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New York Times
13-05-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
A High School Festival Keeps Duke Ellington Very Much Alive
In a dressing room behind the stage in the Metropolitan Opera House, Wynton Marsalis, the trumpeter and educator, intently watched a live feed of the big band representing the Osceola County School for the Arts, from Kissimmee, Fla. They were playing Dizzy Gillespie's 'Things to Come,' a piece that can expose any weaknesses in a big band. Being a good jazz musician isn't just about playing fast and loud and high, but this song requires musicians to do all of that. The school's lead trumpet player was in the middle of a solo. A dexterous player who could hit the high notes, he sounded like a professional. 'Watch, the director's going to wave off the backgrounds here,' Mr. Marsalis said, using some colorful language to say the soloist had not gotten to his good stuff yet. The director then made a small gesture to the rest of his band, telling them to wait to let the solo develop. It was a chart that Mr. Marsalis had surely heard live hundreds of times, but each time it is full of small decisions like these, making it a new experience. It has been nearly a century since Duke Ellington's orchestra became the house band at the Cotton Club on 142nd Street. Even there, where Ellington and his group of Black musicians played in front of all-white audiences, patrons were expected to be active listeners. Ellington is quoted in the book 'Duke Ellington's America' as saying the club 'demanded absolutely silence' during performances, and that anybody making noise would quickly be ushered out the door. Ellington knew his work had a signature. He wrote with particular members of his orchestra, like the saxophonist Johnny Hodges or the trumpeter Cootie Williams, in mind, and he believed that nobody else could sound like them, no matter how hard they tried. Still, at Essentially Ellington, an annual high school big-band festival organized by Jazz at Lincoln Center and held over the weekend, teenagers from all over the world tried their hardest to channel those musicians anyway. This year, in honor of the 30th anniversary of the festival, 30 big bands of the 127 that sent in application tapes came to New York to compete for top honors, up from the usual 15. The finalists included 27 American groups and bands from Australia, Japan and Spain. Each group selected three songs to perform from the Essentially Ellington library. The top 10 finishers advanced to a second and final, competitive round. The top three then played an exhibition concert — at the opera house instead of at Jazz at Lincoln Center's Rose Room, since the additional capacity was needed — before a winner was announced. But the event's vibe, while exacting, does not feel like something out of the movie 'Whiplash' — at least not anymore. Years ago, organizers felt the competition was getting too cutthroat, and looked to soften its edges. Now, students perform, but also jam with kids from other schools, attend clinics with professionals, and have meals where they're seated not by school, but by the instrument they play. In the hallways, members of different schools spontaneously burst into song together. 'It's like the top arts festival,' said Julius Tolentino, the jazz director at Newark Academy in Livingston, N.J., whose band won the competition in 2024. 'There's nothing that compares to this. They roll out the red carpet for the students. It's changed the way band directors all over the world deal with jazz music.' The organization's work isn't limited to the contest. It runs an annual training program for band directors and sends out professional musicians, often members of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, to help guide bands that qualify for the finals. The festival also doubles as a tool for the creation of a big band canon. For 30 years, the Jazz at Lincoln Center team has created sheet music for pieces by Ellington and some of his contemporaries, like Gillespie or Count Basie or Benny Carter, and has sent it out to schools interested in competing, for free. That process is not always simple, and often involves digging through the archives at the Smithsonian to look at existing, handwritten scores and transcribing from recordings. 'There's a philosophy that jazz is a methodology, not an art form that has a canon,' said Todd Stoll, the vice president of education at Jazz at Lincoln Center. 'The historical viewpoint of this music was, I won't say ignored, but it wasn't something that there was much focus on at the university level. I went all the way through a master's degree at a major conservatory. I never played a note of Duke Ellington's music.' That would be unfathomable now, in part because of the work that Jazz at Lincoln Center has done. Mr. Marsalis bristled at the idea that Ellington was not an international star before the festival existed, but Essentially Ellington, and the work that makes it possible, may do as much as anything to ensure that his work persists. For Mr. Marsalis, who has been at the center of debates about the jazz canon for decades, this could be a victory lap. But he insists on Essentially Ellington as an example of how playing old music does not need to be a backward-looking endeavor. 'We are not cynical,' he said. 'When you're establishing a new mythology, how much time do you have to attack the old mythology? Every band that auditions for a spot in New York is a part of that new mythology, an example of how the music is not a historical document, but something that is alive as long as it is being interpreted.' The experience, however, can be intimidating until you are a part of it. When Dr. Ollie Liddell, the band director at Memphis Central High School in Memphis, first saw videos on YouTube of groups that had reached the finals of the Essentially Ellington festival, over a decade ago, he thought to himself: 'We're never going to have a band that good.' Memphis Central is a public high school, and like most public school band directors, Dr. Liddell is responsible for not just the jazz band, but the marching band and concert ensembles, too. He has to handle fund-raising and convince clinicians to come in and work with his band. None of his jazz students receive private instruction, save one, who receives lessons from a Memphis Central alumnus over Zoom. Essentially Ellington can't always be top of mind. That's not the case for many of the groups that make it to New York, with arts magnet schools and private academies offering instrument-specific instructors, and a number of students taking private lessons as well. But even without those luxuries, a resourceful director and passionate kids can still compete. The proof? Memphis Central took first place at this year's competition. It is a cliché to say that jazz is an interactive music, a conversation. But those conversations aren't confined to the stage. On Saturday, during its final performance for the judges, Memphis Central took the stage and the sound of Ellington's 'Rockabye River' came all at once. The rumble of the drum set's low tom. The shout of the horns. The growling trumpet soloist punctuating each of the written phrases. The work was brought to life and made new. A crowd filled with competitors and rivals sat with wide eyes and open mouths, with some yelping their approval. None of them, clearly, were cynical.
Forbes
30-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Dave Chappelle To Host Tonight's Jazz At Lincoln Center Annual Gala
Jazz at Lincoln Center's 2025 gala tonight will celebrate the music of Duke Ellington and be hosted by Dave Chappelle. NAPA, CALIFORNIA - JULY 29: Dave Chappelle speaks on the Black Radio stage at the Blue Note Jazz Festival at Silverado Resort and Spa on July 29, 2023 in Napa, California. (Photo by) Getty Images Tickets to the gala—which will include a concert, dinner, dancing and an after-party at Dizzy's Club—are still available. The concert also is being streamed at Jazz Live. Chappelle, an alumnus of Washington, D.C.'s Duke Ellington School of the Arts, has a long connection to this music, Jazz at Lincoln Center said. It called him 'a jazz fan who cites Thelonious Monk as one of his favorite musicians,' It also said he 'is an amateur jazz pianist (who) has appeared at jazz festivals and clubs throughout the years.' Mercedes Ellington, Duke's granddaughter, is the gala's honorary co-chair. Performing at the concert, 'Duke at 125,' will be Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis; members of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater; drummer Jeff Hamilton; flautist Baqir Abbas; vocalist Kate Kortum; alumni of Jazz at Lincoln Center's signature education program, Essentially Ellington; plus rising stars in its youth programs. Awards also will be bestowed at the gala. The 2025 Ed Bradley Award for Leadership in Jazz will be awarded to H. E. Huda Alkhamis-Kanoo, founder of Abu Dhabi Music & Arts Foundation and founder and artistic director of Abu Dhabi Festival. The 2025 Artistic Achievement Award will be awarded to Toshiko Akiyoshi, pianist and jazz composer New this year will be international awards honoring individuals who have built organizations that have had a great impact on their jazz communities. The inaugural recipients will be Greg Quigley of the Jazz Music Institute (JMI) in Brisbane, Australia; and Maribel Torre and Eugenio Elias of De Quinta Producciones in Mexico City, Mexico. Quigly's award will be presented by JLCO trombonist and Jazz Houston founder Vincent Gardner, while Torre and Elias' award will be presented by by JLCO saxophonist Alexa Tarantino and bassist Russell Hall. According to Jazz at Lincoln Center, In 1996, 'Quigley founded JMI, a private higher education provider based in Brisbane, Australia that delivers a range of courses in jazz performance, and also hosts Essentially Ellington Down Under. It also said Maribel Torre and Eugenio Elias of De Quinta Producciones in Mexico City, Mexico have been dedicated jazz presenters for many years. For over a decade, they have hosted the JALC-curated New York Jazz All Stars series and bring nine bands to tour the country each year. In addition to producing visiting artists' performances, De Quinta Producciones's work offers educational programs and master classes that impact thousands of students while engaging new audiences.' Chappelle, it added, 'is the 2019 recipient of the Kennedy Center's Mark Twain Prize for American Humor and the 2025 NAACP President's Award. Chappelle's work in television and film includes his groundbreaking sketch comedy series "Chappelle's Show," which became the best-selling TV show in DVD history, multiple Netflix comedy specials, and memorable guest appearances on "Saturday Night Live." He has earned five Emmy Awards, including three for his Netflix specials and two for hosting "Saturday Night Live" (2017, 2021), where his most recent 17-minute monologue stands as the longest in the show's 50-year history. Chappelle has won six Grammy Awards for Best Comedy Album, including his most recent for "The Dreamer" (2025).' . .
Chicago Tribune
25-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Chicago Tribune
DuPage youth jazz ensemble to compete at Lincoln Center in New York
The Youth Jazz Ensemble of DuPage will participate in the 2025 Essentially Ellington Competition & Festival for high school bands, May 7-11, at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York. This is the fourth time that the ensemble has been chosen for this highly competitive event. Typically 15 bands are chosen from across the country, but this year, in celebration of the 30th anniversary, 30 bands were selected including three from Australia, Japan and Spain. 'In our third year, in 2001, we went to the Essentially Ellington Festival,' said Director Robert Blazek, who founded the ensemble. The group came in fourth out of the 15 competing bands. They were also selected for the festival in 2008 and 2024. There are 25 regular performers in the ensemble and four alternates representing 12 high schools in DuPage County. They are chosen by audition. In order to become one of the 15 finalists in the Essentially Ellington competition, the bands have to record three pieces from the Essentially Ellington library. 'One piece has to be from a new release this year,' Blazek said. The Youth Jazz Ensemble of DuPage submitted recordings of Duke Ellington's 'What am I Here for?' which is the new selection, 'Movin' Uptown' by Benny Carter, and 'Happy Go Lucky Locol' by Ellington. Blazek cited the benefits the young musicians get from performing in the festival. 'Yes, it's a competition, but the support that all the kids get from one another is astronomical,' he said. 'When you're on stage and you do a great solo, the other students are all going crazy for you. And they network with each other.' During the festival, Blazek said they will switch out 'What am I Here for?' and replace it with Ellington's 'The Opener.' Drummer Ryan Weaver, 18, a senior at Oswego High School, participated in last year's festival and said he is looking forward to his second time. 'I started on classical percussion when I was around 6, but I was also taking drum set lessons at 6,' Weaver said. 'I'm mainly sticking to my jazz drum set now.' He said he joined the Youth Jazz Ensemble of DuPage because he knew it was made up of all-star musicians. 'I wanted to be immersed in that community so that I could be with other musicians who were better than me so I could become better,' he said. Weaver called the chance to perform 'a surreal experience.' He also praised the opportunity to connect with musicians from across the country who share his passion for music, and said he remains in touch of some of them. Weaver said this year he is interested in connecting with musicians from Australia, Japan, and Spain. 'Music is the universal language,' he said, noting he looks forward to 'being able to communicate with each other through the music.' Weaver plans to pursue jazz studies in college but hasn't yet confirmed what school he will attend. While Blazek's group is in New York, they will have time to see a production of the musical 'Hadestown' and visit two jazz clubs, Birdland and Dizzy's Club. The celebration in honor of the band's acceptance at Essentially Ellington will start early with a sendoff concert, featuring guest saxophonist John Wojciechowski, at 4 p.m. on May 4 at Shepherd of the Prairie Lutheran Church, 10805 Main St., Huntley. 'John's a great saxophonist, he's a high school band director and he does a lot of outside playing at jazz clubs around the city,' Blazek said. 'I think he's going to bring a neat perspective.' 'They could have asked a lot of different musicians to come and be a part of that concert,' Wojciechowski said. 'I'm honored that Rob invited me to come and do that.' Wojciechowski praised the Youth Jazz Ensemble of DuPage. 'They're an outstanding group. We're talking about some of the best young musicians in the western suburbs,' he said. 'The fact that they were invited to go to New York to participate in their Ellington Festival speaks volumes because a lot of bands try to do that and very few get invited.' At the sendoff concert, Wojciechowski will join the band in performing Bill Holman's arrangement of 'Out of Nowhere,' John Coltrane's 'Central Park West,' and an arrangement of Stevie Wonder's 'Overjoyed.' For more information, go to
