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Recent
Concert History: A Look Back from Winter 2002 to Fall 2001
Fall
2005/Spring 2006 Concerts in Review
Fall
2004/Spring 2005 Concerts in Review
Events Archive
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Sun., 12.15.02 Thirtieth Annual Christmas
Concert
The
Aardvark Jazz Orchestra presented its Thirtieth Annual Christmas Concert,
a Boston holiday tradition since 1973, on Sunday, December 15 at 7:30
PM at Boston's Arlington Street Church. This very special concert featured
a variety of music in the spirit of the season, from updated arrangements
of carols to original works to selections from Duke Ellington's Sacred
Concerts. As always, the concert benefited a worthy community organization,
this year, the Arlington Street Church Friday Night Supper Program.
To
celebrate this special anniversary, Aardvark released TWO
NEW CD RECORDINGS in conjunction with this concert, "Bethlehem
Counterpoint" featuring jazz legend SHEILA JORDAN and "Duke
Ellington/Sacred Music" featuring soloists, tap dancer,
narrator, and eighty voice choir. These NEW CDs as well as our stylish
30th SEASON T-SHIRTS will make great
holiday gifts.
Aardvark
performed its inaugural concert on December 23, 1973 at the Church of
the Covenant, Boston, as a benefit for the Chelsea Fire Fund. Ever since,
the band has held an annual Christmas concert to support a deserving
cause. Past beneficiaries have included Doctors Without Borders, Rosie's
Place, the Pine Street Inn, the Shattuck
Shelter, Youth on Fire, and On the Rise, among others.
The
musical programs have always been eclectic, ranging across several centuries
of Yuletide offerings from many countries around the globe. For the
December 15th program, selections will include "Bring a Torch,
Jeannette, Isabella" and "Silent Night" from the "Bethlehem
Counterpoint" CD and "Heaven," "The Shepherd,"
and "Freedom" from the "Duke Ellington/ Sacred Music"
CD, as well as other works.
Arlington
Street Church | corner
of Arlington and Boylston Streets (Arlington St. T Stop, Green Line)
Back Bay, Boston, MA | 7.30 PM
Tickets: $15 General Admission; $10 Seniors/Students (No Advance
Sales) | Info: 617.491.1042 | Click
here for directions.
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Sat., 09.07.02 Aardvark Goes Back
to School at Regattabar
Boston’s
acclaimed Aardvark Jazz Orchestra kicks off its 30th season when the
band returns to the Regattabar (Charles Hotel, Cambridge) on Saturday,
September 7, at 8 & 10:30 p.m., with a high-energy evening featuring
postmodern explorations of jazz music and saluting the great jazz masters,
led by trumpeter-director Mark Harvey.
Aardvark’s
previous shows at the Regattabar have sold-out, so get your tickets
now!
Click
here for additional event and ticket information.
Sat.,
Sept. 7, 8 & 10:30 pm -- Two Shows
Regattabar
| Charles Hotel | 617.876.7777 | One Bennett Street | Cambridge,
MA 02138
Click
here for directions & map. | Click
here for map only.
::
Sun., 09.15.02 Lake George Jazz Weekend
Aardvark
concludes the Lake George Jazz Weekend with a typically eclectic musical
offering featuring the postmodern explorations of Mark Harvey, some
rarely performed Ellingtonia, plus blues and free-bop tunes. In a tribute
to the victims and heroes of 9/11, Harvey's "Remembrance," will be premiered,
together with his evocative "Blood on the Sun/New Moon Rising," first
performed at the Equinox Music Festival September 19, 2001.
Shepard
Park Bandstand, Canada Street, Lake George, NY 12845
4 pm performance | see other scheduled guests 1 – 6 pm,
Saturday & Sunday | free admission
Presented
by the Lake
George Arts Project (518) 668-2616
::
Sat., 10.26.02 Enjoy some local color:
Echoes of Boston concert
Echoes
of Boston will showcase Mark Harvey originals such as "Charlie's
Revenge" (a satire on "Charlie on the MTA") and "Prisms," originally
written for and premiered by Jimmy Giuffre on one of Aardvark's many
First Night Boston performances.
Harvard-Epworth
United Methodist Church | 1555
Mass Ave | Cambridge, MA | 8
PM
Info: 617.452.3205 | Click
here for directions.
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Sat., 11.21.02 An Ellington Extravaganza:
From Standards to Sacred
Aardvark
performs Ellington Extravaganza: From Standards to Sacred, a
roof-raising concert tour through several decades of Ellingtonia, with
stunning numbers by acclaimed tap dancer Tommy DeFrantz and choral works
with the university chorus/choir. The program will celebrate the full
range of Ellington's creative genius, from swinging classics to ingenious
suites to soul-stirring sacred music.
Eastern
State Connecticut University | 83
Windham St. | Willimantic, CT | 8
PM
Click
here for directions.
Spring 2002
::
Sat., 05.04.02 American Originals
at MIT
Aardvark's
American Originals program at the Museum of Fine Arts in November
was so popular that part of it will be reprised along with new offerings
in early May at MIT. Peter
H. Bloom’s arrangement of Louis Moreau Gottschalk’s Bamboula,
and Harvey's rendering of Charles Ives' The Housatonic at
Stockbridge will be presented as well as selections from Ellington's
suite, The River. Music director Harvey will also world-premiere
a new composition at this concert, part of the MIT American Music Series.
Related
Links: American
Music Series Press Release | MIT
Tech Talk
Story | Mark
Harvey's Page
Sat., May 04, time
7 pm | Kresge Auditorium | M.I.T. | Cambridge, MA
::
Sat., 03.02.02 Aardvark Friends &
Relations in Performance
and on Recording
Ace
Aardvark
saxophonist/composer Phil
Scarff will lead his critically acclaimed band NATRAJ
in a guest performance and premier of a new piece with the MIT
Festival Jazz Ensemble on Sat., March 2nd at 8 PM in Kresge
Auditorium on the MIT campus. On the same night, Mark Harvey
will lead the FJE in two of his pieces, Scamology
and Blue Sequence. This World Fusions concert will also mark
the release of the FJE's latest CD recording on which Harvey is featured
trumpet soloist in Ellington's The Shepherd and conductor of
his own extended composition Flex, commissioned by the FJE and
recorded in its premier performance.
Sat., March 02, 8 pm | Kresge Auditorium | M.I.T. | Cambridge, MA
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Thurs., 02.28.02 Aardvark at Regattabar
Boston’s
acclaimed Aardvark Jazz Orchestra returns to the Regattabar (Charles
Hotel, Cambridge) on Thursday, February 28, at 8:30 p.m., with music
of Mary Lou Williams, Nat Adderley, excerpts from the Ellington/Strayhorn
Far East Suite, the Boston-area premier of Aardvark guitarist/composer
Richard Nelson's Dark Side, and original post-bop explorations
by trumpeter-director Mark Harvey.
Aardvark’s
previous shows at the Regattabar sold-out, so buy your tickets
now!
Thurs.,
Feb. 28, 8:30 pm -- Two Sets
Regattabar
| Charles Hotel | 617.876.7777 | One Bennett Street | Cambridge,
MA 02138
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Sat., 02.09.02 Concert at Bowdoin College
Aardvark
Jazz Orchestra arrived at Memorial Hall, Pickard Theater (302) (Bowdoin
College Campus) on Saturday, February 9 at 7:30 p.m. for a roof-raising
concert of Duke Ellington classics plus original compositions by music
director Mark Harvey and noted jazz guitarist/former Bowdoin faculty
member Richard Nelson. The concert is part of the Bowdoin department
of music’s 2001-2002 Concert Series. Attendance numbered six hundred.
Aardvark
played a selection of Ellington tunes including “Caravan,” “Such Sweet
Thunder,” and “Concerto for Cootie.” Richard Nelson, guitarist with
Aardvark and well known to Maine jazz fans, premiered a new arrangement
of his composition “Dark Side,” heard in trio format on his recent CD
Figurations, released on the Invisible Music label (see also Richard
Nelson's page). Mark Harvey’s originals included his exuberant political
satire “Scamology,”
winner of the 2000 Independent Music Awards, and “Swing Landscape,”
his critically acclaimed tribute to painter Stuart Davis.
Memorial
Hall, PICKARD THEATER (302) | BOWDOIN
COLLEGE | BRUNSWICK, MAINE | 7:30
P.M.
$10 general admission, $8 seniors/Bowdoin Friends, free with Bowdoin
ID
Tickets at David Saul Smith Union information desk: 207-725-3375
Directions | Map
::
Sat., 12.15.01 29th Annual Christmas
Concert
For
these troubled times and in the spirit of the season, Meditations
on Peace is the theme, with proceeds donated to Afghan refugee
relief. The concert will feature director Mark Harvey's latest work
New Moon Rising,written in response to the tragic events of September
11. The program will also include music dedicated to the cause of peace
and updated arrangements of carols from around the world. Join this
renowned orchestra for a special musical event and a worthy cause.
The
band's inaugural concert in December 1973 was a Christmas concert to
benefit the Chelsea Fire Fund. Every year since then, Aardvark has held
a Christmas benefit concert for organizations such as Rosie’s Place,
the Pine Street Inn, Streetpeople Unlimited, Youth on Fire, and many
more.
This
year, Aardvark’s Christmas concert is presented in conjunction with
“A Night of Light,” a collaborative project bringing together
diverse artists and communities across greater Boston for the benefit
of Afghan refugees. Proceeds will go to Doctors
Without Borders to provide care for Afghan children and their
families.
Harvard-Epworth
United Methodist Church | 1555 Mass Ave | Cambridge,
MA | 8 PM
Tickets: $10 | Info: 617.452.3205 | Click
here for directions.
::
Sun., 11.18.01 Museum of Fine Arts
Jazz Series I: American Originals
Boston’s
renowned Aardvark Jazz Orchestra opens the MFA’s 2001-2002 Jazz Series
with a concert of American Originals on November 18, at 3:00 p.m., in
the museum’s Remis Auditorium. The concert includes director Mark Harvey’s
critically acclaimed tribute to painter Stuart Davis, the premiere of
Peter H. Bloom’s arrangement of Louis Moreau Gottschalk’s “Bamboula,”
and improvisations to the animated films of Kate Matson, plus Ives,
Ellington and other Mark Harvey originals. Expect an unusually eclectic
mix with stellar solos from Taylor Ho-Bynum, Phil Scarff, Arni Cheatham,
Daniel Ian Smith, Bill Lowe, Bob Pilkington, and other fine players.
The
MFA Jazz Series continues with concerts by Titilayo Ngwenya (December
2), the Danilo Perez Trio (February 10) and The Henry Cook Band with
Bobby Ward (April 14). All concerts are at 3:00 p.m. in Remis Auditorium.
Museum
of Fine Art | 465 Huntington Ave | Boston,
MA | 3 PM
Click
here for the MFA site
To
charge tickets, call (617) 369-3770 or the MFA 24-hour recorded line,
(617) 369-3306, or fax (617) 369-3150.
Single Tickets $16 MFA members, students, and senior citizens (Members
may order 2 tickets per concert at this price)
$20 General admission
$9 Children 8-17 (children under 8 are not admitted)
$9 Student Rush (if available) only at the door, 15 minutes before the
concert. Please present a valid student ID.
::
Sun.,10.14.01 Autumn Uprising Festival of Improvised
Music
Soundscapes for Improvising Orchestra
Institute of Contemporary
Art | 955 Boylston St. | Boston,
MA | 8 PM
Tickets: 617.266.5152 | General Info: 617.560.6877
Click
here for coverage of previous festivals.
::
Wed.,
09.19.01 Aardvark Headlines the Equinox Music Festival
Headlining the Equinox Music Festival is the Aarvark Jazz Orchestra
playing original compositions featuring The Seeker, inspired
by John Coltrane; Scamology, winner of the 2000 Independent Music
Award--Best Jazz Recording; and a premier of a new work by music director,
Mark Harvey.
Sanders
Theatre | Harvard University | Cambridge,
MA 8 PM
Tickets: 617.496.2222 | Save 10% (use code word:
"rebecca")
About
the Equinox Music Festival ( http://www.jcmcsite.com):
This event featuring the 24th Annual John Coltrane Memorial Concert
will take place September 19-23, in Boston and Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Also playing are pianist, Joanne Brackeen, the Grammy-nominated Asian
American Orchestra, the 2001 John Coltrane Memorial Concert Ensemble
with Alvin Batiste (celebrating the 75th birthday anniversary of John
Coltrane) and special guest artists.
For more info, including venues and ticketing, contact J. Thomas Duffy,
Director, Equinox Music Festival
Tel: 617.864.0954 | http://www.jcmcsite.com
Aardvark
Returns to the Regattabar
This sold-out summer sizzler featured Ellington's Solitude and
Gershwin's Summertime in fresh arrangements by Mark Harvey with
vocal stylings by Jerry Edwards. The program also included a blues,
some big band bebop, and the Aardvark premier of a new Harvey composition
Flex. This unique event showcased the past, present
and leading-edge of jazz all in one high energy show.
Wed., July 18, 8:30 pm
Regattabar
| Charles Hotel | One Bennett Street | Cambridge, MA 02138
Trumpet
Madness
Over
200 people turned out for an Evening of Exploratory Improvisation and
Composition featuring the stellar musicians of Aardvark and special
guest artists, Rajesh Mehta and Paul Lovens
At this event, Aardvark's adventurous undertakings paid tribute
to the long tradition of trumpet explorers from Buddy Bolden to Lester
Bowie.
Aardvark
was joined by Raj Mehta, trumpet, hybrid trumpet, and bass trumpet,
and Paul Lovens, percussion. Both are internationally known
and respected improvisers who create unique sounds individually and
together. "Startling," "audacious," and "inexpressible in words" are
terms used by critics around the world to describe their musical investigations.
The duo was featured in the premier of Spirals, a Concerto
for Improvisers by Mark Harvey and the entire Aardvark Jazz Orchestra.
April 28, 8 pm | Kresge Auditorium | M.I.T.
| Cambridge, MA
Aardvark
at the Regattabar
The
Aardvark Jazz Orchestra's debut
performance at the Regattabar: the
perfect start to Spring.
If
you were part of the packed house at Aardvark's March Regattabar show,
the sounds of Aardvark may still be ringing in your ears. Attendees
discovered what music in the New Millenium is all about.
"...give this groundbreaking music a listen!" Jazz Now
Wed., March 21
Regattabar
| Charles Hotel | One Bennett Street | Cambridge, MA 02138
Radio >>
Recently,
Mark Harvey joined several the following local radio stations as
they spotlighted Aardvark's music and recent shows:
Friday,
December 13 at 12 noon
What's Happening
WHRB,
95.3 FM
Mark Harvey
will be interviewed on WHRB's "What's Happening" on Friday,
December 13 at 12 noon, talking about the 30th Annual
Christmas concert, the 2
new CDs that Aardvark is releasing and more. Tune In! Listen
Online!
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Film >>
AARDVARK Musicians featured on “Treasures of American Film Archives,”
A Millennium Project Organized by the National Film Preservation Foundation:
Negro
Leagues Baseball: Reece “Goose” Tatum, the Indianapolis Clowns and the
Kansas City Monarchs
(1946)
For half a century, African American
baseball players had their own leagues, apart from the all-white Majors.
These rare pieces of unedited silent footage of Negro American League
players, shot in September 1946 at Cincinnati's Crosley Field, focus
on the amazing Reece "Goose" Tatum (1921-67) of the Indianapolis
Clowns, who, rather than playing straight baseball, entertained with
comedy along the lines of the Harlem Globetrotters' basketball skills.
Tatum and his teammates warm up with comic routines, followed by a game
against the Kansas City Monarchs. While some players expressed resentment
at the team for perpetuating the image of a "clownish race,"
they twice won the league's Eastern Division title and in 1952 featured
Henry Aaron as shortstop.
About the Music
During the 1920s, if not before, musicians who played in movie houses
within African American communities adopted a broad range of approaches,
freely mixing the usual traditions with varied styles of jazz improvisation.
The first piece is a good-natured send-up of "Take Me Out to the
Ballgame," followed by freer improvisations based on familiar styles,
from blues to bebop.
Four Aardvark musicians as "The
Jazztet", Mark Harvey, Arni Cheatham, Bill Lowe, and Jesse Williams,
joined by Larry Carsman and John Connelly, are featured performers on
the improvised soundtrack to
Negro
Leagues Baseball: Reece “Goose” Tatum, the Indianapolis Clowns and the
Kansas City Monarchs. This
film is included among fifty silent films rarely seen since their release
decades ago. The entire collection is now available on DVD.
* Program Notes compiled from the
original DVD booklet by Scott Simmon and Martin Marks
Please join us at our next concert!
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