I’m elated to be playing with the always enthralling Aardvark Jazz Orchestra at MIT in Cambridge this Saturday night. We’ll be premiering composer/bandleader Mark Harvey’s sure-to-be memorable rumination on the past couple of years, ”American Agonistes”, some Aardvark classics such as “De-Evolution Blues” and “No Walls”, and some choice Ellington. Believe it or not, it’s the band’s 50th anniversary season! I’ve been with them for 30+ myself. An amazing journey!
Free concert at 7:30 pm. Saturday Oct.1, Kresge Auditorium, MIT, Cambridge, MA.
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Mark Harvey and the Aardvark Jazz Orchestra will open the band’s 50th season with a show on MIT’s mainstage, Kresge Auditorium, on October 1, 2022, at 7:30 pm. Please join us for this historic occasion!
MIT Music and Theater Arts is hosting this free concert to celebrate Aardvark’s 5 decades of music making, and to honor Mark Harvey’s recent retirement after 40 years of teaching at MIT. Click here to register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/aardvark-jazz-orchestra-tickets-358579379577
Stunningly beautiful and adventurous (The New York City Jazz Record)
One of the best jazz ensembles in the world (Jazz Podium, Germany)
The October 1 concert will feature music by Mark Harvey and Duke Ellington, including Harvey’s Faces of Souls, Ellington’s It’s Freedom, and the world premiere of Harvey’s latest work, American Agonistes. MIT’s mainstage, Kresge Auditorium, is well-suited for Aardvark’s 50th season kickoff, as Kresge was home to Aardvark’s annual Spring concerts for more than 30 years, hosting such notable Aardvark events as the 1986 appearance with guest artist Jaki Byard, the 1999 Duke Ellington Centennial, and the 2019 concert with guest artist Ricky Ford.
Aardvark is: Aardvark is: Arni Cheatham, Allan Chase, Peter H. Bloom, Phil Scarff, Chris Rakowski, Dan Zupan/saxes and woodwinds; K.C. Dunbar, Jeanne Snodgrass/trumpets; Bob Pilkington, Jay Keyser/trombones; Bill Lowe/bass trombone, tuba; Rob Bethel, cello; Richard Nelson/guitar; Bruno Raberg/string bass; Harry Wellott/drums; Grace Hughes, vocalist; Mark Harvey/piano, music director.
Aardvark suggests the best and the brashest of Charles Mingus, Gil Evans, George Russell, and even Frank Zappa. - JazzTimes