Less than a year after getting feted at the Eastman School of Music on his 80th birthday, a celebration he described as “the best birthday ever,” legendary composer, conductor, trombonist, and teacher Bob Brookmeyer returns for a concert featuring his music and the U.S. premiere of one of his works.
Brookmeyer will perform with the Eastman Jazz Ensemble and the Eastman New Jazz Ensemble at 8 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 20, in Kodak Hall. Both bands, under the direction of Dave Rivello, will perform music from Brookmeyer’s CD Get Well Soon. Trumpeter and Eastman faculty member Clay Jenkins will be the guest soloist with the New Jazz Ensemble on a four-movement suite Brookmeyer wrote for German jazz musician Till Brönner.
In addition, the Eastman Jazz Ensemble will perform Brookmeyer’s “Suite for Soprano Saxophone and 16 Players,” the first time the work is being played in the United States. Featured will be Eastman doctoral jazz student Matt Stuver.
Recognized for his wide-ranging virtuosity, Brookmeyer has performed with jazz greats over a career spanning almost 60 years and two continents. Arriving in New York City in 1952, he played with Stan Getz, Woody Herman, Charles Mingus, and others. In 1954, Brookmeyer joined Gerry Mulligan, producing the “Paris Concerts” and beginning a partnership that lasted until Mulligan’s death in 1996. He composed for and performed with the Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Orchestra and served as musical director for the Mel Lewis Orchestra.
In 1981, Brookmeyer began to work extensively in Europe. He started a radical new school for improvised and composed music in Holland, wrote a commission for The 12 Cellists of the Berlin Philharmonic, and served as musical director of the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival Big Band, which in turn became the beginnings of his New Art Orchestra. Brookmeyer taught many of today’s leading jazz composers, including Jim McNeely and Eastman alumna Maria Schneider.
Brookmeyer was invited to come to Eastman last December for a concert of his works by the Eastman New Jazz Ensemble. The program was highlighted by new pieces based on the musical material of “Happy Birthday.” Brookmeyer later recalled the evening’s events on his web site, saying, “The band was great, the hall was packed, and the after-theater cake was very tasty.”
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Calendar Listing:
Wednesday, October 20
Eastman Jazz Ensemble and New Jazz Ensemble, with special guest Bob Brookmeyer. Dave Rivello, director.
8 p.m.
Kodak Hall, 60 Gibbs St.
Free