Ravinia 2022, Issue 6

PREVIOUS PAGE: PASHA RIGER; THIS PAGE: PHILIPE GREENBERG She has one other vivid memory of Ravinia and attending concerts there: “The cicadas,” she laughs. “Wild.” Prior to participating in RSMI, Kelly studied at the New England Conservatory. She went on to Berklee College of Music, which she grad- uated from at age 19—this year, she joined that hallowed institution’s board of directors. Other career benchmarks include performing as a soloist with the Boston Pops Orches- tra (at 14) and in 2009 performing at Barack Obama’s inauguration (at 16). In 2016, she joined Stay Human, Jon Batiste’s house band for The Late Show with Stephen Colbert . She has performed and recorded with such esteemed artists as Dave Brubeck, Harry Connick Jr., Gloria Estefan, Lee Konitz, Wynton Marsalis, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Questlove, and Phil Woods. As a bandleader, she has recorded 13 CDs. Her most recent, Go- TiMe: Live in LA , was released in 2019, and it showcases her genre-bending virtuosity and electrifying showman- ship, what she has called her “whole dancing, furry-pink-boa-wearing self.” It gave certain reviewers pause. A JazzTimes critic noted that “her reach and outreach are commendable,” but bemoaned “the loss of the straight- ahead [jazz] star that Grace Kelly could’ve been.” For her part, Kelly is only looking ahead. “An artist’s responsibility is to keep growing, innovating, pushing the boundaries, following their muse and inspirations,” she says. “The most authentic version of me is a mixture of things. I adore and love playing straight-ahead jazz. But you can take that language and put it in other con- texts. That’s what artists like Charlie Parker and Miles Davis were doing in their day, and if they were alive, they would be doing something innovative. That attitude of, ‘ that ’s not jazz; this is jazz’ is boxing someone in. That’s not where the heart and soul of jazz is.” Kelly’s world travels—she has per- formed in 35 countries—have expand- ed her artistic and musical horizons. “I’ve experienced very cool musician- ship and different kinds of playing,” she says. “Jazz has reached people all around the globe. It blew my mind when I was in Madagascar and someone calls out the song, ‘All the Things You Are,’ and everyone knows it. I’m the type of musician who loves to get thrown into different musical languages. It’s the most genuine way to go about learning the music.” Kelly has earned several presti- gious accolades, including multiple ASCAP Composer Awards. In 2018, she received Song of the Year honors in the John Lennon Songwriting Con- test. In 2009, she became the youngest ever named to DownBeat Magazine ’s Critics Poll, winning the Rising Star Alto Saxophone poll in 2017. She was anything but idle during the pandemic. She collaborated with Leo Pellegrino of Too Many Zooz (with whom she shares Ravinia’s Carousel Stage on September 9) on an online saxophone school. “I’m grate- ful there were ways to connect with my audience, from performing on live streams to reading posted comments,” she says. Kelly has a new album in the works to be followed by another passion project, a collection of some of her favorite movie music. She will end the year going on tour for a Christmas concert. She has not put aside her childhood dream of being a Broadway actress. “It’s still on my bucket list,” she says. For someone who has accom- plished so much at such a young age, where does the motivation and inspiration to continue to push herself come from? “I get excited about challenging myself more,” she says. “I watch contemporaries pushing the envelope. I have a lot of students I mentor and I am incredibly encour- aged at how they are pushing forward. I’m always encouraging people to find their unique voices. If they don’t, then the world is losing the potential for fresh and innovative artists. That is the fuel of inspiration. I keep looking toward the future. It’s a lot of fun.” Donald Liebenson is a Chicago-based entertainment writer. His work has appeared in the Chicago Tribune , Chicago Sun-Times , Los Angeles Times , and on RogerEbert.com. The first Ravinia concert he attended without his parents was Procol Harum in 1970. RAVINIA MAGAZINE • AUGUST 29 – SEPTEMBER 18, 2022 14