This week, the Jazz Arts Group's Jazz in Schools program welcomes acclaimed trombonist and composer Wycliffe Gordon back to Columbus for a two-day in-school residency, punctuated by an on-field appearance with the East High School Mighty Marching Tiger Band to premiere “East High Pride" on Friday, October 22.
Mr. Gordon will be joining the band on East High's Senior Night as they present their legacy piece, written by Gordon, for the community of the King-Lincoln District. He will also conduct a clinic at Monroe Middle School; a talk at Champion Middle School; and a master class and follow-up consultation with students at the Fort Hayes Metropolitan Education Center as part of his ongoing work with the Beyond the Blackberry Patch project.
Gordon has been commissioned by the Jazz Arts Group to create a 90-minute piece of music for ten musicians to tell the story of the King-Lincoln District. Eight Columbus City Schools in the district were invited to participate by helping Mr. Gordon with his research. Their study of their own neighborhood, its past, present, and future, has resulted in the working title for the piece—Beyond the Blackberry Patch.
The project is managed by Jazz Arts Group's director of Jazz in Schools Judy Shafer. Designed in three stages, the process is being followed by governmental and business community members, the school community, and the arts community. The stages include: research and composition; presentation; and documentation. Mr. Gordon has interacted with eighty teachers at the Jazz Academy and has visited six of the eight schools involved to interact with their students. Much of the research on the past and present periods has been completed and during school year 2010-2011 the focus is on the future. The presentation will take place in early March 2012 at the newly restored Lincoln Theatre, the centerpiece of the district.
Beyond the Blackberry Patch is a collaborative project between the Jazz Arts Group's Jazz in Schools program and the Columbus City Schools, with financial support from The Smoot Group.
About Wycliffe Gordon:
Wycliffe Gordon enjoys an extraordinary career as a performer, conductor, composer, arranger, and educator, receiving high praise from audiences and critics alike. He received the Jazz Journalists Association 2008, 2007, 2006, 2002 and 2001 Award for Trombonist of the Year, and the Jazz Journalists Association 2000 Critics Choice Award for Best Trombone. In addition to a thriving solo career, he tours regularly leading the Wycliffe Gordon Quartet, headlining at legendary jazz venues throughout the world. Gordon's musical prowess has been captured on numerous recordings, including fifteen solo CDs and seven co-leader CDs.
About the Jazz Arts Group:
The Jazz Arts Group of Columbus (JAG) is America's oldest not-for-profit arts organization dedicated to producing, performing and promoting jazz. JAG is the third largest performing arts organization in Columbus and consists of four focus areas: the Columbus Jazz Orchestra (CJO), one of the world's finest professional jazz orchestras; the Jazz Academy, JAG's extensive instructional programs educating both students and adults about jazz and American music; Inside Track, a new jazz and blues performance series produced at the historic Lincoln Theatre; and Affiliate Musicians, a program providing employment opportunities for professional musicians.
Mr. Gordon will be joining the band on East High's Senior Night as they present their legacy piece, written by Gordon, for the community of the King-Lincoln District. He will also conduct a clinic at Monroe Middle School; a talk at Champion Middle School; and a master class and follow-up consultation with students at the Fort Hayes Metropolitan Education Center as part of his ongoing work with the Beyond the Blackberry Patch project.
Gordon has been commissioned by the Jazz Arts Group to create a 90-minute piece of music for ten musicians to tell the story of the King-Lincoln District. Eight Columbus City Schools in the district were invited to participate by helping Mr. Gordon with his research. Their study of their own neighborhood, its past, present, and future, has resulted in the working title for the piece—Beyond the Blackberry Patch.
The project is managed by Jazz Arts Group's director of Jazz in Schools Judy Shafer. Designed in three stages, the process is being followed by governmental and business community members, the school community, and the arts community. The stages include: research and composition; presentation; and documentation. Mr. Gordon has interacted with eighty teachers at the Jazz Academy and has visited six of the eight schools involved to interact with their students. Much of the research on the past and present periods has been completed and during school year 2010-2011 the focus is on the future. The presentation will take place in early March 2012 at the newly restored Lincoln Theatre, the centerpiece of the district.
Beyond the Blackberry Patch is a collaborative project between the Jazz Arts Group's Jazz in Schools program and the Columbus City Schools, with financial support from The Smoot Group.
About Wycliffe Gordon:
Wycliffe Gordon enjoys an extraordinary career as a performer, conductor, composer, arranger, and educator, receiving high praise from audiences and critics alike. He received the Jazz Journalists Association 2008, 2007, 2006, 2002 and 2001 Award for Trombonist of the Year, and the Jazz Journalists Association 2000 Critics Choice Award for Best Trombone. In addition to a thriving solo career, he tours regularly leading the Wycliffe Gordon Quartet, headlining at legendary jazz venues throughout the world. Gordon's musical prowess has been captured on numerous recordings, including fifteen solo CDs and seven co-leader CDs.
About the Jazz Arts Group:
The Jazz Arts Group of Columbus (JAG) is America's oldest not-for-profit arts organization dedicated to producing, performing and promoting jazz. JAG is the third largest performing arts organization in Columbus and consists of four focus areas: the Columbus Jazz Orchestra (CJO), one of the world's finest professional jazz orchestras; the Jazz Academy, JAG's extensive instructional programs educating both students and adults about jazz and American music; Inside Track, a new jazz and blues performance series produced at the historic Lincoln Theatre; and Affiliate Musicians, a program providing employment opportunities for professional musicians.
