- Subscriptions starting at $114 on sale now at dso.org/jazz
- Terence Blanchard returns as DSO’s Fred A. Erb Jazz Creative Director Chair, will perform with The E-Collective and Turtle Island Quartet
- Guest artists include Arturo O’Farrill, Cyrus Chestnut, Ravi Coltrane, Thana Alexa, Christian McBride, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Kurt Elling, Lakecia Benjamin, Christian Sands, Yasushi Nakamura, and Clarence Penn
Detroit, (April 19, 2022) – The Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO) today announced the 2022-2023 Paradise Jazz Series featuring six concerts on the Orchestra Hall stage, with ticket packages now available for purchase. The new season’s artists include Terence Blanchard (Fred A. Erb Jazz Creative Director Chair at the DSO), Arturo O’Farrill, Cyrus Chestnut, Ravi Coltrane, Thana Alexa, Christian McBride, musicians from the Monterey Jazz Festival, and more.
The series kicks off on Friday, October 14, 2022, as Terence Blanchard presents a special program featuring The E-Collective and Grammy Award-winning Turtle Island Quartet.
On Friday, November 18, seven-time Grammy Award-winning composer, bandleader, and pianist Arturo O’Farrillbrings the Afro Latin Jazz Ensemble to Orchestra Hall, an octet made up of some of the most virtuosic musicians in jazz today.
On Friday, December 9, 2022, virtuosic and playful pianist Cyrus Chestnut and friends perform music from Vince Guaraldi’s classic score from A Charlie Brown Christmas in a holiday concert, ringing in the season and infusing classic charts with his soulful sound.
Sunday, January 22, 2023, is a double bill featuring critically acclaimed Grammy Award-nominated saxophonist, bandleader, and composer Ravi Coltrane presenting Cosmic Music with an opening performance by Grammy Award-nominated Downbeat cover artist Thana Alexa.
Later in the season, seven-time Grammy Award-winning bassist, composer, and bandleader Christian McBride brings his “New Jawn” to Orchestra Hall with a program of music from jazz and R&B to neo-soul and classical.
The series wraps up on Sunday, April 23, 2023 with the Monterey Jazz Festival on Tour featuring Tony and Grammy Award-winning NEA Jazz Master vocalist Dee Dee Bridgewater alongside Grammy Award-winning vocalist Kurt Elling and critically acclaimed rising star saxophonist Lakecia Benjamin. This stellar band will be directed by visionary pianist Christian Sands and anchored by his longtime rhythm section, bassist Yasushi Nakamura and drummer Clarence Penn.
Subscriptions are on sale now for the 2022-2023 Paradise Jazz Series, beginning at $114 for the entire season. Subscribe by visiting dso.org/jazz, calling 313.576.5111, or visiting the DSO Box Office (3711 Woodward Avenue, Detroit; open Monday-Friday 11 a.m. – 5 p.m.). Single tickets for Paradise Jazz Series concerts will go on sale at a later date. Details about webcasts for select jazz concerts next season are to be announced.
Currently in its 23rd season, the Paradise Jazz Series is named for and honors the legacy of the Paradise Theatre, the historic Detroit jazz venue that was on the site of Orchestra Hall from 1941-1951. The DSO is one of few major American orchestras to present regular jazz programming on its main stage. Learn more about the series at dso.org/jazz.
The Paradise Jazz Series is supported by Huntington and MGM Grand Detroit.
To protect the health and well-being of our patrons, musicians, and staff, our safety policies include vaccine or test requirements for all guests and contactless e-ticketing. Visit dso.org/safetyplan for the latest updates.
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2022-2023 PARADISE JAZZ SERIES
All concerts at Orchestra Hall within the Max M. & Marjorie S. Fisher Music Center (3711 Woodward Avenue, Detroit).
Programs and artists subject to change.
Please note: the DSO does not appear on these performances.
Friday, October 14, 2022 at 8PM
in Orchestra Hall
Oscar nominee, six-time Grammy-winner, and the DSO's Fred A. Erb Jazz Creative Chair Terence Blanchard has been a consistent artistic force for expressing powerful musical statements about the American experience.
He has composed a rich, expansive repertory of scores for Spike Lee films, from the epic Malcolm X and When the Levees Broke—a documentary about the devastation from Hurricane Katrina to Blanchard's hometown of New Orleans—to the most recent Lee film, Da 5 Bloods. Blanchard interweaves melodies that create strong backdrops to human stories.
with Afro-Latin Jazz Ensemble
Friday, November 18, 2022 at 8PM
in Orchestra Hall
Seven-time Grammy Award-winning composer, bandleader, and pianist Arturo O'Farrill brings the Afro Latin Jazz Ensemble (ALJE) to Orchestra Hall. Like his father, the legendary Havana-born bandleader Chico O'Farrill, Arturo O'Farrill is committed to breaching musical boundaries in search of genuine, elevated expression.
The Afro Latin Jazz Ensemble (ALJE) is an octet made up of some of the most virtuosic musicians in jazz today. Their repertoire honors the pioneers of Latin jazz, like Mario Bauzá and Tito Puente, while keeping a strong foothold in progressing that music by performing contemporary compositions of the genre.
A CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS – CYRUS CHESTNUT & FRIENDS
Friday, December 9, 2022 at 8PM
in Orchestra Hall
The holidays don't officially arrive until you hear Vince Guaraldi's classic score from A Charlie Brown Christmas. Virtuosic and playful pianist Cyrus Chestnut infuses these classic charts with his soulful sound. Hear all your favorites: "Linus and Lucy," "Christmas Time is Here," "O Tannenbaum," and more!
DOUBLE BILL: RAVI COLTRANE - COSMIC MUSIC | THANA ALEXA
Sunday, January 22, 2023 at 8PM
in Orchestra Hall
Critically acclaimed Grammy Award-nominated saxophonist, bandleader, and composer Ravi Coltrane explores the groundbreaking, mystical, and spiritual music of his late parents: the legendary jazz musicians and composers John Coltrane and Detroit native Alice Coltrane.
Downbeat cover artist and fellow Grammy Award nominee Thana Alexa is an extraordinary creative force: an awe-inspiring composer, producer, and vocalist—for whom the voice is both a lyrical and experimental instrument. Her music pushes the boundaries of jazz into new and unexplored territory with deep-seated roots and overtones of contemporary soul and world music.
Friday, March 24, 2023 at 8PM
in Orchestra Hall
Jawn [jän]: noun. A slang terminology from Philadelphia. All-purpose term for a person, place, or thing.
Seven-time Grammy Award-winning bassist, composer, and bandleader Christian McBride turns to one of Philadelphia’s most beloved colloquialisms to christen this project: Christian McBride's New Jawn. From jazz to R&B, neo-soul to classical, McBride is a luminary with one hand ever reaching for new heights, and the other extended in fellowship—and perhaps the hint of a challenge—inviting us to join him.
MONTEREY JAZZ FESTIVAL ON TOUR
Featuring Dee Dee Bridgewater, Kurt Elling, Lakecia Benjamin, Christian Sands, Yasushi Nakamura & Clarence Penn
Saturday, April 23, 2023 at 8PM
in Orchestra Hall
As one of the world's longest-running and most iconic jazz events, the Monterey Jazz Festival celebrates its 65th year with a must-hear once-in-a-lifetime ensemble. Featuring Tony and Grammy Award-winning NEA Jazz Master vocalist Dee Dee Bridgewater alongside Grammy Award-winning vocalist Kurt Elling and critically acclaimed rising star saxophonist Lakecia Benjamin, this stellar band will be directed by visionary pianist Christian Sands and anchored by his longtime rhythm section, bassist Yasushi Nakamura and drummer Clarence Penn.
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About Terence Blanchard
Trumpeter, bandleader, composer, and educator Terence Blanchard has served as the DSO’s Fred A. Erb Jazz Creative Director Chair since 2012. Blanchard has performed and recorded with many of jazz’s superstars and currently leads the celebrated E-Collective. He is also well-known for his decades-long collaboration with filmmaker Spike Lee, scoring more than 15 of Lee’s movies since the early 1990s. 2018’s BlacKkKlansman earned Blanchard his first Academy Award nomination, with a second Academy Award nomination in 2021 for Da 5 Bloods. In and out of the film world, Blanchard has received 14 Grammy nominations and six wins, as well as nominations for Emmy, Golden Globe, Sierra, and Soul Train Music awards.
A New Orleans native, Blanchard was childhood friends with Wynton Marsalis and studied jazz at Rutgers University. He was invited to play with the Lionel Hampton Orchestra in 1982 and later joined Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers. He debuted his first solo recording in 1991 and has released more than a dozen acclaimed albums since; he has appeared as a collaborator or sideman on a dozen more. Blanchard’s latest album with The E-Collective, Absence, features music written and inspired by jazz legend Wayne Shorter and was released by Blue Note Records in August 2021.
Blanchard has held artistic leadership positions at the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz, Monterey Jazz Festival, Berklee College of Music, and Henry Mancini Institute at the University of Miami.
Learn more at terenceblanchard.com.
About the DSO
The most accessible orchestra on the planet, the acclaimed Detroit Symphony Orchestra is known for trailblazing performances, collaborations with the world’s foremost musical artists, and a deep connection to its city. As a community-supported orchestra, generous giving by individuals and institutions at all levels drives the continued success and growth of the organization. In January 2020, Italian conductor Jader Bignamini was named the DSO’s next music director to commence with the 2020-2021 season. Celebrated conductor, arranger, and trumpeter Jeff Tyzik is the orchestra’s Principal Pops Conductor, while Oscar-nominated trumpeter and composer Terence Blanchard holds the Fred A. Erb Jazz Creative Director Chair.
Making its home at historic Orchestra Hall within the Max M. and Marjorie S. Fisher Music Center, the DSO offers a performance schedule that features PVS Classical, PNC Pops, Paradise Jazz, and Young People’s Family Concert series. One of the world’s most acoustically perfect concert halls, Orchestra Hall celebrated its centennial in 2019-2020. In addition, the DSO presents the William Davidson Neighborhood Concert Series in seven metro area venues, as well as a robust schedule of eclectic multi-genre performances in its mid-size venue The Cube, constructed and curated with support from Peter D. & Julie F. Cummings.
A dedication to broadcast innovation began in 1922, when the DSO became the first orchestra in the world to present a live radio broadcast of a concert and continues today with the groundbreaking Live from Orchestra Hall series of free webcasts, which also reaches tens of thousands of children with the Classroom Edition expansion. With growing attendance and unwavering philanthropic support from the people of Detroit, the DSO actively pursues a mission to embrace and inspire individuals, families, and communities through unsurpassed musical experiences.