KENT—The Sherman Chamber Ensemble will present three performances of “All That Jazz” — a tribute concert celebrating the 100th birthdays of jazz legends Buddy Powell, Sarah Vaughan and Dinah Washington—and the memory of the late Quincy Jones Thanksgiving weekend.
Eliot Bailen, artistic director and cellist of the ensemble, said he promises a concert of soulful and swinging music that pays tribute to these legends and their contributions to the genre.
Bailen (cell) will join a group of accomplished musicians, including noted jazz pianist Ted Rosenthal (piano), Julia Bailen (vocals), Chris Parker (drums), Daniel Bailen, (double bass and vocals), David Bailen (vocals and percussion) in a program that will also include selections from the Nutcracker Suite and the compositions of Astor Piazzolla.
Quincy Jones, who died at age 91 on Nov. 3, was an American musical performer, producer, arranger and composer whose work encompassed virtually all forms of popular music, and a titan of the music industry.
Over the course of his seven-decade career, he received many accolades including 28 Grammy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award and a Tony Award, as well as nominations for seven Academy Awards and four Golden Globe Awards.
While never widely known, Buddy Powell is considered to be the most important pianist in the history of jazz. Powell helped to transform the piano’s role in jazz, liberating it from an accompanying position in the rhythm section and making it a frontline solo instrument.
His career was tragically short, from 1949, when he made his debut recording as a leader, to his death from pneumonia in 1966. Even so, he was prolific in the studio, recording for several record labels, including Mercury, Blue Note, Clef, and Verve.
Sarah Vaughan graduated from singing in church in Newark, N.J., to apprenticing in the Earl Hines and Billy Eckstine big bands. She had her first hit in late 1947 with “Tenderly.”
The following year, her version of “It’s Magic” established her as a full-fledged pop star. In 1949, she signed a five-year contract with Columbia Records, where she remained until 1954, recording popular songs backed by studio orchestras.
In the 1960s, Vaughan made records with bandleaders such as Count Basie, Benny Carter, Frank Foster, and Quincy Jones on the Mercury and Roulette labels among others.
Dinah Washington was one of the most popular black female recording artists of the 1950s. Primarily a jazz vocalist, she also performed and recorded in a wide variety of styles including blues, R&B, and traditional pop music, and gave herself the title of “Queen of the Blues.”
Washington died at age 39 from an accidental overdose of prescription medications for weight control and insomnia. In 1993, she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and in 1984 to the Big Band and Jazz Hall of Fame.
The concert, offered in Kent Sunday, Dec. 1, at 4 p.m. at St. Andrew’s Church, 1 North Main St., will also be presented Saturday, Nov. 30, at 4 p.m. at Christ Church, 17 Church Road in Pawling, N.Y., and Saturday, Nov. 30, at 7:30 p.m. at Salem Covenant Church, 96 Baldwin Hill Road in Washington.
General admission tickets are $30. Children ages 16 and younger will be admitted free.
Advance tickets can be purchased online at www.SCEmusic.org. Tickets may also be purchased at the door, subject to availability.
For more information or reservations, call 860-355-5930 or visit www.SCEmusic.org.
Founded in 1982 by cellist Eliot Bailen and flutist Susan Rotholz, the Sherman Chamber Ensemble offers a year-round schedule of performances for all ages at venues in Connecticut and New York.
