Ravinia 2023 Issue 1

JOEL MARTINEZ (FEINSTEIN) MARTIN THEATRE 7:30 PM WEDNESDAY, JUNE 14, 2023 MICHAEL FEINSTEIN, piano/vocalist -($1ɨ<9(6 7+,B$8'(7 , piano Two Pianos: Who Could Ask for Anything More? Two of today’s most celebrated artists— Michael Feinstein and Jean-Yves Thibaudet —join forces for the first time in an all-embracing program for two pianos celebrating the music of George Gershwin and his world. Born of a serendipitous encounter between the two artists at Festival Napa Valley , “Two Pianos: Who Could Ask for Anything More?” showcases each artist’s unique gi s for creativity, virtuosity, and the sheer joy of music making. ere is an extraordinary heritage of th-century music that straddles the worlds of concert and theater, and this presentation will resonantly connect the dots with rich anecdotes and rare musicality a orded the genre. A centerpiece of the program is lost and unknown Gershwin works, some originally conceived for two pianos, alongside widely loved music like Rhapsody in Blue . Other features include works from Alec Wilder and Cole Porter, suites of charming waltzes by Richard Rodgers and of beloved Latin melodies, and forays into jazz, ragtime, and stride. Ravinia expresses its appreciation for the generous support of Sponsor Chris & Elise Klein . Michael Feinstein’s appearance is made possible in part by the Barbara S. Herst Memorial Guest Artist Fund . MICHAEL FEINSTEIN Born and raised in Columbus, OH, Michael Feinstein started playing piano by ear at age . A er graduating high school, he moved to Los Angeles, where in he was introduced to Ira Gershwin. Feinstein became his assis- tant for six years, which allowed him access to numerous unpublished Gershwin songs, many of which he has since performed and recorded. Gershwin’s influence provided a base for Feinstein to become a composer and arranger in addition to a performer, with a repertoire also encompassing Irving Berlin, Jerome Kern, Johnny Mercer, Duke Ellington, and Harry Warren. Alongside ve Grammy Award nominations and three honorary doc- torates from his three decades of bringing the music of the Great American Songbook to the world, Feinstein has earned multiple Emmy nominations for his PBS specials, and he has hosted an acclaimed NPR series, Song Travels . Beyond concerts at such venues as the White House, Buckingham Palace, the Hollywood Bowl, Carnegie Hall, and the Sydney Opera House, Feinstein works as an educator and archivist, creating the Great American Songbook Foundation in . Based at the Palladium of the Center for the Performing Arts in Carmel, IN, which Feinstein is the artistic director for, the foundation is dedicated to celebrating and preserving the art form through educational programs such as the annual High School Songbook Academy. Feinstein also serves on the Library of Congress’s National Recording Preservation Board. His own dis- cography has most recently featured Gershwin Country —which reimagines the brothers’ classic songs through country music in collaboration with Dolly Parton, Alison Krauss, Brad Paisley, Rosanne Cash, and more—alongside a Christmas album with pianist Alan Broadbent, a two-vol- ume celebration of Frank Sinatra, and Cheek to Cheek with Barbara Cook. He co-wrote the title track of his disc We Dreamed ese Days with Maya Angelou. Feinstein has been the principal pops conductor of the Pasadena Symphony since , and he launched a pops series at the Kravis Center in Palm Beach, FL, in , focusing on American Songbook rarities and classics. Michael Feinstein rst appeared at Ravinia in and tonight plays the festival for the th time. James Davis is a Chi- cago-based trumpeter exploring a wide array of musical environ- ments, composing and improvising with a diverse blend of com- munities. That background and his range of interests can be heard through his cham- ber-jazz group Beveled and the improvising e ects-laden LORIS, among other jazz proj- ects. Davis has also recently collaborated with Matt Ulery’s Pollinator, Chris Dammann’s Restroy, Lucas Gillan’s Many Blessings, e Heritage Jazz Orchestra, and e New Stan- dard Jazz Orchestra. A jazz fellow at RSMI in , he was a nalist in the Inter- national Trumpet Guild Jazz Improvisation Competition and the Carmine Caruso International Jazz Trumpet Competition. Davis’s most recent recording is the Remain Calm EP ( ) with Beveled, which issued an eponymous debut in , and he has made two albums with his quintet: Disap- pearing Roads ( ) and Angles of Refraction ( ). His music-making is also featured on avant-rock/jazz band Zing!’s Magnetic Flux ( ) and multiple albums with Albertan drummer Karl Schwonik. He is currently on the faculties of Triton, Wheaton, and Harold Washington Colleges. Glenn Zaleski is an in-demand pianist on New York’s jazz scene, having played with the likes of Ravi Col- trane, Lage Lund, and Ari Hoenig. His latest albums range from solo ( Vol. in and Vol. in ) to quintet ( e Question , ) to trio ( Live at Jazz Standard , ), the latter with his long-standing combo Stranahan/Za- leski/Rosato, which also features on Limitless ( ) and Anticipation ( ). Zaleski earned wide critical acclaim with his Sunnyside Records debut My Ideal , and he also appears with his brother, saxophonist Mark Zaleski, on Duet Suite ( ). Originally from Boyl- ston, MA, Zaleski was an RSMI fellow in and attended the Brubeck Institute Fel- lowship program in California from to before nishing undergraduate studies at e New School in New York in . He then joined the NYU faculty while working toward a graduate degree through , when he became both a semi nalist in the eloni- ous Monk International Jazz Piano Competi- tion and a nalist for the American Pianists Association’s Cole Porter Fellowship. Dan Chmielinski is a critically acclaimed bassist and compos- er currently based in Los Angeles who maintains a bi-coastal schedule of live per- formances, music production, and lm scor- ing. Recently a Grammy winner as a member of the Generation Gap Jazz Orchestra, he has also earned praise for his original music in e Exiles , a Sundance winning doc- umentary, and his duo project ChimyTina with vocalist Martina DaSilva, last summer releasing the album Constellations . In addi- tion to leading Four by Four, a combo of jazz and classical quartets, and Circuit Kisser, an ensemble of synthesizers, electric bass, and drums, Chmielinski has traveled the world collaborating with the likes of Wynton Mar- salis, Joey Alexander, Billy Childs, Marc Cary, Dianne Reeves, Veronica Swi , and Jon Ba- tiste. A fellow at RSMI, he earned bach- elor’s and master’s degrees from e Juilliard School under the guidance of Marsalis and Ron Carter. He has also participated in BMI’s “Composing for the Screen” mentorship and studied with composers Philip Lasser, Kend- all Briggs, and Edward Bilous. Drummer, composer, and bandleader Ken- neth Salters recently released his debut al- bum as a leader, Enter to Exit , on Destiny Records. He has be- come a xture on Manhattan’s West Village independent jazz scene and around the world as an in-demand sideman. Salters’s band comprises a coterie of musicians with whom Salters has surrounded himself for the better part of a decade, performing originals and emotionally signi cant covers that serve as a memoir of his time in New York City. Born in New Haven, CT, and raised in Columbia, SC, Salters began his musical career on trombone before pursuing his studies as a percussion major at the University of South Carolina. In he was a fellow in the RSMI Program for Jazz. Since moving to New York in , he has worked with numerous luminaries in jazz and R&B, including Don Byron, Chris Potter, and Aretha Franklin. RAVINIA MAGAZINE • JUNE 6 – JULY 2, 2023 I I I