Civic Jazz Orchestra gives an opening performance in The Cube prior to the concert
Tickets on sale now at dso.org/jazz
Detroit, (January 31, 2024) – The Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO) will continue its Paradise Jazz Series with a one-night-only performance by Grammy Award-winning saxophonist Kenny Garrett on Friday, February 23 at 8 p.m. at Orchestra Hall. The concert will feature music from Garrett’s new album, Sounds from the Ancestors, which recalls the sounds of West African music and its roots within the rich jazz, R&B, and gospel music of his hometown.
Hailing from Detroit and recognized as one of modern jazz’s brightest and most influential living masters, Garrett has performed with Miles Davis, Art Blakey and The Jazz Messengers, Freddie Hubbard, Woody Shaw, and the Duke Ellington Orchestra. At Orchestra Hall, he will be joined by Trevor Watkis (piano), Rudy Bird (percussion), Corcoran Holt (bass), Ronald Bruner (drums), and Melvis Santa (vocals and piano).
Prior to the performance, the Civic Jazz Orchestra, part of the DSO’s Civic Youth Ensembles, will give an opening performance in the Peter D. and Julie F. Cummings Cube (The Cube) directed by Vincent Chandler.
Please note: the DSO does not appear on these performances.
Kenny Garrett and Sounds from the Ancestors will take place on Friday, February 23 at 8 p.m. in Orchestra Hall. Tickets for this performance start at $19. Tickets can be purchased at dso.org or by calling the Box Office at 313.576.5111, open Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Subscriptions for the 2023–2024 Paradise Jazz Series can be purchased at dso.org/jazz.
Currently in its 24th 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. Acclaimed trumpeter, bandleader, composer, and educator Terence Blanchard has served as the DSO’s Fred A. Erb Jazz Creative Director Chair since 2012. Learn more about the series at dso.org/jazz.
The Paradise Jazz Series is supported by the Fred A. and Barbara M. Erb Family Foundation, MGM Grand Detroit, and DownBeat magazine.
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KENNY GARRETT AND SOUNDS FROM THE ANCESTORS
Paradise Jazz Series
Friday, February 23 at 8 p.m.
Orchestra Hall
Kenny Garrett, saxophone
Trevor Watkis, piano
Rudy Bird, percussion
Corcoran Holt, bass
Ronald Bruner, drums
Melvis Santa, vocals and piano
One of modern jazz’s brightest and most influential living masters, Kenny Garrett’s latest project sees the saxophonist “at the top of his game” (Glide Magazine). Garrett returns to Detroit to perform music from his new album, Sounds from the Ancestors, recalling the sounds of West African music and its roots within the rich jazz, R&B, and gospel music of his hometown.
With his illustrious career that includes hallmark stints with Miles Davis, Art Blakey and The Jazz Messengers, Woody Shaw, and the Duke Ellington Orchestra, Kenny Garrett possesses a sound that places him in the vanguard of his field.
Please note: the DSO does not appear on this performance.
Related Events:
CIVIC JAZZ LIVE!
Friday, February 23 at 7 p.m.
The Peter D. and Julie F. Cummings Cube
Civic Jazz Orchestra, ensemble
Vincent Chandler, director
Civic Jazz Live! is the opening act for the DSO’s Paradise Jazz Series, featuring student musicians from the Civic Youth Ensembles’ Civic Jazz Orchestra, directed by Vincent Chandler. Join us in The Cube before the show!
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About Kenny Garrett
Kenny Garrett’s latest release, Sounds from the Ancestors, is a multi-faceted album. The music, however, doesn’t lodge inside the tight confines of the jazz idiom, which is not surprising considering the alto saxophonist and composer acknowledges the likes of Aretha Franklin and Marvin Gaye as significant touchstones. Similar to how Miles Davis’s seminal LP, On the Corner, subverted its main guiding lights—James Brown, Jimi Hendrix, and Sly Stone—then crafted its own unique, polyrhythmic, groove-laden, improv-heavy universe, Sounds from the Ancestors occupies its own space with intellectual clarity, sonic ingenuity, and emotional heft.
“The concept initially was about trying to get some of the musical sounds that I remembered as a kid growing up—sounds that lift your spirit from people like John Coltrane's ‘A Love Supreme,’ Aretha Franklin's ‘Amazing Grace,’ Marvin Gaye's ‘What’s Going On,’ and the spiritual side of the church,” Garrett explains. “When I started to think about them, I realized it was the spirit from my ancestors.”
Indeed, Sounds from the Ancestors reflects the rich jazz, R&B, and gospel history of his hometown of Detroit. More important though, it also reverberates with a modern cosmopolitan vibrancy—notably the inclusion of music coming out of France, Cuba, Nigeria, and Guadeloupe.
With his illustrious career that includes hallmark stints with Miles Davis, Art Blakey and The Jazz Messengers, Donald Byrd, Freddie Hubbard, Woody Shaw, and the Duke Ellington Orchestra, as well as a heralded career as a solo artist that began more than 30 years ago, Garrett is easily recognized as one of modern jazz’s brightest and most influential living masters. And with the marvelous Sounds from the Ancestors, the Grammy Award-winning Garrett shows no signs of resting on his laurels.
About the DSO
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. Led by Music Director Jader Bignamini since 2020, the DSO makes its home at historic Orchestra Hall within the Max M. and Marjorie S. Fisher Music Center, offering a performance schedule that features the PVS Classical, PNC Pops, Paradise Jazz, and Young People’s Family Concert series. In addition, the DSO presents the William Davidson Neighborhood Concert Series in metro area venues, as well as 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.
Since its first school concerts a century ago, and particularly since the founding of the Civic Youth Ensembles in 1970, the DSO has been a national leader in bringing the benefits of music education to students, teachers, and families in Detroit and surrounding communities. The DSO remains committed to expanding its participation in the growth and well-being of Detroit through programs like its Detroit Neighborhood Initiative—cultural events co-created with community partners and residents—and Detroit Harmony, a promise to provide an instrument and instruction to any student in the city who wants to learn. With unwavering support from the people of Detroit, the DSO actively pursues a mission to impact lives through the power of unforgettable musical experiences.