- McBride will also lead post-concert funk and soul dance party as DJ Brother Mister
Detroit, (October 3, 2018) – The Detroit Symphony Orchestra’s (DSO) 2018-2019 Paradise Jazz Series will begin with a one-night-only duo set by vocalist Dianne Reeves and bassist Christian McBride, followed by a just-announced set by saxophonist Tia Fuller and her quartet.
Fuller was recently featured as 2018 Artist-in-Residence at the 2018 Monterey Jazz Festival and as a featured performer at the 2018 Detroit Jazz Festival. Now she will share a double bill at Orchestra Hall with Reeves and McBride, who rarely perform as a duo. See below for additional information about all the artists.
The concert takes place Friday, October 26 at 8 p.m. at Orchestra Hall, within Midtown Detroit’s Max M. and Marjorie S. Fisher Music Center.
At 6:15 p.m., the Civic Jazz Orchestra will present a pre-concert performance on the Orchestra Hall stage. This event is free to Paradise Jazz Series ticketholders; see below for additional information. The Civic Jazz Orchestra is one of many Civic Youth Ensembles of the DSO’s Wu Family Academy, the orchestra’s music education wing.
McBride (in his alter ego as DJ Brother Mister) will also DJ a post-concert old school funk and soul dance party in the The Cube directly across the William Davidson Atrium from Orchestra Hall. See below for more information.
The Paradise Jazz Series is made possible by General Motors with support from MGM Grand Detroit. The post-concert dance party is sponsored by Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan, with additional support by Quicken Loans and The Boston Consulting Group.
Please note: the DSO does not appear on these performances.
Upcoming artists appearing on the Paradise Jazz Series include the Cyrus Chestnut Trio performing A Charlie Brown Christmas (December 7); Poncho Sanchez and his Latin Jazz Band along with saxophonist James Carter, performing the music of John Coltrane (January 18); clarinetist and saxophonist Anat Cohen and percussionist Kendrick Scott (March 22); and The Spring Quartet featuring Jack DeJohnette, Joe Lovano, Esperanza Spalding, and Leo Genovese (May 3). The series concludes with The Movie Music of Spike Lee and Terence Blanchard featuring the Terence Blanchard Quintet, Quiana Lynell, and Ledisi with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra (June 2).
About Tia Fuller
Tia Fuller is a saxophonist, bandleader, composer, and educator at the forefront of jazz. In addition to maintaining a busy touring and recording schedule, Fuller is a full-time professor at Berklee College of Music in Boston.
Fuller has released four albums as a bandleader, beginning with 2005’s Pillar of Strength on Wambui. Her four subsequent albums were released on Mack Avenue Records, including the 2018 recording Diamond Cut, which features guitarist Adam Rogers, organist Sam Yahel, drummer Bill Stewart, and bassists Dave Holland, Jack DeJohnette, and James Genus. As a sideman, Fuller has appeared on albums by Nancy Wilson, Brad Leali, Sean Jones, Miki Hayama, and rapper Joe Budden.
Fuller was a member of Beyoncé’s all-female touring band as part of the I AM..Sasha Fierce and Beyoncé Experience world tours, and performed as a soloist with Beyoncé for President Obama at the White House. She has also performed with Terri Lyne Carrington, Esperanza Spalding, Dianne Reeves, Ralph Peterson, Geri Allen, Chaka Khan, Ledisi, Jay-Z, Sheila E., Dionne Warwick, Aretha Franklin, and many others. She won the Downbeat Critic’s poll “Rising Star” award two years in a row (2013 and 2014) and has been featured on the cover of Saxophone Today, Jazz Education Journal, Downbeat, and JazzTimes.
Originally from Aurora, CO, Fuller studied at Spelman College and the University of Colorado at Boulder, the latter of which recently honored her with a Distinguished Alumnae Award.
About Dianne Reeves
Five-time Grammy Award-winner Dianne Reeves is one of the world’s pre-eminent jazz vocalists. Her virtuosity, improvisational prowess, and unique blend of jazz and R&B have earned acclaim around the globe; this year, the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) designated her a Jazz Master—the highest honor the United States bestows on jazz artists. Between 2002 and 2004, Reeves won three consecutive Grammy Awards for Best Jazz Vocal Performance (Female), a Grammy first in any vocal category.
Reeves performs in a wide variety of contexts, with countless collaborators. In recent years she has led “Sing the Truth,” a musical celebration of Nina Simone featuring Liz Wright and Angelique Kidjo. She has recorded and performed with Wynton Marsalis and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra; she was the first Creative Chair for Jazz for the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the first singer to ever perform at Walt Disney Concert Hall. Her duo performances with bass virtuoso Christian McBride are universally acclaimed, and the two musicians have also staged conversations about jazz under the title “One on One.”
Reeves’ most recent album is Beautiful Life, released on Concord in 2014. The record features Gregory Porter, Robert Glasper, Lalah Hathaway, and Esperanza Spalding; it won a Grammy Award in 2015. That same year, Reeves was the recipient of honorary doctorate degrees from Berklee College of Music and The Juilliard School.
About Christian McBride
Christian McBride is a six-time Grammy Award-winning jazz bassist. Originally from Philadelphia, McBride studied at The Juilliard School in New York, where he was recruited by saxophonist Bobby Watson. Their decade-long collaboration included hundreds of recording sessions and performances, and helped launch McBride to international prominence. Beginning in 2000, he created his own group, the Christian McBride Band.
McBride has performed with countless top names in jazz: Freddie Hubbard, McCoy Tyner, Herbie Hancock, Pat Metheny, Diana Krall, and others; plus musicians of other genres, including Paul McCartney, Celine Dion, Isaac Hayes, The Roots, Queen Latifah, Kathleen Battle, and James Brown. He performed with Sonny Rollins at Carnegie Hall in 2007, in honor of the 50th Anniversary of Rollins’ first performance there. In 2008, he joined John McLaughlin, Chick Corea, Kenny Garrett, and Vinnie Colaiuta in the jazz supergroup Five Peace Band.
In addition to his celebrated performances with Dianne Reeves, McBride currently leads five groups: the quintet Inside Straight, a trio featuring Christian Sands and Jerome Jennings, an 18-piece big band, the experimental group A Christian McBride Situation, and the quartet The New Jawn. He also DJs under the name DJ Brother Mister.
McBride served as Creative Chair for Jazz at the Los Angeles Philharmonic from 2006-2010. In March 2016, he was named artistic director of the Newport Jazz Festival.
Ticket Information
Tickets for Dianne Reeves & Christian McBride Duo | Tia Fuller – Diamond Cut begin at $19 and can be purchased at dso.org, by calling (313) 576-5111, or in-person at the Max M. & Marjorie S. Fisher Music Center Box Office (3711 Woodward Ave., Detroit).
At 6:15 p.m., the Civic Jazz Orchestra will perform on the Orchestra Hall stage. Admission is free to all ticketholders to the Paradise Jazz Series concert; for all others, general admission tickets are $15.
At 10 p.m., after the concert in Orchestra Hall, McBride will DJ an Old School Funk and Soul Dance Party in the Peter D. and Julie F. Cummings Cube. General admission tickets are $15 and can be purchased in advance or at the door.
Groups of 10 or more can save up to 30% on the price of a single ticket for most DSO concerts. For more information, contact Group Sales Manager Jim Sabatella at (313) 576-5130 or jsabatella@dso.org.
About the DSO
Hailed by the New York Times as “cutting edge,” the internationally acclaimed Detroit Symphony Orchestra is known for trailblazing performances, visionary maestros, collaborations with the world’s foremost musical artists, and an ardent commitment to Detroit. As a community-supported orchestra, generous giving by individuals and institutions at all levels drives the continued success and growth of the institution. Esteemed conductor Leonard Slatkin, called “America’s Music Director” by the Los Angeles Times, became the DSO’s 12th Music Director, endowed by the Kresge Foundation, in 2008. The 2017-2018 Season marked Slatkin’s tenth and final year in the role, and in 2018-2019 he returns as Music Director Laureate. Acclaimed conductor, arranger, and trumpeter Jeff Tyzik serves as Principal Pops Conductor, while celebrated trumpeter and composer Terence Blanchard holds the Fred A. and Barbara M. Erb Jazz Creative Director Chair. With growing attendance and unwavering philanthropic support from the Detroit community, the DSO’s performance schedule includes Classical, Pops, Jazz, Young People’s, and Neighborhood concerts, and collaborations with high profile artists from Steven Spielberg to Ben Folds and Lang Lang. In July 2017, the DSO embarked on its first international tour in 16 years, making its debut in China and first visit to Japan in 19 years. A commitment to broadcast innovation began in 1922, when the DSO became the first orchestra in the world to present a radio broadcast, and continues today with the free Live from Orchestra Hall webcast series, which also reaches tens of thousands of children with the Classroom Edition expansion. Making its home at historic Orchestra Hall within the Max M. and Marjorie S. Fisher Music Center, one of America’s most acoustically perfect concert halls, the DSO actively pursues a mission to embrace and inspire individuals, families, and communities through unsurpassed musical experiences.