GERSHWIN CELEBRATION WITH MARCUS ROBERTS TRIO

Friday, October 6, 2023 at 7:30 pm

Saturday, October 7, 2023 at 7:30 pm

Sunday, October 8, 2023 at 2:30 pm

ALLEN-BRADLEY HALL

John Morris Russell, conductor

Tatiana “LadyMay” Mayfield, vocalist

Marcus Roberts Trio: Marcus Roberts, piano, Roland Guerin, bass, Jason Marsalis, percussion

Program

GEORGE GERSHWIN
Cuban Overture

GEORGE GERSHWIN/arr. Nelson Riddle
Vocal Set with Tatiana Mayfield
“‘S Wonderful”
“The Man I Love”
“Fascinating Rhythm”
Tatiana Mayfield, vocalist

GEORGE GERSHWIN/arr. Sol Berkowitz
“Promenade - Walking the Dog” from The Real McCoy

GEORGE GERSHWIN/arr. R.R. Bennett
Porgy and Bess, A Symphonic Picture

GEORGE GERSHWIN/arr. Don Rose Girl Crazy Overture

GEORGE GERSHWIN/arr. Marcus Roberts Trio
Rhapsody in Blue
Marcus Roberts, piano
Roland Guerin, bass
Jason Marsalis, percussion

JOHN MORRIS RUSSELL

A master of American musical style, John Morris Russell has devoted himself to redefining the American orchestral experience. In his 13th season as conductor of the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, the wide range and diversity of his work as a conductor, collaborator, and educator continues to reinvigorate the musical scene throughout Cincinnati and across the continent. As music director of the Hilton Head Symphony Orchestra in South Carolina, Russell leads the classical subscription series as well as the prestigious Hilton Head International Piano Competition. In his ninth season as principal pops conductor of the Buffalo Philharmonic, Russell has also worked as a guest conductor with many of the most distinguished orchestras in North America.

With the Cincinnati Pops, Russell leads performances at historic Music Hall, concerts throughout the region, as well as domestic and international tours — including Florida in 2014 and China/ Taiwan in 2017. His visionary leadership at The Pops created the “American Originals Project” which has garnered both critical and popular acclaim in two landmark recordings: American Originals (the music of Stephen Foster) and American Originals 1918 (a tribute to the dawn of the jazz age) for which he was awarded a Grammy nomination for “Best Classical Compendium.” In 2020, the American Originals Project continued with King Records and the Cincinnati Sound with Late Night with David Letterman musical director Paul Shaffer, celebrating the beginnings of bluegrass, country, rockabilly, soul, and funk immortalized in recordings produced in the Queen City. Russell is also instrumental in the continuing development of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra’s wildly successful Classical Roots initiative, which he helped create nearly two decades ago to celebrate African American musical traditions.

The Hilton Head Symphony Orchestra has enjoyed unprecedented artistic growth under John Morris Russell’s leadership since 2011; concert attendance has blossomed and the orchestra has doubled its number of concerts.

Russell earned degrees from the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, and Williams College in Massachusetts and has studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, the Cleveland Institute of Music, the Aspen Music Festival in Colorado, and the Pierre Monteux School for Conductors in Hancock, Maine.

Guest Artist Biographies

TATIANA “LADYMAY” MAYFIELD

Tatiana “LadyMay” Mayfield is a jazz/soul vocalist, musician, composer, and educator from Fort Worth, Texas. LadyMay has performed in various venues and festivals throughout the U.S. and abroad, which have earned her rave reviews from listeners and musicians in addition to numerous awards. In 2023, LadyMay was named as an awardee for the “Next Jazz Legacy” program created by NEA Jazz Master Terri Lyne Carrington in partnership with the Berklee Institute of Jazz and Gender Justice and New Music USA with funding from the Mellon Foundation. Through this program, she will be mentored by pianist/vocalist/composer Patrice Rushen and jazz/soul harpist/composer Brandee Younger. Other highlights of her career include performing with the legendary Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, having a number one song on the UK Soul Chart, performing and teaching in Zhuhai, China, and being the first woman and African American person to receive a Master of Music in jazz composition from the University of Texas in Arlington. LadyMay has recorded three albums, From All Directions (2009), A Portrait Of LadyMay (2012), and The Next Chapter (2018). She has also provided vocals in various styles for several artists’ albums, television shows, and films. As an educator, Mayfield will join the faculty in the Lamont School of Music at the University of Denver in Denver, Colorado, as the assistant professor of contemporary popular music in the fall of 2023. She has also taught at the University of Texas at Arlington (Arlington, TX), University of North Texas (Denton, TX), and Dallas College-Cedar Valley Campus (Lancaster, TX).

MARCUS ROBERTS

Pianist Marcus Roberts is known throughout the world for his many contributions to the field of jazz music and his commitment to integrating jazz and classical music to create something wholly new. Roberts has been often hailed as “the genius of the modern piano.” He grew up in Jacksonville, Florida, where his mother’s gospel singing became the foundation for his musical style. He had his first piano lessons at the Florida School for the Deaf and Blind and studied classical piano at Florida State University. His life and work have been featured on the CBS television show 60 Minutes.

Roberts’s critically-acclaimed legacy of recorded music reflects his tremendous artistic versatility and his unique approach to jazz performance. In addition to his renown as a performer, Roberts is an accomplished composer and arranger. He has had numerous commissions, including his most recent piano concerto, commissioned by the great Seiji Ozawa and the Saito Kinen Orchestra. Roberts has performed his groundbreaking arrangement of Rhapsody in Blue countless times over the past 25 years and each version is completely different.

Roberts holds several honorary doctoral degrees and is a professor of music at Florida State University and a distinguished professor of music at Bard College.

ROLAND GUERIN

Roland Guerin is influenced by a wide range of musical styles, from jazz and blues to American folk and zydeco. His playing has a strong country groove with a relaxed feeling of swing. Guerin’s extensive recorded legacy includes several recordings of his own work as well as numerous recordings with other artists, including Marcus Roberts’s Grammy-nominated Portraits in Blue and the Blind Boys of Alabama’s Grammy-winning Down in New Orleans

JASON MARSALIS

Jason Marsalis has held the drum chair in the Marcus Roberts Trio for more than 25 years and is a founding member of Roberts’s Modern Jazz Generation band. Marsalis is widely regarded as one of the greatest drummers of his generation. His musical intellect and technical skill combined with a brilliant thematic, groove-based drum style has been a critical part of the sound and philosophy of Marcus Roberts’s bands for many years.