ROCHESTER, NY – Teo Macero, acclaimed producer, arranger, saxophonist, and award-winning composer, will be in residence for five days at the Eastman School of Music, beginning March 18. During his residency, titled "The Producer’s Art," Macero will be in studio with Eastman jazz students to produce their forthcoming millennial CD, and present a concert at 8 p.m., Monday, March 20, in Kilbourn Hall (26 Gibbs St). An hour before the concert, Macero will chat with the audience about his music and career.
Now in his 70s, Macero is a legendary producer who has worked intimately with some of the greatest figures in the history of jazz – Duke Ellington, Miles Davis, Thelonius Monk – in the creation of some of their most enduring works. Trained in the classical tradition at the Juilliard School, Macero spent nearly two decades at the helm of Columbia Records. Responsible for signing Charlie Byrd, Thelonius Monk, and Charles Mingus, among others, Macero has produced more than 20 gold and platinum albums during his career, including Miles Davis’ Sketches of Spain and Bitches Brew, the original cast album from A Chorus Line, and Simon & Garfunkel’s soundtrack to The Graduate.
"Teo’s residency is an incredible opportunity for our jazz students to work with a truly legendary producer," said Harold Danko, associate professor of jazz and contemporary media at Eastman and coordinator of Macero’s residency. "He’ll provide the finishing touches in regard to production techniques on the jazz department’s new millennial CD, which will feature original music written and performed by Eastman students." The CD, Danko points out, will be used as the department’s "calling card" for recruitment and publicity purposes.
Macero will switch hats for his concert at Eastman, during which the versatile musician will perform several of his own compositions, which, according to Danko, "are deserving of much wider recognition." As a composer, Macero is known for his unique ability to combine jazz and classical techniques. Macero himself once said, "I believe in synthesizing into one kind of music that which is associated with jazz…the freedom, the frankness, and the freshness, with the techniques of ‘serious’ composition." His Fusion, a concerto grosso for jazz combo and symphony orchestra was commissioned and premiered by the New York Philharmonic under Leonard Bernstein in the mid-1950s. Since then, Macero has received grants from the Guggenheim Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts for his work, and has received numerous commissions from ballet companies and symphony orchestras around the world. He also has composed music for more than 100 film and television scores. Recently, he completed an all-star recording of the music of Andrew Lloyd Webber, featuring more than 30 top jazz performers from the Seattle area.
Tickets for Macero’s concert at Eastman are $6 (free to University of Rochester faculty, staff, and students with ID). They are available at Ticket Express, 100 East Ave., or by calling 222-5000. Any unsold tickets will be available at the box office one hour before the performance.
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Note to editors: Interviews with and photos of Teo Macero are available.