Chicago, Illinois Feb 16, 2024 (Issuewire.com) - Today, Peabody Award winning Producer Jim Luce announces the lineup and launch of the new Chicago Jazz Piano Festival at Pianoforte Studios,1335 S Michigan Avenue in Chicago.
About the Chicago Jazz Piano Festival
- Dates: Spring Season March 29/30; April 26/27; May 10/11; Fall Season September 20/21; October 25/26; November 29/30
- Venue: Pianoforte Studios at Pianoforte Piano, 1335 S. Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL 60605
- Featured Pianists: A stellar lineup of renowned jazz pianists from around the globe, including Benito Gonzalez (Venezuela), David Kikoski (USA), Uri Caine (USA), Elio Villafranca (Cuba), Dayramir Gonzalez (Cuba) and Laurence Hobgood (USA).
- Presented by: Luce Group
- For more information, ticket details, and the festival’s complete schedule, visit https://www.chicagojazzpiano.com/
About Pianoforte Studio:
A Great Piano in a Perfect Listening Room Is a dynamic setting for music.
As music presenters, we know that musicians and the public depend on the highest standards of quality. A piano festival is only as good as the piano it features. Pianoforte Chicago & Pianoforte Studios is dedicated to the highest standards of craftsmanship and quality in pianos. Their commitment to excellence makes them the perfect home for the Chicago Jazz Piano Festival, as the finest pianos elevate the concert experience to new heights.
"The 2024 Chicago Jazz Piano Festival is a dream come true for all of us who have a deep love for jazz and piano music. We built the PianoForte Studios as the perfect listening room with this festival in mind.”
— Thomas Zoells, Pianoforte Chicago
“The Chicago Jazz Piano Festival is a celebration of the dynamic history and vibrant future of jazz piano. This year's lineup promises to be an unforgettable experience for all jazz enthusiasts and music lovers."
— Managing Director Jim Luce
The pulse of jazz will reverberate through the city as the inaugural Chicago Jazz Piano Festival takes center stage. The festival features an exceptional array of world-class jazz pianists at Pianoforte Studios, including Benito Gonzalez, David Kikoski, Uri Caine, Elio Villafranca, Dayramir Gonzalez and Laurence Hobgood. The festival will take place over six weekends from March 29 to November 30, 2024 and will showcase a diverse range of jazz styles and traditions in the intimate performance space at Pianoforte Studios in Chicago.
Concerts take place at 7:30 and 9pm. Tickets range from $45 to $65 and are available at chicagojazzpiano.com
Organized by the Luce Group, this year's festival promises an unforgettable celebration of jazz, uniting renowned musicians, jazz enthusiasts, and the city's vibrant cultural scene. Over six weekends, the festival will immerse audiences in the diverse tapestry of jazz piano, featuring a stellar lineup of international artists.
SPRING SEASON
Benito Gonzalez | March 29/30 Letters to McCoy & Pharoah web: https://www.benitogonzalezmusic.com/
Gonzalez, a native of Maracaibo, Venezuela, will kick off the festival on March 29-30. Gonzalez has performed and recorded with such jazz greats as Jackie McLean, Pharoah Sanders, Bobby Hutcherson, Dave Liebman, Gary Bartz, Curtis Fuller, Al Foster, Lenny White, Billy Hart, Ignacio Berroa, Jeff”Tain”Watts, Buster Williams, Rene McLean, Steve Turre, Delfeayo Marsalis, Hamiet Bluiett, Ron Blake, Antonio Sanchez, Mark Gross, and Azar Lawrence.
David Kikoski | April 26/27 The Music of McCoy Tyner & Chick Corea web: https://www.davekikoski.com/
On April 26th and 27th, the festival will feature David Kikoski, a pianist, composer, and arranger who is known for his adept post-bop style and spontaneous swinging play, and especially for his contributions to the band of Roy Haynes. “Dave has so much feeling. He can play anything. I can depend on him for so much.” – Roy Haynes… A highly regarded jazz pianist, Dave Kikoski, emerged in New York jazz scene in the 1980s and quickly established himself as a go-to performer working with top players like Roy Haynes, Bob Berg, Randy Brecker and many others. Kikoski is known for his adept post-bob style and spontaneous swinging play. As a leader, Kikoski has released 20 albums, including Presage with Eddie Gomez and Al Foster (1989) and Consequences featuring Jeff “Tain” Watts and Christian McBride (2015). His most recent two albums were released under High Note Records: Phoenix Rising (2019) and Sure Thing (2021). Kikoski won a 2011 Grammy Award with the Mingus Big Band for the “Best Live Jazz Ensemble Album” for Live at the Jazz Standard
Uri Caine | May 10/11 New Directions in Solo Piano www.uricaine.com
Pianist, composer, arranger and music visionary Uri Caine was born in Philadelphia and began studying piano with Bernard Peiffer and composition with George Rochberg as a teenager. He played in jazz bands led by Philly Joe Jones, Hank Mobley, Johnny Coles, Mickey Roker, Odean Pope and Grover Washington. He moved to New York in 1985. He has compiled a body of work that stands with any pianist working across the disciplines of jazz, classical music and 21st century new music. Uri leads an acoustic trio that has made several jazz recordings including Live at the Village Vanguard (Winter and Winter). Recent compositions include Agent Orange (2017) written for the Brussels Philharmonic and 4 Wunderhorn Songs (2017) written for the SWF Orchestra. Caine composed The Passion of Octavius Catto for the Philadelphia Orchestra with gospel choir celebrating the life of murdered Philadelphia civil rights leader Octavius Catto and Hamsa for the Swedish Chamber Orchestra based on Bach’s 5th Brandenburg Concerto. He was the Director of The Venice Bienalle in 2003, and has received commissions to compose music for the American Composers Orchestra, the Vienna Volksoper, the BBC concert orchestra, Concerto Koln, The Basel Chamber Orchestra, the Arditi Quartet and The Beaux Arts Trio among others. He was the Composer in Residence for the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra for 3 years and has performed his version of the Diabelli Variations with orchestras including the Cleveland Orchestra, the Swedish Chamber Orchestra and the Moscow Chamber Orchestra. He has performed at the Newport Jazz festival, the North Sea Jazz festival, the Monterey Jazz festival, the Montreal Jazz festival and as well as classical festivals like the Salzburg festival, the Munich Opera, Holland Festival, IRCAM and Great Performers at Lincoln Center.
FALL SEASON
Elio Villafranca September 20/21 A Message From Mother Africa web: https://eliovillafranca.com/
The festival continues September 20-21 with a performance by Elio Villafranca, a Grammy-nominated pianist, composer, and bandleader. Villafranca is known for his passionate and evocative playing, which draws on his Cuban heritage and classical training. In 2015, Mr. Villafranca was among the 5 pianists hand picked by Chick Corea to perform at the first Chick Corea Jazz Festival, curated by Chick Corea himself at JALC. Elio Villafranca’s new album Caribbean Tinge (Motema), received a 2014 Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik Nomination by the German Records Critics Award, as well has been selected by JazzTimes and DownBeat magazines
Dayramir Gonzalez October 25/26 Contemporary & Traditional Afro-Cuban Concepts
web: https://dayramirgonzalez.com/
Thanks to his father, the Afro-Cuban jazz trumpeter Fabian Gonzalez, music has always been a driving force in Gonzalez’s life. He attended musical arts schools while growing up and began playing jazz piano professionally at age 16. Hailing from Havana, Cuba, pianist and composer Dayramir Gonzalez is known as an advocate for traditional Cuban music, including the danzón. He has performed in venues such as Carnegie Hall, The New York Jazz Piano Festival and the Havana Jazz Festival, among others. He is the co-founder of the Art School of Contemporary Performance and Creativity - a school that provides comprehensive music education to New York City elementary school students. Growing up, Dayramir attended the Instituto Superior del Arte in Havana for four years and then moved to Boston and the Berklee School of Music on a full scholarship and moved on to performing worldwide.
Laurence Hobgood November 29/30 Chicago's Own! web https://laurencehobgood.com/bio
Contemporary virtuoso pianist, multiple Grammy® nominee and 2010 Grammy® winner Laurence Hobgood has enjoyed a multi-faceted and dynamic career. Recognized for his dazzling piano technique and his signature style of composing and arranging, he's been transporting audiences both at home and abroad for over thirty years.
In 1988 Hobgood moved to Chicago and he was quickly absorbed into the scene, playing in groups with legendary Chicago musicians such as Von Freeman, Paul Wertico, Ed Peterson, Fareed Haque, Wilbur "the Chief" Campbell and Eddie Johnson among others. Laurence’s recent project, “ t e s s e t e r r a ,” features works for the trio and string quartet. ETHEL, the same group that played on the Grammy®-winning CD Dedicated To You, contributed to the recording. The repertoire is all iconic songs intricately arranged and orchestrated for this ensemble by Hobgood (the writing spanned four and a half years of work). From Hoagy Carmichael to Crosby, Stills and Nash; Sting to Cole Porter to Paul McCartney and even Chopin, the music dances with energy — totally accessible,
replete with elements of jazz/classical crossover, the recording is both ambitious and totally engaging. A rare opportunity to hear the virtuoso Laurence Hobgood alone at the piano. Hobgood has performed at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Ozawa Hall at Tanglewood, Chicago’s Symphony Center and Ravinia, the Sydney Opera House, London’s Barbican and Queen Elizabeth Halls, as well as the world’s most prestigious jazz festivals
including Montreux, North Sea, Monterey, Spoleto USA, Newport, Umbria, Montreal, JVC festivals in Paris and Japan and many others.
Tickets for the festival are available now. For more information and interviews with the artists, please call Jim Luce at 917-371-1537 or visit CHICAGOJAZZPIANO.COM
Media Contact
Chicago Jazz Piano Festival pianoculture@mac.com 917-371-1537 1335 S. Michigan Avenue http://chicagojazzpiano.com
