Doug Tatum


A CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
In celebration of the Centennial year of the historic Folly Theater, it is certainly appropriate for us also to take the opportunity to celebrate 100 years of American Music.

Thus, the 2000-2001 Folly Jazz Series will engage in a bit of musical "time travel" as we highlight the development of jazz from its earliest beginnings through its development right up to the present. The following is a breakdown of this thematic programming structure.

• Saturday, September 30, 2000
  "From Ragtime to Jelly Roll" -- Butch Thompson and the New Orleans Jazz Originals
  Highlighting the genius of Scott Joplin, Jelly Roll Morton, James P. Johnson, and others, this concert will trace the beginnings of jazz as an outgrowth of ragtime and blues at the turn of the century and its evolution into a distinct new American art form. Over the past 20 years, traditional pianist Butch Thompson has been frequently heard on public radio's "A Prairie Home Companion" with host Garrison Keillor. Jazz Journal International described Butch as "the premier player in traditional jazz today." Butch's band is an all-star group of traditional jazz masters who will recreate the authentic sound of traditional New Orleans jazz.
  
  
• Saturday, October 14, 2000
  Vince Giordano
  "The Roaring Twenties & the Hot Jazz Sound of Chicago" -- Vince Giordano and the Nighthawk Orchestra
  

  Vince Giordano

  Performing the earliest "big band" arrangements in jazz, Vince Giordano's New York-based Nighthawk Orchestra recreates the authentic "hot jazz" sound of Chicago. Giordano has dedicated himself to preserving and presenting the music of fabled bands such as the California Ramblers, the Missourians, McKinney's Cotton Pickers, and Paul Howard's Quality Serenaders. The original recordings made by these bands many years ago were anything but high fidelity. To hear the Nighthawks, however, is to experience the original live sound of this fun and exciting music from the past. When he's not playing his bass saxophone, tuba, or string bass, or busy transcribing arrangements, Giordano works for BMG Records in New York, where he works as a researcher in the vast musical archives of the former RCA Victor label.
  
  
• Saturday, November 4, 2000
  "The Swing Era, Kansas City Style!" -- Jay McShann
  The sounds of the swing era will come alive to the beat of veteran Kansas City jazz legend, Jay McShann. Originally from Oklahoma, Jay arrived in Kansas City in 1937 after touring the Southwest with a variety of bands. In 1938, he led his own small band and soon was able to expand his group to a big band. With singer Walter Brown, in 1941 Jay recorded "Confessin' the Blues," which became a national hit. Following this success, Jay's band was booked on a national tour and made an appearance with 18 year old Charlie Parker as featured soloist in a battle of the bands at New York's Savoy Ballroom. The rest, as they say, is history.
  
  Today, Jay is recognized worldwide as being one of the finest jazz/blues stylists of all time, an international jazz icon. Jay McShann is Kansas City Jazz!
  
  
• Friday, December 1, 2000
  "Celebrating the Bebop Revolution; 52nd Street Themes" -- The Joe Lovano Septet
  Upon the 80th anniversary of Charlie Parker's birth, and in celebration of the bebop revolution of the 1940s, tenor saxophonist Joe Lovano has assembled an all-star touring group to pay homage to the bebop masters. This touring project is an outgrowth of Lovano's highly acclaimed recording 52nd Street Themes that was recently released on the Blue Note label. The album's title refers to the short stretch of the New York City street that was home to such legendary jazz clubs as Birdland, the Three Deuces, and Cafe Bohemia. For this special project, Joe derives inspiration from Bird, as well as Tadd Dameron, Thelonious Monk, Miles Davis, and other bebop legends.
  
  
• Saturday, March 3, 2001
  "Into The Modern Era; A Tribute to the Giants of Jazz" -- The T.S. Monk Sextet
  As jazz continued its creative evolution, there was a very fertile period during which a great number of recordings were being made by a plethora of undisputed "Giants of Jazz." A partial representation of those who were active during this time includes such jazz luminaries as Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk, John Coltrane, Cannonball Adderley, Lee Morgan, Donald Byrd, Charles Mingus, Wes Montgomery, Stan Getz, Gerry Mulligan, Dexter Gordon, Sonny Rollins, Ornette Coleman, Horace Silver, Bill Evans and Oscar Peterson. In this concert, drummer T.S. Monk, the son of the late, great Thelonious Monk, will pay homage to the jazz masters that ensured jazz's continued development and vitality.
  
  
• Saturday, March 24, 2001
  "The Jazz Scene Today!" -- The Dave Holland Quintet
  Master bassist Dave Holland represents the very best in jazz today. In acknowledgment of his rank on the contemporary jazz scene, the Jazz Journalists Association recently awarded Holland the following honors: Best Bassist, Best Album (Prime Directive), Best Live Performance, and Musician of the Year. In addition to the incredible bass artistry of Dave Holland, the current members of his Quintet include saxophonist Chris Potter, vibraphonist Steve Nelson, trombonist Robin Eubanks, and drummer Billy Kilson.
  
  
• Friday, May 11, 2001
  "Jazz Generations: The Beat Goes On!" -- Claude "Fiddler" Williams, with special guest, Eldar Djangirov
  In a swinging celebration of jazz, past, present and future, these wonderful talents will bring the Folly Theater's Centennial season to a close. Despite an age difference of nearly 80 years, veteran jazz master Claude Williams (who will be 93 years old at the time of the concert) will be joined on stage by the exciting young pianist Eldar Djangirov (who will be 14). Together, I'm confident that they will provide proof that jazz in the 21st century is very healthy indeed.
  
  

For more information about the Folly Jazz Series, or to be placed on our mailing list, please call the Folly Theater during regular business hours at 816-474-4444.

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Doug Tatum is the Executive Director of the Folly Theater.


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