The Sousa Archives and Center for American Music in collaboration with the UNESCO Center for Global Citizenship, The Conservatory of Central Illinois, and the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts is sponsoring our third International Jazz Day celebration on April 26, 2016. From 5:30-6:45pm the Jazz without Borders: New York, Paris, Havana, Rio program will offer film clips and commentary, accompanied by live musical demonstrations of both gypsy and Latin jazz techniques at Champaign, Illinois’ Art Theater, followed by an after-party performance by Samba Soul at the Esquire Lounge.
The evening’s events will begin with performance footage of legendary gypsy jazz musicians Django Reinhardt and Stéphane Grappelli, accompanied by commentary from noted music educators Sam Reese and Jo Ellen DeVilbiss. To highlight characteristics of le jazz hot, they’ll be joined by Dorothy Martirano and members of her Almost “A” Quintet—guitarist Chris Beyt, keyboardist Sam Gingher, bassist Armand Beaudoin and percussionist Ricardo Flores. From Paris of the 1930s the evening will then move to clips from Chico & Rita, an animated film about the evolution of Afro-Cuban jazz as musicians migrated from Havana to New York. Reese and Flores will discuss and demonstrate the rhythmic underpinnings of Latin jazz created by such figures as Chano Pozo and Dizzy Gillespie, and will follow with an excerpt from the documentary Calle 54 which highlights Tito Puente’s “Cubop” performance style. Local jazz enthusiast John Bennett will conclude the evening’s jazz film screening with a viewing of a special filmed tribute performance of Antonio Carlos Jobim’s “Girl from Ipanema” which provides a glimpse of how bossa nova took the U.S. by storm during the 1950s and 60s.
The film screening and after-party performance are free and open the general public. We hope you can join us for another evening of great music, delightful films, and thoughtful discussion about jazz around the world as part of this year’s International Jazz Day celebration. For more information please call 217-333-4577 or email sousa@illinois.edu.