Program Features Dee Dee Bridgewater, Dame Cleo Laine, John Dankworth, Kevin Mahogany, Janis Siegel, Denzal Sinclaire And All-Star Jazz Orchestra With Musical Direction By Patrice Rushen
KKJZ'S JAZZ AT THE BOWL
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 13 AT 8 PM
A Lexus Passionate Performance
Media Sponsor: KSURF 1260 AM
Some of jazz's most talented musicians bring Ella Fitzgerald's spirit back to life at the Hollywood Bowl on August 13 at 8 p.m. Ella Fitzgerald, known as the First Lady of Song, gave her final Bowl performance in 1992, touching thousands of people with her legendary smooth notes and perfect pitch. Her influence on jazz is evidenced in her contemporaries and followers alike, and this evening jazz's best musicians join forces to celebrate Ella's inspiration and spirit. With 12 Grammy Awards between them, special guests Dee Dee Bridewater, Dame Cleo Laine & John Dankworth, Kevin Mahogany, Janis Siegel, Denzal Sinclaire, and All-Star Jazz Orchestra and Patrice Rushen bring their own extraordinary talents to the program while giving a memorable tribute to the woman who will always be remembered as the lady who personified jazz.
DEE DEE BRIDGEWATER made her New York debut in 1970 with the famed Thad Jones/Mel Lewis jazz orchestra and also performed with such giants as Sonny Rollins, Dizzy Gillespie, and Dexter Gordon. In 1974 she jumped at the chance to act and sing on Broadway and won a Tony award for her role as Glinda the good witch in The Wiz. She has since won two Grammy awards and France's top Victoire de la Musique Award. Named ambassador to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization in October 1999, she also recently took over the reins of National Public Radio's "JazzSet." She last performed at the Bowl in 1999.
Recording partners and husband and wife, DAME CLEO LAINE & JOHN DANKWORTH are a combined creative force in jazz. Laine's multi-octave voice and extraordinary scatting skills found an ideal home in the big band led by John Dankworth. With John as her accompanist on alto sax, Laine's began her solo career in 1964, with a new release every few years, including three concert albums recorded at Carnegie Hall. Also a stage actress and an opera singer, Laine became the first British artist to win the Best Female Jazz Vocalist Grammy award in 1983. Not her only first: Cleo Laine is the first jazz artist to receive the most esteemed title in the performing arts: Dame Commander. Cleo and John were last at the Bowl in 2000.
The quintessential jazz vocalist KEVIN MAHOGANY played clarinet, baritone sax and piano before he discovered a love of singing. With a voice reminiscent of the late Joe Williams, Mahogany was raised on the sound of Memphis, Motown and the hometown sounds of Kansas City and has since established himself as an innovative jazz vocalist "one of the first truly gifted male vocalists to emerge in years." He has recorded many albums, including his latest, Pride & Joy on the Telarc label. Kevin Mahogany last performed at the Bowl in 1999.
After 30 years with Manhattan Transfer and nine Grammys, JANIS SIEGEL is an unmistakable, multi-genre vocalist. She started singing as a "Greenwich Village folkie" and also studied nursing in college. It wasn't until she met Tim Hauser, the founder of Manhattan Transfer, that she abandoned her guitar and became the group's most recognizable trademark. Since then she's also recorded six solo albums, the most recent of which is Friday Night Special. Siegel last performed at the Bowl in 1996 with Manhattan Transfer.
Emerging jazz vocalist DENZAL SINCLAIRE has already become Canada's most popular male jazz voice. His third album, I Found Love (Emarcy), was released last year to strong sales and favorable reviews. Jazz standards and pop classics are Sinclaire's focus, showcasing his excellent timing and smooth tenor style. He has performed several high profile international jazz festivals, performed with symphony orchestras, and starred in his own television special on Bravo! A featured vocalist for the Count Basie Orchestra, Denzal shows great respect for jazz legends that came before, including his recent co-production stint on a Nat King Cole tribute. This is Denzal Sinclaire's Bowl debut.
Multi-Grammy nominated pianist and composer PATRICE RUSHEN is one of the industry's most versatile artists. Known for her 1982 hit "Forget Me Nots," she is a highly respected composer and musical director for number major TV shows and still receives some 30 requests weekly to use her music for samples with artists such as Mary J. Blige, Zhane, George Michael and R. Kelly and most notably for the smash hit "Men In Black" which Will Smith recorded for the movie. Her compositions for TV movies, series, and film include Men In Black, Waiting To Exhale, and Indecent Proposal, among others. A talented jazz pianist Rushen has performed with such artists as Herbie Hancock, Lionel Hampton, Nancy Wilson, Joshua Redman, and others.
EDITORS PLEASE NOTE:
Wednesday, August 13, 8 PM
KKJZ'S Jazz at the Bowl
HOLLYWOOD BOWL (2301 N. Highland Ave. in Hollywood)
TO ELLA WITH LOVE
DEE DEE BRIDGEWATER
DAME CLEO LAINE & JOHN DANKWORTH
KEVIN MAHOGANY
JANIS SIEGEL
DENZAL SINCLAIRE
ALL-STAR JAZZ ORCHESTRA
PATRICE RUSHEN, musical director
A Lexus Passionate Performance
Media Sponsor: KSURF 1260 AM
Tickets ($1 - $73) are on sale now at the Hollywood Bowl box office, by calling Ticketmaster at 213.480.3232, at all Ticketmaster outlets (Robinsons May, Tower Records and Ritmo Latino locations), or online at hollywoodbowl.com. Groups of 12 or more may be eligible for a 20% discount, subject to availability; call 323.850.2050 for further details. For general information or to request a brochure,
call .
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Elizabeth Hinckley, 213.972.3034; Ryan Jimenez, 213.972.3405; for photos - Beth Norber, 213.972.3409