Acclaimed saxophonist Joe Lovano will headline this year’s
annual Emory Jazz Festival, Feb. 13–15, part of the Schwartz
Center Opening Festival.
The 18-piece Fort McPherson Jazz Guardians will open the festival
on Thursday, Feb. 13; Lovano performs Friday, Feb. 14; and the traditional
“Big Band Night” will take place on Saturday, Feb. 15.
All performances are at 8 p.m. in the Schwartz Center’s Emerson
Concert Hall.
Joining Lovano on the second night of the festival will be Atlanta-based
favorite the Gary Motley Trio. Lovano’s album, 52nd Street
Themes, won a 2001 Grammy Award. He received four previous Grammy
nominations, and other awards include Downbeat Magazine’s
Readers’ Choice Awards for Jazz Musician of the Year and Album
of the Year in 1995 and 1996, and two Critics’ Choice Awards
from the Jazz Journalists’ Association in 2001.
Lovano’s alma mater, Berklee College of Music in Boston, asked
him to fill its first endowed chair in 2001. His many recordings
include Joe Lovano Celebrating Sinatra, Flights of
Fancey and Trio Fascination.
Motley, a jazz pianist and composer, has been recognized with awards
from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Great American Jazz
Piano Competition and the American Composers’ Forum. His recording
credits range from his debut CD Peaceful Moments (1994)
to his latest trio recording, Compassion (2000).
Motley also has established a professional association with many
of today’s leaders in jazz, including Dave Brubeck and Wynton
Marsalis, and is a member of the music faculty at Emory. He has
just completed recording music with Whoopi Goldberg for the current
Broadway production of Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.
“Joe Lovano is a world-class jazz saxophonist, the Gary Motley
Trio is a world-class jazz trio, and when they get together and
perform it will be a magical night of jazz for the audience,”
said Schwartz Center Managing Director Bob McKay. “It’s
going to be an amazing combination.
The festival will close Feb. 15 with Big Band Night, traditionally
one of Atlanta’s most energetic jazz showcases, featuring
Emory’s own jazz combos and Georgia State University’s
jazz ensembles.
“What I want to do programmatically is bring more jazz to
Emory,” said McKay, who came to Emory in fall 2001. “Students
enjoy it, and it’s a very popular form of music. All of our
jazz events, from Herbie Hancock to Dave Brubek, have been very
popular.”
Prices vary for jazz festival events. Feb. 13 is free; Feb. 14 is
$15 general admission, $6 students; and Feb. 15 is $5 general admission,
$2 students. For tickets and information, call 404-727-5050 or visit
www.emory.edu/ARTS.
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