Special Guest Jazz Vocalist Lizz Wright to Perform with Quartet and with Basie Orchestra
April 14, 2005
Lizz Wright
Tickets for The Count Basie Orchestra with special guest vocalist Lizz Wright are $29, $45, $58, $63 and $70 and can be purchased by calling 215-893-1999, or online at www.kimmelcenter.org.
William “Count” Basie, a New Jersey native who landed in Kansas City while working the vaudeville circuit in the 1920s, took the nickname “The Count” shortly after taking over the reigns of The Benny Moten Orchestra. When Basie’s new band headlined for the first time in 1936, The Count Basie Orchestra name stuck, and has since been synonymous with its own distinctive swinging sound. The band triumphed with successful international tours through decades of war, economic lull and other hardships, and continued playing with Basie’s handpicked musicians even through his death in 1984. Though some of the group’s members are new, The Count Basie Orchestra still continues to produce the same quality of music that has earned them 17 Grammy Awards, numerous Downbeat Critic’s Poll awards, and the opportunity to perform for three Presidents of the United States and Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, among others.
A 52-year veteran of The Count Basie Orchestra, bandleader Bill Hughes once played tenor trombone under the direction of The Count, traveling the world with the band during the time that Basie recorded some of his most well known hits. Hughes has been part of 15 of the ensemble’s Grammy-winning recordings, and has also played with musical legends such as Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Nat King Cole, Ella Fitzgerald, and Rosemary Clooney. Hughes has also appeared in two Royal Command performances with the band, and in two films with The Count. He is the band’s fourth conductor since Basie’s death, and is the one the other members turn to in finding a way to keep the band true to the Basie legacy. He also served as a consultant for The Count Basie Theater in Red Bank, N.J.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel described a Count Basie Orchestra performance as “spine-tingling, toe-tapping stuff” and praised the band’s “stunning dynamics…melting from nuclear blast to seductive purr within a measure.” Maine’s Portland Press Herald calls the orchestra “the top band among the elite of the big band bands.”
Lizz Wright grew up singing in Georgia church choirs, and broadened her musical horizons in both high school and college. Wright majored in music for a year before relocating to Macon and ultimately being ‘discovered’ during a jam session at Churchill Ground. As part of the band In the Spirit, she made headlines in local newspapers. But it was onstage during a Billie Holiday tribute concert at Chicago’s Orchestra Hall that Wright’s soulful renditions of some of Holiday’s biggest hits had her stealing the spotlight. After another stunning performance at the Los Angeles Holiday tribute at the Hollywood Bowl, the Los Angeles Times predicted that she would be a new jazz vocal star. Wright released a debut album to critical acclaim in 2003, and has a new album due out in June of 2005. USA Today describes Wright as a “smoky, simmering talent”, and The New York Times says that Wright has a “pitch-perfect, full-bodied voice.”
Tickets for The Count Basie Orchestra with special guest Lizz Wright at Verizon Hall on May 6 range from $29 to $70. (Additional fees may apply) Tickets can be purchased by calling 215-893-1999, online at www.kimmelcenter.org or at the Kimmel Center box office, open daily from 10am to 6pm and later on performance evenings. For group sales call 215-790-5883.
A limited number of $10 tickets are available for every Kimmel Center Presents performance at the Kimmel Center. Tickets go on sale the day of the event and can be purchased at the Kimmel Center box office beginning at 5:30pm for evening performances and 11:30am for matinees.
Sponsors of the 2004-2005 Kimmel Center Presents season include Mellon Financial Corporation, University of Pennsylvania Health System, Bank of America, Sovereign Bank, Wachovia Foundation, The American Express Company, Verizon Foundation, Bucks County Coffee, and SEPTA, the Commuter’s Choice. Special Student Matinees at the Kimmel Center are generously supported by Merck & Co. Inc. American Airlines is the Official Airline of Kimmel Center Presents. Toyota is the Official Vehicle of Kimmel Center Presents Jazz and World Pop programming. In-kind support is generously provided by Deloitte and Southern Wine and Spirit.
KIMMEL CENTER PRESENTS
Mellon Jazz Series
The Count Basie Orchestra with Special Guest Lizz Wright
Friday, May 6, 2005
8pm | Verizon Hall
Lizz Wright, vocals
John Cowherd, piano
Doug Weiss, bass
E.J. Strickland, drums
Jeff Hayes, percussion
The Count Basie Orchestra:
William H. “Bill” Hughes, conductor and trombone
Melba Joyce, vocals
Michael P. Williams, trumpet
William “Scotty” Barnhart, trumpet
Shawn C. Edmonds, trumpet
Endre Rice, trumpet
Clarence Banks, trombone
Alvin Walker, trombone
David Keim, trombone
Barry Cooper, trombone
John Kelson, alto sax
Marshall McDonald, alto sax
Doug Miller, tenor sax
Doug Lawrence, tenor sax
John Williams, baritone sax
Butch Miles, drums
James Leary, bass
Will Matthews, guitar
Tony Suggs, piano
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