Jazz Heats Up Winter

EVANSTON --- An admission-free United States Marine Corps All-Star Jazz Band concert featuring jazz clarinetist and saxophonist Victor Goines, and ticketed performances by legendary bassist Rufus Reid -- on stage with the Northwestern University Jazz Orchestra -- are among the ensembles and top artists who will add sizzle to Evanston’s icy lakeshore this winter. A program by student jazz combos celebrating Wayne Shorter’s works as well as two jazz master classes, including one led by Reid, are also scheduled.

The diverse jazz programs will feature swing era standards as well as original compositions and will be presented by Northwestern’s Henry and Leigh Bienen School of Music.

All of the following events are open to the public and will be held on the University’s Evanston campus at Pick-Staiger Concert Hall, 50 Arts Circle Drive; Regenstein Recital Hall, 60 Arts Circle Drive; or Lutkin Hall, 700 University Place, as noted.

• United States Marine Corps All-Star Jazz Band, 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 25, in Pick-Staiger Concert Hall. The 18-member jazz band is drawn from 10 different Marine Band programs throughout the world. The band members unite once every year for a concert tour, and this year marks their first Chicago-area performances. In this concert of jazz standards, the band will be joined by clarinetist and saxophonist Victor Goines, director of the Bienen School’s jazz studies program. Admission is free. Call (847) 467-4000 or visit the Pick-Staiger Ticket Office to receive free, general admission tickets. Tickets will also be available at the door on the night of the concert. (To view a YouTube video of the band performing a jazz rendition of the Marines’ Hymn, visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QgZepUk-BJA.)

• United States Marine Corps All-Star Jazz Band Workshop, 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 25, Regenstein Recital Hall. Members of the U.S. Marine Corps’ “big band” will lead a master class for the Bienen School’s jazz studies program. Admission is free.

• Bienen School small jazz ensembles, “Speak No Evil -- The Music of Wayne Shorter” at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 1, in Regenstein Recital Hall. Conducted by Victor Goines, the program will feature the music of multi-talented Wayne Shorter performed by jazz combos. Shorter, a multi-Grammy Award winner, both for his complex compositions and solo recordings, has been credited with expanding the canon of modern jazz standards with his works, which have inspired neo-bop artists, including world-renowned saxophonist Branford Marsalis. Tickets are $6 for the general public and $4 for students with valid IDs.

• Northwestern University Jazz Orchestra, “An Evening with Rufus Reid,” 7:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 6, at Pick-Staiger Concert Hall. Guest artist Rufus Reid is one of the international jazz scene’s top bassists. Directed by Victor Goines, the concert will feature Reid’s renowned compositions. A Northwestern alumnus, Reid has been honored with the Charlie Parker Jazz Composition Award, a Guggenheim Fellowship and the International Society of Bassists’ Distinguished Achievement Award. The recipient of numerous commissions, Reid has composed music for an array of ensembles and has performed and recorded with jazz legends Thad Jones, Mel Lewis, Bill Evans, Stan Getz and Dizzy Gillespie. Tickets are $6 for the general public and $4 for students with valid IDs.

• Rufus Reid Master Class, 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 7, in Lutkin Hall. Reid will lead a master class on jazz performance and techniques for bassists and other students from the Bienen School’s jazz studies program. Admission is free.

• Small Jazz Ensembles, “Penmanship 402 -- Student Originals,” 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 7, in Regenstein Recital Hall. Bienen School faculty member Victor Goines will conduct a program of original compositions by students in the Bienen School’s jazz studies program performed by small jazz combos. Tickets are $6 for the general public and $4 for students with valid IDs.

For more information, call the Pick-Staiger Concert Office at (847) 491-5441 or visit Pick-Staiger at www.pickstaiger.org. To order single tickets by phone, call the Pick-Staiger Ticket Office at (847) 467-4000 or visit www.pickstaiger.org