Wynton Wynton Wynton at Symphony Center! Jan. 22 & 23, 2016

Wynton Marsalis and his world renowned Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra are in residence this weekend at Symphony Center.  They'll perform three concerts, including a Jazz for Young People concert on Saturday Jan. 23 at 1 pm called "Who Is Duke Ellington?"  We caught last year's concert about Dave Brubeck, and I am sure that this will be equally amazing.  Wynton Marsalis is half jazz genius, half musical shaman, and his passion, humor, and desire to educate are so evident in his repartee with the audience.

The other two concerts look to be especially awesome, especially the Saturday Night classic "Battle of the Bands" between Marsalis and his troupe playing Ellington, and the Count Basie orchestra playing (guess who?) Count Basie!

If you like jazz and/or want your kids to like jazz, these are don't-miss concerts (especially the Jazz for Young People concert)

THE THREE CONCERTS

The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra.  Photo by Frank Stewart.

Jazz in the Key of Life (Jan. 22, 8 p.m.),Created by longtime JLCO member and trombonist Vincent Gardner.  Gardner’s inspiration and set list comes from iconic pop music of the 1970’s including selections by Stevie Wonder, The Beatles, Donny Hathaway and more.  

Wynton Marsalis.
photo by Todd Rosenberg.

Jazz for Young People,®: Who Is Duke Ellington? (Jan. 23, 1 p.m.)Celebrating the American composer, pianist and bandleader Duke Ellington, this program highlights his unique contributions to jazz including the landmark tune “It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing). ” There will be a 30 minute Q&A led by Wynton Marsalis, immediately following the performance. 

Battle Royale Also Featuring the Legendary Count Basie Orchestra led by
Scotty Barnhart (Jan. 23, 8 p.m.)This raucous and joyous celebration of big band traditions will include the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra performing Duke Ellington/Billy Strayhorn classics and the Count Basie Orchestra, which celebrates its 80th anniversary in 2015, performing signature Basie standards.

HOW TO GET TICKETS
Tickets for all SCP Jazz series concerts can be purchased by phone at 800-223-7114 or 312-294-3000; online at cso.org, or at the Symphony Center box office: 220 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago, IL 60604.

Busy weekend for children's theatre in Chicago!

This weekend my wife is away, which turns out to be the perfect timing-- that means that my son and I can go to some children's theatre without feeling bad about not including her.

She doesn't always come on our adventures to the theatre-- not that she doesn't like theatre, just that I often get invited with two tickets, not three, and she's usually busy with other stuff.  And she prefers Broadway style musicals, which most children's theatre is decidedly not. (And that's a good thing!)

Speaking of adventures, tonight we are attending the Chicago Children's Theatre opening night of the Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane.

 It's based on the best-selling kid's book, which was written by Newberry award winner Kate DiCamillo. Ms. DiCamillo also wrote Tales of Desperaux and the book Because of Winn-Dixie.

The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane is the story of a very dapper china rabbit named Edward Tulane who gets lost at sea, bounces from person to person and decade to decade until the audience is shown a true miracle, and Edward discovers the transformative power of love.  And of course, along the way, this porcelain rabbit has plenty of adventures and intrigue.

To find out more about the story, check out http://www.edwardtulane.com/.  It has some great video excerpts talking with the author and the illustrator about the process of writing the book.  It also has a great Teacher's guide to the book, which will be useful in talking to students about the show.

See this book on Amazon

The show is playing at the Ruth Page Center for the Arts in the Gold Coast 1016 N. Dearborn Street, and will run through November 15. To find out more about the show, and to purchase tickets, visit the Chicago Children's Theatre event page.

Explore Magic Treehouse
 books on Amazon.

On Sunday, we are going to attend another kid's theatre show, also based on a book.  We are attending the Emerald City Theatre production of  The Magic Treehouse:  A Night In New Orleans.

As you probably know, the Magic TreeHouse is a series of books by Mary Pope Osborne.  The series features a brother and sister (Jack and Annie) who discover a (surprise) Magic TreeHouse.  The treehouse is  filled with magic books, and the books take the pair on a number of adventures through time, space, and literature.  Throughout the series they've visited dinosaurs, Camelot, ancient Egypt, outer space, and to a bunch of other places as well. There are over 50 Magic Treehouse books, and many of them have fact checking companion books that present the stories and places of the book in a non-fictional context.

This musical play is based on the book A Good Night For Ghosts.

Louis Armstrong plays some music for Jack and Annie.

 In it, the treehouse brings the brother and sister adventurers to 1915 New Orleans, where they hear jazz music, get on a steamboat, eat jambalaya, and help a very young Louis Armstrong on his way to become the King of Jazz.  There's plenty of ragtime music, lots of dancing, and a great amount of learning and fun.

This show is aimed at kids ages 5-13, and is being presented through January 2 at the Apollo Theatre, 2540 North Lincoln Ave in Lakeview.

To find out more about the show and to buy tickets, visit the show page.

I should also mention that Emerald City has two shows for younger kids also in rotation.
Dragons Love Tacos (for ages 3-8) at the Apollo Theatre, and Three Little Kittens (for ages 0-5) playing at the Little Theatre on Southport.

EARWORM: Keith Munslow Tiny Destroyer

I need to warn you in advance that I am prejudiced towards Keith Munslow.  I have been listening to him play for nearly 25 years, in a ton of different musical incarnations, and I've loved all of it.  So if you are looking for an unbiased review, you should look elsewhere.  My opinion of his work is biased by experience and knowledge.

I first met Keith in 1989.  I was stage managing a vaudeville festival in Maine, and Big Nazo Puppets was playing the festival, and the closing night party was a fundraiser being held in a giant mansion.  Keith was playing piano for the puppets, and we all ended up at 3 am playing ping pong and eating pizza in the attic of this huge house.

A couple of year's later, I was performing with Big Nazo, and spending time with Keith in rehearsal, in performance, and then at very late night diners, eating breakfast at 3 am and trading stories about gigs.  Keith also taught me what a jazz monster Fred Rogers was.

I have also enjoyed Keith's work as a composer for the Perishable Theatre's original musicals that toured around the state; his work with the Neo 90's Dance Band, the house band for AS-220; his barrel-house blues bands The Smoking Jackets (and later the Superchief Trio);  and a variety of other gigs, bands, and other musical configurations and conflagrations.   And Keith is also an excellent visual artist.

When I was the director of Bright Night Providence, I hired Keith nearly every year to perform, both his kid's performances, and his blues band.  He's that good.

So without even listening to his new cd  Tiny Destroyer, I can tell you with confidence that it's really good and you should get it.

After listening to it, I think you should run out and get it right away.  I will wait.

Keith's work over the years has matured, and his abilities to blend the comic and the sweet have deepened with time.  I think it's a combination of practice and good mentoring (Keith has played and worked with Bill Harley for a number of years, and you can hear Bill's influence in Keith's storytelling.)

Luc and Keith (photo from Providence Journal article)

I also think that Keith's work has benefited from the arrival of his own Tiny Destroyer, 2-year-old Luc (or Prince Luc if you are so inclined)  Keith's work has always been funny and original, but I think Luc has changed his understanding of kids (and parents) in a way that makes most of his funny songs hit home a little harder, and his more soulful songs have a little something something.

My favorite song on the album is probably "Dad Is Takin' A Nap"  (click to hear a sample) which lays down a funk groove while warning kids not to wake the big man, and that perhaps they should consider practicing their mime routines.  It's got Munslow's blues feeling, with some funk and rap thrown in for good measure, and it's a song that will leave you humming it for months.  I also really like "Coffee Breath" which exposes a major flaw in java-juicing adults.  And also "Intelligent Clam" which tells the story of a marvelous mollusk.  And the title song "Tiny Destroyer" an anthem to the destructive power of toddlers.

Basically I like all the songs, and I think you will too. (But I'm biased by experience.)

Here's where you can get the CD on Amazon.

EARWORM: How Great Can This Day Be? by Lori Henriques

Lori Henriques is a Portland based singer whose music I just love. I hear a lot of it on Kid's Place Live, and everytime it comes on I smile.  Soon I'm tapping the steering wheel.  She's very catchy!

Listen to this NPR review for a great overview of her latest album :

http://www.npr.org/2014/12/18/371721047/music-review-lori-henriques-how-great-can-this-day-be


She's got a cabaret/blues/jazz feel, with very smart and clever lyrics, an amazing voice, and real music chops.  She was classically trained, and it shows.

 I especially love the song "How Great Can This Day Be?" which gives you a great question to ask yourself every morning, and "Vocabulary" (from a previous album) which encourages the listener to collect large words as a hobby instead of stamps, or record albums.


Speaking of which, click on any of these albums, and you could soon be collecting Lori Henriques songs, which would not be a bad thing at all.



Watch the video of "How Great Can This Day Be?"