Duke Ellington, Cab Calloway, Glenn Miller, Benny Goodman — These names evoke a bygone age of classic jazz and swing. Fans of those genres are in for a treat at 7:30PM on Tuesday, May 20, when the Contemporary Jazz Orchestra East (CJO East) performs a free concert in Newton City Hall’s War Memorial Auditorium, as part of this year’s Linda Plaut Festival of the Arts.
The bandleader in this case is Newton’s own Chris Pitts. Pitts is an accomplished saxophonist who has collaborated with legends such as Dizzy Gillespie and Aretha Franklin. He’s also a skilled producer and organizer who is well known for his many contributions to Newton’s cultural life, including through the Newton Piano Summit, the Newton Cultural Council, and past Linda Plaut Festivals of the Arts.
Pitts originally founded the CJO in San Francisco, where it performed regularly from 1995 to 2003. Now, with the 18-member CJO East, Pitts has assembled an extraordinary roster of internationally renowned musicians here in Massachusetts. “I’ve been waiting for a long time to get my big band back together,” says Pitts. “There is nothing like a modern, no-holds-barred big band swinging great music!”
The orchestra’s members include:
- Three faculty members at Boston’s Berklee School of Music: pianist George W. Russell and saxophonists Lihi Haruvi and Shannon LeClaire;
- Faculty from Weston’s Rivers School: saxophonist Philippe Cretien;
- Two Grammy-award winning musicians: drummer Mark Walker and trumpeter Bijon Watson;
- Three performers who are also composers: bassist Wes Wirth, trumpeter Greg Hopkins, and saxophonist Rick DiMuzio, and
- Many who are renowned for their collaborations with global luminaries in the world of jazz, and who perform frequently across New England and beyond.
The evening’s program will draw upon the talents of the group to present both dynamic arrangements and adventurous improvisation, and it is guaranteed to satisfy both existing big-band fans and listeners who are new to the music.
The concert is made possible by the support of lead sponsor the Village Bank, as well as Newton Community Pride and the City of Newton.
