Pittsburgh Jazz Orchestra small band with special guest Steve Rudolph

Our musical journey begins in 1935. In the spirit of the popular Duke Ellington Orchestra early Swing mixed with traditional New Orleans-style jazz, reminiscent of the Benny Goodman Orchestra, composer/arranger Jay Ashby’s Teenie Time captures the animated rhythms and energizing feel of the second half of the decade. Teenie’s Blues takes us into the 1940s where Swing style made jazz and American popular music one in the same. Emulating Billy Eckstine’s style of writing for large ensemble, Hill Heat moves us from focusing on jazz as dance music to centering on the act of listening to the music with the new music of the 1940s known as “Bebop.

The years between 1949-1951 saw the birth of the “Cool” era in jazz, pioneered by Miles Davis and Gerry Mulligan. Mike Tomaro’s Cool School ushers in softer sounds than its predecessor, Bebop. The late 1950s brought the “Hard Bop” movement. For Art’s Sake was inspired by Art Blakey, a Pittsburgher, renowned drummer, and leader of his famous group the Jazz Messengers. With the hard driving energy of that group in mind, For Art’s Sake was written with heavy drums and energetic solos. The ballad, Teenie’s Lament, moves us into the 1960s. The tension in the tune represents the personal hardship Teenie Harris was going through in his personal life.

Saxophonist/Composer, Stanley Turrentine, also known as “Mr. T,” was born in Pittsburgh’s Hill District into a musical family. He was greatly influenced by the blues and soul jazz he heard growing up. Turrentine’s most famous recording Sugar debuted in 1970 and was greeted with universal acclaim. In 1995, in celebration of its 10th anniversary concert season, MCG Jazz commissioned Turrentine to compose a new piece based on his iconic 1970s theme song. The resulting tune was A Little Sweetness. Capturing that classic bluesy/swinging jazz sound known around the world as the “Pittsburgh sound,” the premiere performance of A Little Sweetness was recorded live at Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild for MCG Jazz.

Pittsburgh has been home to a long line of great jazz artists including Erroll Garner, Roy Eldridge, Billy Eckstine and Art Blakey who were not only were great performers but leaders, arrangers, composers and mentors to future generations. Their influence is heard throughout the jazz world and continues to color the future of this art form.

The MCG Jazz Pittsburgh Jazz Legacy Band features some of Pittsburgh’s finest jazz musicians and educators in a salute to Pittsburgh’s rich jazz tradition. With insightful narration, this program spotlights world-renowned musicians, composers, and arrangers from the Pittsburgh region who have changed the face of jazz.

Selections include “Take The A Train” by Billy Strayhorn, “Sugar” by Stanley Turrentine, “One O’Clock Jump” (Count Basie’s Theme Song), “Skylark” (as sung by Billy Eckstine), “Come Fly With Me” (as arranged by Billy May for Frank Sinatra) and other pieces written or made famous by Ray Brown, Ahmad Jamal, and Art Blakey, all with new arrangements written especially for this group.