290 Huntington Ave.
Boston, MA
02115
617-585-1100
http://newenglandconservatory.edu
Ticket info: Free
On Friday, February 25 at 8:00 p.m., Ken Schaphorst will direct the NEC Jazz Orchestra in the performance of his original music for big band in NEC’s Jordan Hall. The concert is free and open to the public. Since coming to NEC as Chair of the Jazz Studies and Improvisation Department in 2001, Schaphorst has directed the Jazz Orchestra in its performance of new music and traditional big band repertoire. In recent years, the ensemble has performed under the direction of guest artists Django Bates, Jimmy Heath, Jim McNeely and Maria Schneider. On April 21, the NEC Jazz Orchestra will perform the music of guest artist Carla Bley. Named Best College Big Band in the 2004 Downbeat Student Music Awards, the ensemble has won critical acclaim for its recordings and for its performances throughout the country.
The February 25 program will feature “Blues for Herb,” a tribute to the Herb Pomeroy. It will also include “After Blue,” the title track from Schaphorst’s 1991 Accurate Recordings release as well as “Jobim,” Schaphorst’s tribute to the great Brazilian composer, featured on 1998’s “Purple” on Naxos Jazz. Among the newer pieces are “Float,” “Global Sweat,” “Indigenous Technology” and “Mbira,” In addition to Schaphorst’s original compositions, the program will include his arrangement of Jerome Kern’s “All the Things You Are” as well as an arrangement of Cole Porter’s “I Get a Kick Out of You” featuring the NEC Jazz Vocal Ensemble.
Schaphorst's composing and arranging is featured on four recordings on Accurate Records: “Making Lunch” (1989), “After Blue” (1991), “When the Moon Jumps” (1994) and “Over the Rainbow” (1997). “Ken Schaphorst Big Band: Purple” was released by Naxos Jazz in January, 1999. Schaphorst's latest recording for Accurate, “Indigenous Technology” (2003), features Schaphorst's playing on trumpet and piano in a trio setting with cellist Matt Turner and percussionist Dane Richeson. Schaphorst was appointed Chair of Jazz Studies and Improvisation at the New England Conservatory in 2001. Schaphorst is also a founding member of the Jazz Composers Alliance, a Boston-based non-profit corporation promoting new music in the jazz idiom since 1985.