: A Larry Rosen Jazz Series. The all-star concert event was presented and filmed at the 2,000-seat John S. and James L. Knight Concert Hall at the Adrienne Arsht Center on January 11, 2013. 

The JAZZ AND THE PHILHARMONIC recorded program produced by Rosen, and executive produced by the National YoungArts Foundation, will be broadcast nationally on PBS TV stations premiering on February 28, 2014, and will be released internationally on CD/DVD and digitally by SONY Masterworks' OKeh Records on February 25, 2014.

 

 The program features 10-time GRAMMY® Award-winning vocalist and YoungArts Master Teacher Bobby McFerrin; 20-time GRAMMY® award-winning virtuoso pianist Chick Corea; 12-time GRAMMY® and Oscar-winning pianist/composer Dave Grusin; five-time GRAMMY® Award-winning and YoungArts alumnus trumpeter Terence Blanchard who is also the artistic director for the Henry Mancini Institute. In addition, the program features two-time GRAMMY® award winning violinist Mark O'Connor, whose career has been based on the intersection of classical music and American folk music; Met opera star and YoungArts alumnus Eric Owens; classical pianist and YoungArts alumna Elizabeth Joy Roe; choreographer, dancer and YoungArts alumnus Desmond Richardson; three-time GRAMMY® Award-nominated Frost School of Music Dean, Music Director, pianist, arranger and YoungArts Master Teacher Shelly Berg; and the Frost School of Music's acclaimed Henry Mancini Institute Orchestra, conducted by resident conductor Scott Flavin.

  

Two years in the making from concept to broadcast, the project harkens back to seventy years ago when producer and impresario Norman Granz expanded the scope of the jazz audience from clubs to classical concert halls, staging an all-star jazz concert at the Philharmonic Auditorium in Los Angeles. The July 1944 show marked the first Jazz at the Philharmonic concert that grew into an institution with Granz assembling internationally touring ensembles for the next four decades. In February 2014 this project will expand on the concept by bringing together world-class artists, composers, arrangers, and a full size philharmonic orchestra to audiences around the planet.

  

The CD/DVD and PBS Network special was shot in HD and mixed in Dolby 5.1 surround sound. Audio recording was supervised by 15-time GRAMMY® Award-winning engineer/producer the late Phil Ramone who passed away shortly after the recording of this project. The program is dedicated to the memory of Phil Ramone.

 

QUOTES:

Larry Rosen - Producer: "This project was the culmination of our JAZZ ROOTS' 5th anniversary of presenting major concerts and education programs to music fans across the nation. Having iconic award winning artists, world class emerging artists, and the Henry Mancini Institute Orchestra on the stage together in one of the best acoustic halls in the world is a reason for celebration... and then documenting this one-of-a-kind event for a PBS primetime broadcast and a major CD/DVD, iTunes release on SONY Masterworks, OKeh Records, is the culmination of a night to be remembered!"

Terence Blanchard - Trumpet virtuoso, YoungArts Alumnus and Artistic Director of the Henry Mancini Institute Orchestra: "I was part of YoungArts when it first started. To have such a formal organization acknowledge you as a young artist, saying that you have talent, and you can be here if you do this, was a great motivating factor for me."

Paul T. Lehr - President & CEO, National YoungArts Foundation: "We are thrilled to partner with such esteemed institutions and world class artists, some of whom are YoungArts Master Teachers, and who alongside our talented YoungArts alumni created a rare and inspiring performance. We've collaborated on JAZZ ROOTS concerts in the past and we look forward to continuing this relationship in the future."

John Richard - CEO, Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts: "Jazz and the Philharmonic was a truly historic moment in American music history that was only possible with the incredibly enthusiastic cooperation of four musical institutions. The concert represents Miami's growing status as a music destination and is a testament to the power of music to unite us all. The Arsht Center marks this concert among the highlights of our five-year history presenting Jazz Roots."

Shelly Berg - Dean of the Frost School of Music, award-winning pianist and arranger: "Jazz and the Philharmonic is an example of what can happen when great organizations collaborate. The combined resources of the National YoungArts Foundation, Larry Rosen's Jazz Roots, The Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, and the Frost School of Music's Henry Mancini Institute resulted in a thrilling, one-of-a-kind evening that would be hard to replicate anywhere. Jazz and classical artists melded their talents together... and it worked! Genre labels and stereotypes disappeared and all that remained was great music, in the moment and full of surprises. You would be hard-pressed to find another orchestra to so seamlessly and convincingly turn 'on a dime' from one genre and style to another."

Chuck Mitchell - Senior Vice-President, Sony Music Masterworks U.S.: "We're delighted to release the CD and DVD of this singular event which brings together such wonderful musicians in a unique expression of collaborative art. Congratulations to everyone who made it happen."

Disc 1 (CD)

1. Autumn Leaves - Bobby McFerrin, Chick Corea, Dave Grusin

2. Fugue in C Minor - Eric Owens, Terence Blanchard *

3. Spanish Suite - Chick Corea, Eric Owens, Terence Blanchard *

4. Simple Gifts - Dave Grusin, Mark O'Connor

5. Mountain Dance - Dave Grusin, Mark O'Connor *

6. Soloings 1 - Bobby McFerrin

7. The Man I Love - Elizabeth Joy Roe, Shelly Berg

8. Solfeggietto - Elizabeth Joy Roe, Terence Blanchard *

9. Charade - Terence Blanchard *

Disc 2 (DVD)

1. Autumn Leaves - Bobby McFerrin, Chick Corea, Dave Grusin

2. Fugue in C Minor - Eric Owens, Terence Blanchard *

3. Spanish Suite - Chick Corea, Eric Owens, Terence Blanchard *

4. Soloings 1 - Bobby McFerrin

5. Incandescent, Iridescent, Effervescent - Elizabeth Joy Roe, Shelly Berg *

6. Simple Gifts - Dave Grusin, Mark O'Connor

7. Mountain Dance - Dave Grusin, Mark O'Connor *

8. Soloings 2 - Bobby McFerrin

9. Armando's Rhumba - Bobby McFerrin, Chick Corea

10. Charade - Terence Blanchard *

11. Solfeggietto - Elizabeth Joy Roe, Terence Blanchard *

12. The Man I Love - Elizabeth Joy Roe, Shelly Berg

13. 2001: Space Odyssey - Bobby McFerrin, Eric Owens, Chick Corea, Dave Grusin, Shelly Berg, Elizabeth Joy Roe, Mark O'Connor *

* = performance w/ the Henry Mancini Institute Orchestra