Aardvark Jazz Orchestra to Appear at Scullers Jazz Club, Boston, February 16 at 8 PM

Jan. 23, 2011 - PRLog -- The celebrated Aardvark Jazz Orchestra (Mark Harvey, music director) continues its historic 38th season with a much anticipated return to Scullers, Boston's premier jazz club, on Wednesday, February 16, 2011 at 8 PM.  Tickets are $20.  Scullers is located in the Doubletree Guest Suites, 400 Soldiers Field Road, Boston, MA 02134-1805.  For reservations and information call 617-562-4111 or visit www.scullersjazz.com
 
The show, called Jazz Portraits, is Mark Harvey’s valentine to beloved figures of Boston and his tribute to jazz greats who have been inspirations in his career.  A highlight of the evening will be Harvey’s piece The Lion, in honor of Senator Edward M. Kennedy.  Also on tap:  original works by Harvey paying tribute to Duke Ellington (No Walls), Mary Lou Williams (Blues for Mary Lou), Gil Evans (an Evans-inspired reworking of St. James Infirmary), Don Cherry (Don Cherry’s Song of Beauty), Jaki Byard (JB’s Dreamtime), and legendary storyteller Brother Blue (Blue Butterfly).  

With global distribution of 10 CDs and wide-ranging performances in festivals, clubs, concert halls, colleges and universities, Aardvark has been a major force in the international jazz scene for almost 40 years.  JazzTimes called Aardvark “a bracing walk on the wild side of the big band spectrum...Aardvark suggests the best and the brashest of Charles Mingus, Gil Evans, George Russell, and even Frank Zappa.”  Jazz Review (U.K.) praised Aardvark for “"exuberance, imagination and sheer brio,” while The Boston Phoenix called the band “one of the great idiosyncratic treasures of the Boston music scene” and Downbeat marveled at their “awe-inspiring audience fascination.”

The Aardvark Jazz Orchestra is known for its exhilarating concerts spanning the jazz and American music spectrum.  Winner of the 2000 Independent Music Awards, the band has premiered more than 120 works for jazz orchestra. Of the band’s 10 CDs, five are on the Leo Records, one of the world’s leading adventurous music labels.  The latest disc, American Agonistes (Leo Records) has been called a”stunning hour of music that is in turn beautiful, poignant and raucous” Billboard.com.

Trumpeter-composer Mark Harvey has performed in the U.S., Mexico and Europe; has recorded with George Russell (Blue Note) and Baird Hersey (Arista/Novus) and has appeared with Gil Evans, Claudio Roditi, Howard McGhee, Sam Rivers, and others.  He is a Music Lecturer at MIT and a winner of awards/commissions from ASCAP, the National Endowment, Meet the Composer/Lila Wallace-Reader’s Digest Commissioning Program, Organization of American Kodaly Educators, the 15th Annual John Coltrane Memorial Concert, and the MIT Wind Ensemble, among others.

Aardvark band members are:  Arni Cheatham, Peter H. Bloom, Phil Scarff, Chris Rakowski, Dan Zupan/saxes & woodwinds; K.C. Dunbar, Jeanne Snodgrass/trumpets; Bob Pilkington, Jay Keyser/trombones; Jeff Marsanskis, Bill Lowe/bass trombones, tuba; Richard Nelson/guitar; John Funkhouser/string bass; Harry Wellott/drums; Jerry Edwards/vocalist; Mark Harvey/trumpet, music director.

Aardvark is managed exclusively by Americas Musicworks, Rebecca DeLamotte, managing director.  Visit:  www.americasmusicworks.com and www.aardvarkjazz.com

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Americas Musicworks, Rebecca DeLamotte, managing director, is an artist management company representing award-winning chamber music and jazz ensembles that offer concerts for large and small venues, multi-media performances, creative residencies, and custom recording projects. Themes range widely from European masters to Great American Songbook, from historical performance to new music premieres, from jazz standards to the avant-garde. Our mission is to deliver distinctive programs and world-class performance to build and energize audiences. Every client receives personal attention and close communication, to ensure a smooth working relationship. We also provide expert PR support to complement and enhance each presenter’s efforts.