Jazz Roots-Jazz Meets Gershwin, a concert hosted by Michael Feinstein and starring Terence Blanchard, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Dave Grusin and others, will take place Nov. 4 at 8 p.m. at the John S. and James L. Knight Concert Hall of the Adrienne Arsht Center, 1300 Biscayne Boulevard in Miami. Tickets prices range from $25-$130 and may be purchased through the Adrienne Arsht Center box office by calling (305) 949-6722, or online at Arshtcenter.org.
The event opens the 2011-12 Jazz Roots season. The full scheduled lineup includes trumpeter/composer Terence Blanchard, leading the Henry Mancini Institute Orchestra;
composer/arranger/pianist Dave Grusin; violinist Mark O’Connor; opera singer Denyce Graves; vocalists Dee Dee Bridgewater and Monica Mancini; pianist and Dean of UM Frost School of Music Shelly Berg; and Michael Feinstein as host. Feinstein is currently writing a new book about the songs of the Gershwin brothers and co-producing a movie about them.
The program will showcase jazz arrangements of Gershwin’s concert masterpieces and perennial favorites such as “Rhapsody in Blue,” “They Can’t Take That Away from Me,” “S’Wonderful” and “Fascinating Rhythm.” Blanchard will make his debut performance in his new role as Artistic Director, leading the Henry Mancini Institute Orchestra at University of Miami Frost School of Music.
Jazz Roots also features an in-depth educational partnership with Miami-Dade County Public Schools, which will bring more than 900 music students to the Center for a unique behind-the-scenes experience, including a pre-concert sound check and a Q&A session with featured artists, followed by a workshop with a local jazz expert who will highlight the music, the artistic process and the practical skills needed for a career in the arts. In addition, the Center has developed a curriculum that will be distributed to 800 music, English and social studies teachers throughout the MDCPS school system, potentially serving 24,000 children.
