Lovano Plays with the Wayne State Big Band and with his own Quartet at Jazz Club @ The Max

DETROIT, (April 27, 2006) -- “It’s fair to say that he’s one of the greatest musicians in jazz history.” So says Ben Ratliff of The New York Times about tenor saxophonist Joe Lovano, who appears in the final 2005-06 Jazz Club @ The Max concert series presented by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. Sponsored by JPMorganChase, the concerts feature the Joe Lovano Quartet, featuring James Weidman on piano; Esperonza Salding on bass; and Francesco Mela on drums. The Quartet will perform alone as well as with the Wayne State Big Band, the premiere student jazz ensemble of Wayne State University, under the direction of WSU Director of Jazz Studies Chris Collins. Performances are at 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. in The Music Box at the Max M. Fisher Music Center on Friday, May 19.

Voted Down Beat Critic’s & Reader’s Polls “Tenor Saxophonist of the Year” in 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004 and 2005, Grammy Award-winner Joe Lovano has amassed the industry’s top honors for more than a decade, including The New York Times’ “Jazz Album of the Year” in 2004 for I’m All for You. Lovano has long experimented with varying ensembles and formats, including playing unaccompanied saxophone and gongs, as well in duets, trios, quartets, quintets, his Wind Ensemble, Street Band and Nonet, all reflecting his searching and dynamic personality.

A native of Ohio, Lovano is the son of tenor saxophonist Tony “Big T” Lovano, a well-respected jazzman during the 1940s and 50s. The younger Lovano began his career as a member of several top bands including Woody Herman’s Thundering Herd, the Mel Lewis Orchestra and the Paul Motian band. His first high-profile gig bringing him national attention was with guitarist John Scofield’s Quartet, with whom he recorded and toured for three years. He gained further exposure and renown, particularly in Europe, through his work in the trailblazing Paul Motian Trio.

Lovano’s debut Blue Note release, Landmarks, was released in 1991 and featured guitarist John Abercrombit. His first engagement as a leader (at the Village Vanguard in New York) coincided with the release of that record. Since then he has recorded a steady stream of top-rated albums, exploring many different jazz veins, and received numerous Grammy nominations. In 2000 he released 52nd Street Themes, recorded with a stellar cast of musicians and winning a Grammy for “Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album.” In 2001 he became the first recipient of “The Gary Burton Chair for Jazz Performance” at his alma mater, the Berklee College of Music in Boston.

The Wayne State Big Band performs a wide range of traditional and contemporary repertoire. It has played to enthusiastic audiences at the Montreux, Switzerland Jazz Festival, the Detroit Jazz Festival, the Michigan Jazz Festival, and numerous other public and private venues. This award-winning ensemble is the premiere performance ensemble in Wayne State’s Jazz Division. Students study, explore, rehearse and subsequently perform classic jazz, big band, improvisational, and contemporary repertoire. Additionally, this ensemble is responsible for rehearsing student arrangements/compositions and performing at the demanding Jazz graduation recitals.

Director of Jazz Studies at Wayne State University and leader of the Wayne State Big Band, Chris Collins is a professional jazz woodwind player who has toured throughout Japan, South Africa, Europe and North America as the leader of his own ensembles, and as a featured soloist. He has played professionally with artists including the Phil Collins Big Band, Mel Torme, Lou Rawls, Hideo Tacheuchi, the Harvey Thompson Quartet, Rob McConnel and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. His most recent CD release, Jazz From the Shamrock Shore, features extended compositions which artistically combine the instrumentation, musical vocabulary and repertoire of the Irish folk tradition with American Jazz.

Tickets for “Jazz Club @ The Max” are $25, general admission. Tickets can be purchased at the Max M. Fisher Music Center box office (3711 Woodward Ave., Detroit) or by calling (313) 576-5111. Tickets can also be purchased online, 24-hours-a-day at www.detroitsymphony.com.