Ravinia 2019, Issue 1, Week 1

6:00 PM SATURDAY, JUNE 8, 2019 BENNETT GORDON HALL JOHN PATITUCCI, bass HARLEM QUARTET ILMAR GAVILÁN, violin MELISSA WHITE, violin JAIME AMADOR, viola FELIX UMANSKY, cello Tonight’s program will be announced from the stage. HARLEM QUARTET The Harlem Quartet was founded in 2006 by the Sphinx Organization, a nonprofit dedicated to cultivating diversity in classical music, and made its debut at Carnegie Hall. The ensemble has since been heard in 47 states and interna- tionally in the UK, France, Belgium, Brazil, Pan- ama, Canada, Venezuela, Japan, and South Afri- ca. No matter the venue, the quartet brings with it three characteristics: diverse programming that combines music from the traditional can- on with jazz, Latin, and contemporary works, as well as the music of minority composers; a collaborative approach to performance that in- cludes artistic partnerships with other classical and jazz musicians; and an ongoing commit- ment to residency activity and other educational outreach. The foursome is currently serving a three-year residency at London’s Royal College of Music. On a 2016 grant from Chamber Music America, the HarlemQuartet undertook an extended residency in Alabama that included close work with the Mobile Symphony Orchestra. The quartet also worked with the Santa Fe Youth Symphony for a week in 2017/18, and since 2015 has led an annual workshop at Music Mountain in Connecticut. In concert, the Harlem Quartet has shared the stage with such varied artists as classical pianists Michael Brown, Awadagin Pratt, Misha Dichter, and Fei-Fei; jazz pianists Chick Corea and Aldo López-Gavilán; clarinetists Paquito D’Rivera, Eddie Daniels, Anthony McGill, and David Shifrin; saxophonist TimGarland; and jazz legends Ted Nash, Gary Burton, Stanley Clarke, and John Patitucci. Over the past year, the quartet returned to the Chamber Music Society of Detroit for its 75th anniversary season gala and made debuts at Toronto’s Koerner Hall and the De- troit Jazz Festival. In 2012, the Harlem Quartet teamed up with the Chicago Sinfonietta to premiere a string quartet and orchestra arrangement of Bernstein’s West Side Story , later recording it for Cedillle Records. Its latest jazz album is Heart of Brazil: A Tribute to Egberto Gismonti , recorded with the Ed- die Daniels Quartet. The Harlem Quartet first performed at Ravinia in 2008 and is making its fourth appearance at the festival. JOHN PATITUCCI, bass John Patitucci has been at the forefront of jazz for more than 30 years and is active in numerous styles of music. A three-time Grammy winner, he has another 14 nominations to his name and is credited on many more Grammy winning re- cordings. He has performed or recorded with many towering figures in jazz, including Diz- zy Gillespie, Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, Stan Getz, Freddie Hubbard, Roy Haynes, Wynton Marsalis, Michael Breck- er, Kenny Garrett, Victor Feldman, and Nancy Wilson, as well as with such pop icons as Na- talie Cole, John Mayer, Alicia Keys, Joni Mitch- ell, Bono, Sting, James Taylor, and Paul Simon. Patitucci has made 14 solo recordings featuring his own compositions, and he has been com- missioned to write for several chamber music groups. Additionally, he has been a guest soloist with the Swedish and Scottish Chamber Orches- tras, Estonian National Symphony, the Trond- heim Symphony of Norway, and the Saint Louis and London Symphony Orchestras. Patitucci has been deeply involved in education for many years, from writing books and making instruc- tional videos to leading master classes around the world, most recently at Ravinia’s Steans Mu- sic Institute. He was formerly the artistic direc- tor of The Bass Collective and a professor of mu- sic at the City College of New York from 2002 to 2012, and he is currently a visiting scholar at Berklee College of Music’s Global Jazz Institute. He has also launched an interactive, online bass school through ArtistWorks. Over the past year, Patitucci has toured with the Wayne Shorter Quartet, the Children of the Light Trio, and the John Patitucci Electric Guitar Quartet, as well as the Chick Corea Elektric Band on a reunion tour and the Chick Corea Akoustic Band. He is a regular collaborator with the Harlem Quartet as a both a composer and a performer. Patituc- ci’s latest album, Soul of the Bass , was released in April. John Patitucci is making his first return to Ravinia following his festival debut in 2000. RAVINIA MAGAZINE | MAY 31 – JUNE 9, 2019 100