August 30, 2019, 12:30pm: MJO feat Dee Alexander at the Chicago Jazz Festival

MJO featuring Dee Alexander at the Chicago Jazz Festival

August 30, 2019 | 12:40pm
Chicago Jazz Festival | Von Freeman Pavilion
Millennium Park | Chicago, IL
Free

Jim Gailloreto, one of the city’s finest tenor saxophonists and arrangers, had long wanted to work with Dee Alexander, one of the city’s finest singers. And the splendiforous Alexander had long wanted to pay tribute to one of her idols, Billie Holiday – not with the usual songs but a set of less familiar Lady Day tunes including “Things Are Looking Up,” “24 Hours a Day” and “Somebody’s On My Mind.” That wish came true via a soon-to-be-released album, It’s Too Hot for Words, on which Alexander joins forces with Gailloreto in his guise as leader of the Metropolitan Jazz Octet. Dee and the MJO will perform songs from the recording to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Holiday’s passing.

Founded in the 1950’s by the late Tom Hilliard, the little-recorded MJO was “re-awakened” by Gailloreto several years ago after he inherited his onetime DePaul teacher Hilliard’s archives and updated selected works with another Hilliard protege, trumpeter John Kornegay. Hilliard was ahead of his time, harmonically, so his music is right in the wheelhouse of the new MJO, which includes Bob Sutter on piano; Peter Brusen on tenor saxophone; Doug Scharf on trumpet; Russ Phillips on trombone; Doug Bistrow on bass and Bob Rummage on drums.

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