Ravinia 2022, Issue 1

“In the Jazz Mentor Program, I suddenly was among people my age who shared the same passions. And to have the talented and enthusiastic professionals accept me and encourage me, it gave me the feeling I could make music my life.” Marquis Hill quickly solidified his now 20-year connection to Ravinia during his first year at Kenwood Academy in Chicago, auditioning into the Jazz Mentor Program, where for four years he worked closely with another jazz piano legend, Willie Pickens (below, right), and eight other major Chicago jazz pros. “I understand these musical labels and genres are the language we use to describe music, but I don’t view music that way. It all comes from the same source,” Hill stressed. Hill’s trumpet style has been com- pared to aspects of the incomparable Miles Davis and other jazz virtuosos like Lee Morgan, Freddie Hubbard, and Donald Byrd. DownBeat mag- azine described a “glass-like lucid- ity” in his playing of “groove-laden arrangements” that elevate his “fluid improvisational style.” In 2016, he placed first in the Rising Star, Trum- pet category of the magazine’s highly regarded critic’s poll. Earlier this year, Hill released his latest collection, New Gospel Revisited , which highlights a list of high-octane musicians including Walter Smith III, Joel Ross, James Francies, Kendrick Scott, and Harish Raghavan. The al- bum features an exhilarating, urgent, live reimagining of his 2012 debut, New Gospel . “This album is just one of the projects I have been working on. I am always looking to create. I have a few new projects and ideas I will be recording in the fall, and I am also touring. It’s nice to finally be able to get back and playing for people,” he said. “The last few years with COVID hanging over us brought things to a stop in many ways. But it also gave me time to focus. I chose to use this time positively and creatively,” Hill added. “[That creative process] has changed over the years. I used to sit down at a piano and write everything down. It was very conventional. But today, I will start playing my trumpet or other instruments and get a feel for something and find small fragments that can be built into something bigger. And now with technology, I will take those random pieces and, depending what software I am using, will begin to flesh it out into a demo. “Of course, that demo then chang- es again when I get into a studio and start playing it for and with musicians. Then it takes on another new life. That’s when the magic begins,” he enthusiastically said. Hill mused on why Ravinia is one of the best music venues to play: “I have been fortunate to have played all around the world, and Ravinia is easily among the top tier—the top five—venues to play in the entire world. There is such a history on the Ravinia stage. I believe the spirit of all those great performers of the past who have played on that stage still lives on that stage. You can feel it. I know I can.” Ramsey Lewis has been part of that “in” crowd more than 40 times over. And with a new gener- ation of like-minded adherents like Hill, the spirit will keep dressin’ fine and makin’ time. James Turano is a freelance writer and a former entertainment editor, feature writer, and columnist for national and local magazines and newspapers. He has written official programs for eight Elton John tours since 2003 and is also a Chicago radio personality and host on WGN 720AM. Read Ravinia’s “exit interview” with Ramsey Lewis—written by longtime DownBeat contributor John McDonough in 2020, shortly after Lewis’s official retirement—online at backstage.ravinia.org/posts/ramsey-lewis-2020. OREL CHOLLETTE (PORTRAIT); JIM STEERE (2003) RAVINIA MAGAZINE • JUNE 15 – JULY 3, 2022 14