Juilliard Jazz Ensembles | The Sound of the Blues: Sacred and Secular

Program

An American invention, the blues has influenced 20th-century folk, popular, and fine art music. The sound and form of the blues are also key elements of jazz, heard in the church, on the street, in the concert hall, and in quiet contemplation. Contrary to popular misconception, while “the blues as such” speaks of melancholy, “blues as music” offers an optimistic and heroic assertion: Things will get better. This concert celebrates that sound, form, and ethos in its many variations. Juilliard Jazz Ensembles honor that enduring legacy in The Sound of the Blues: Sacred and Secular.

The seven Juilliard Jazz Ensembles are each named after a jazz legend, Mary Lou Williams, Duke Ellington, Dave Brubeck, and Jelly Roll Morton among them. Throughout the season, these ensembles perform music by a wide range of artists including their respective namesakes, alongside original works and arrangements by ensemble members, embodying the history and interconnectedness of these legends and jazz universally.

The named ensembles and their coaches:

Dave Brubeck Ensemble, in the spirit of integrating the arts, coached by Jennifer Krupa

Betty Carter Ensemble, in the spirit of scatting, musical freedom, and reimagination, coached by Donald Vega

Dizzy Gillespie Ensemble, in the spirit of innovation, dance, Afro-Latin music, humor, and teaching, coached by Elio Villafranca

Jelly Roll Morton Ensemble, in the spirit of interpreting the original meanings of jazz, coached by Doug Wamble

Max Roach Ensemble, in the spirit of Civil Rights experimentation and understanding of the African Diaspora, coached by Isaiah J. Thompson

Mary Lou Williams Ensemble, in the spirit of stride piano, arranging, and intellectual discourse about music techniques and meaning, coached by Bruce Williams

Duke Ellington Ensemble (Artist Diploma Ensemble), in the spirit of being ambassadors to the world, coached by Ben Wolfe

Venue

Paul Hall

Admission

Tickets $30 | Members $15