Home » Jazz News » Education

322

Herbie Hancock and Dee Dee Bridgewater Join Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz on U.S. Department of State Cultural and Education Tour of China, May 7 - 16, 2010

Source:

Sign in to view read count
Highlights include performances at the Forbidden City Concert Hall and the Entertainment Hall of the Shanghai 2010 Expo

Washington, D.C.--The Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz will continue its longstanding partnership with the U.S. Department of State by presenting a 10-day jazz education and performance tour of China. This tour will mark the Institute's first visit to China and will introduce tens of thousands of young people and adults in China to jazz, America's greatest musical contribution to the world.

Internationally renowned pianist and composer Herbie Hancock and acclaimed vocalist Dee Dee Bridgewater will headline the tour. They will be accompanied by the six talented college students (Monk Fellows) who attend the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Performance graduate-level college program at Loyola University New Orleans. These students, who perform as the Thelonious Monk Institute Ensemble, receive full scholarships and regularly study and perform with the world's most accomplished jazz musicians.

The group will lead a master class for Beijing's aspiring young musicians at the National Center for the Performing Arts on Monday, May 10. They will perform at the Forbidden City Concert Hall on Tuesday evening, May 11. Additionally, the musicians will present major concerts on May 13 and 14 at the Entertainment Hall of the Shanghai 2010 Expo. These concerts are a gift from the United States to the people of China and citizens from around the world that will attend the Expo.

Institute Chairman Herbie Hancock remarked, “The Institute's tour of China represents our continued commitment to working with young musicians from all parts of the globe. Music has always served as a bridge between different cultures and no musical art form is more effective as a diplomatic tool than jazz."

The U.S. Department of State is the major sponsor of the Institute's educational tour of China. Additional support is being provided by the U.S. Embassy in Beijing. Hotel accommodations will be provided by Marriott, and air travel is provided by United Airlines, the official airline of the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz.

The China tour is the most recent in a series of international diplomatic, cultural and educational tours presented by the Institute and the U.S. Department of State since 1995. Past programs included a tour of seven African nations; India and Thailand; Chile, Argentina and Peru; Egypt; and Vietnam. The Institute has also partnered with the United Nations to perform at three annual “International Day of Philosophy" events presented by UNESCO. Most recently, in 2009 the Institute's college students accompanied Martin Luther King, III, Herbie Hancock, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Chaka Khan, Terri Lyne Carrington, George Duke, along with a Congressional Delegation lead by Congressman John Lewis and former United Nations Ambassador Andrew Young on a State Department tour of India commemorating the 50th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Coretta Scott King's historic trip to India to study Gandhi's nonviolence movement.


ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Herbie Hancock is a jazz icon and 12-time GRAMMY Award winner who has been an integral part of every jazz movement since his arrival on the scene in the '60s. The internationally renowned pianist and composer was born in Chicago and began playing piano at age 7. When he was 20 years old, Hancock was invited by Donald Byrd to join his band. Byrd later helped him secure a recording contract with Blue Note Records. Hancock's debut album, Takin' Off, included “Watermelon Man," the first of many Top 10 hits. As a member of the Miles Davis Quintet, Hancock became one of the pioneers of modern jazz improvisation. Hancock's recordings during the '70s combined electric jazz with funk and rock sounds in an innovative style that influenced a whole decade of music. In 1983, “Rockit," from the platinum-selling Future Shock album, won Hancock a GRAMMY for Best R&B Instrumental. The “Rockit" video and Hancock's performance at the GRAMMY Awards have been cited by many major hip-hop deejays as their original inspiration for pursuing their art. In 2007, Hancock's River: The Joni Letters won the GRAMMY for Album of the Year, making Hancock the first jazz musician to receive this honor in 44 years. That same year, the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz established the Herbie Hancock Humanitarian Award, with Hancock as its inaugural recipient. The award is presented each year to an individual who, like Hancock, has made extraordinary contributions for the betterment of mankind. In 2008, Hancock was named one of Time Magazine's 100 Most Influential People. He continues to be a creative force in jazz and a trailblazer in the world of music.

Dee Dee Bridgewater's exuberance, creativity, undeniable confidence, and joyous spirit have earned her a place as one of the premier vocalists in jazz. With two GRAMMY Award wins and seven nominations to her credit, the veteran vocalist continues to forge ahead on her own unique creative path. In 1969, she hit the road with the University of Illinois big band, touring throughout the Soviet Union. She later spent two years as lead vocalist for the Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Orchestra, followed by two years as Glinda the Good Witch in the Broadway production of “The Wiz," for which she received a Tony Award. Her subsequent stage portrayal of Billie Holiday in “Lady Day" won her overwhelming critical acclaim and a Laurence Olivier Award nomination for Best Actress. Bridgewater returned her focus to jazz while living in Europe. In 1984, she made a dream come true when she received Horace Silver's blessing to record an album of his music with vocals. The resulting Peace and Love received a GRAMMY nomination and brought her long overdue worldwide attention. In 1991, Bridgewater became the host of “JazzSet," NPR's award-winning radio program. Her Dear Ella recording is a loving tribute to Ella Fitzgerald for which she received a GRAMMY Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album in 1998. In 2007, she was awarded France's prestigious National Order of Arts and Letters. Bridgewater's recent release, Red Earth, is a musical journey to Mali that earned her a seventh GRAMMY nomination.

The Thelonious Monk Institute Ensemble is comprised of the students who attend the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Performance at Loyola University in New Orleans. This full-scholarship program enables the most gifted young musicians from around the world to study with the greatest living jazz masters. The current class of students at this two-year, graduate level program is a dynamic mix of six talented musicians. The class includes pianist Victor Gould from Los Angeles, California; alto saxophonist Godwin Louis from Bridgeport, Connecticut; tenor saxophonist Matt Marantz from Cedar Hill, Texas; drummer Nick Falk from Cape Elizabeth, Maine; bassist Hogyu Hwang from Seoul, South Korea; and trumpeter Billy Buss from Berkeley, California.


About the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz

The Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz is a non-profit education organization established in memory of Thelonious Monk, the legendary jazz pianist and composer. Monk was one of the primary architects of bebop and his impact as both performer and composer has had a profound influence on every genre of music. His more than 70 compositions are classics that continue to inspire artists in all disciplines. Monk believed the best way to learn jazz was from a master of the music. The Institute follows that same philosophy by bringing together the greatest living jazz musicians to teach and inspire young people, offering the most promising young musicians college level training by America's jazz masters through its fellowship program in Jazz Performance at Loyola University in New Orleans, and presenting public school-based jazz education programs around the world. Helping to fill the tremendous void in arts education left by budget cuts in public school funding, the Institute's school programs are provided free of charge and use jazz as the medium to encourage imaginative thinking, creativity, a positive self-image, and respect for one's own and others' cultural heritage. Jazz great Herbie Hancock serves as chairman.

Visit Website

Comments

Tags

News

Popular

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.