ellington jazz series
Thomas C. Duffy, artistic director
Jane Bunnett & Maqueque
Friday, March 3, 2023 | 7:30 p.m. Morse Recital Hall in Sprague Memorial Hall
Robert Blocker, Dean
Artist Profiles
Jane Bunnett & Maqueque
Jane Bunnett, soprano saxophone & flute
Joanna Tendai Majoko, vocals
Mary Paz, congas & vocals
Dánae Olano, piano
Tailin Marrero, acoustic & electric bass
Yissy García, drums
Five-time Juno Award winner Jane Bunnett has turned her bands and recordings into showcases for the finest musical talent from Canada, the US, and Cuba. She has been nominated for three Grammy Awards, received The Order of Canada, The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal, and, most recently, The Premier’s Award for Excellence.
With Maqueque, Bunnett has created something new and phenomenal in the world of jazz. What started out five years ago as a project to record and mentor young brilliant Cuban female musicians, has become one of the top groups on the North American jazz scene. Since 2015, they have played in major jazz festivals like Newport and Monterey, been featured on NPR’s program Jazz Night in America, won a Juno Award for their first album, Jane Bunnett and Maqueque, were nominated for a Grammy Award for their second release, Oddara and were nominated for a Juno Award for their latest release, On Firm Ground/Tierra Firme. Most recently, were voted as one the top ten jazz groups by the prestigious DownBeat magazine’s critics poll.
An internationally acclaimed musician, Bunnett is known for her creative integrity, improvisational daring, and courageous artistry. Her exploration of Afro-Cuban
melodies expresses the universality of music, and her ability to embrace and showcase the rhythms and culture of Cuba has been ground-breaking. She has toured the world bringing her own special sound to numerous jazz festivals, displaying her versatility as a flutist, saxophone player, and pianist.
Two documentaries have been made about Bunnett’s work: Spirits of Havana by the National Film Board was presented at numerous film festivals internationally, on television (CBC, PBS), and in Europe. A more recent film, Embracing Voices, has been shown at film festivals and is awaiting commercial release.
As an educator, spokesperson, and social activist, JANE remains unafraid to explore uncharted territory in her quest for excellence.
» janebunnett.comAbout the Ellington Jazz Series
For fifty years, the Duke Ellington Fellowship has brought the giants of jazz to Yale’s concert halls and to the city’s public schools. In 1972, Yale’s president Kingman Brewster presented the first Ellington medals to thirty jazz greats, including the Duke himself. That year marked the beginning of a series of extraordinary jazz concerts by Eubie Blake, Dizzy Gillespie, Paul Robeson, Marian Anderson, Odetta, Max Roach, and Charles Mingus, to name just a few.
The Ellington Series continues to present concerts and residencies by jazz legends as well as the new generation of artists.
2022-2023 Ellington Jazz Series
apr 2 Epitaph: 100 Years of Mingus
2 p.m. | Woolsey Hall
Tickets start at $23, Students start at $10
Upcoming Events at YSM
mar 5 Kyung Yu, violin, with Melissa Rose, piano
Faculty Artist Series
3 p.m. | Morse Recital Hall
Free admission
mar 7 Vista: Chamber Music
YSM Ensembles
7:30 p.m. | Morse Recital Hall
Free admission
mar 8 Lunchtime Chamber Music
12:30 p.m. | Slifka Center (80 Wall St, 2nd fl.)
Free admission
mar 9 George Lewis, guest composer
New Music New Haven
7:30 p.m. | Morse Recital Hall
Free admission
mar 10 Derek Wang, piano Artist Diploma Recital
7:30 p.m. | Morse Recital Hall
Free admission
mar 28 Dallas Symphony Orchestra
7:30 p.m. | Woolsey Hall
Free admission; registration requested
yale school of music box office
Sprague Memorial Hall, 470 College Street, New Haven, CT 06511 203 432–4158 | music-tickets.yale.edu
wshu 91.1 fm is the media sponsor of the Yale School of Music
Connect with us @yalemusic
yalemusic
@yale.music YaleSchoolofMusicOfficial
If you do not intend to save your program, please recycle it in the baskets at the exit doors.