WAYNESBORO – The Arts Alliance of Greater Waynesboro/Destination ARTS! presents its second annual Destination JAZZ event on Saturday, April 26, from 4:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Waynesboro Area Senior High School auditorium, located at 550 E. Second St.
Headlining this year’s festival is the powerhouse jazz septet The Cookers, featuring Eddie Henderson (trumpet), David Weiss (trumpet), Azar Lawrence (tenor sax), Craig Handy (alto sax), George Cables (piano), Cecil McBee (bass) and Billy Hart (drums).
The Waynesboro Area Senior High Jazz Band, under the direction of Christopher Ritter, and the Chambersburg Area Senior High School Jazz Band, under the direction of Nicole Albright, will open the festivities with performances starting at 4:30 p.m., followed by the Cookers at 7 p.m.
Deemed “a dream team” by The New York Times, The Cookers is an all-star group of leaders who summon up an aggressive mid ‘60s spirit with a potent collection of expansive post-bop originals marked by all the requisite killer instincts and pyrotechnic playing expected of some of the heaviest hitters on the scene today.
After 17 years together, The Cookers, who “embody the serious-as-death commitment that it took to thrive on the New York scene some four decades ago” (The Boston Globe), recently released their sixth album, “Look Out!,” the follow-up album to five critically-acclaimed recordings. Eddie Henderson (trumpet), Cecil McBee (bass), George Cables (piano), and Billy Hart (drums) all came up in the heady era of the mid ‘60s. It was a period that found the dimensions of hard bop morphing from their original designs, and these musicians helped facilitate the process as members of some of the era’s most important bands.
Hart and Henderson were members of Herbie Hancock’s groundbreaking Mwandishi group. Henderson also played with Art Blakey, Elvin Jones, Johnny Griffin, McCoy Tyner, the Latin band Azteca, and many more. Hart (an NEA Jazz Master) has long been one of the most highly respected drummers in the world, gracing the bands of Jimmy Smith, Wes Montgomery, McCoy Tyner, Stan Getz, and Miles Davis—to name a few. McBee anchored Charles Lloyd’s great ’60s quartet alongside Keith Jarrett and Jack DeJohnette and has also recorded with Wayne Shorter, Chet Baker, Freddie Hubbard, Woody Shaw, and McCoy Tyner.
Cables held down the piano chair in numerous bands including groups led by Sonny Rollins, Joe Henderson, Freddie Hubbard, Dexter Gordon, and Art Pepper. David Weiss (trumpet), from a more recent generation, gained experience performing with Freddie Hubbard, Charles Tolliver, Billy Harper, Slide Hampton, Louis Hayes, and more. Azar Lawrence (tenor sax) has recorded/wrote for luminaries such as Miles Davis, Freddie Hubbard, McCoy Tyner, Busta Rhymes, Roberta Flack, and Phyllis Hyman, as well as writing and performing on Earth, Wind & Fire’s highly acclaimed platinum album “Powerlight.”
Craig Handy (alto sax) toured with Herbie Hancock in the late 1990s and has recorded or toured with John Scofield, Charles Tolliver, Wynton Marsalis, Art Blakey, Joe Henderson, Betty Carter, Abdullah Ibrahim, and the John Hicks Legacy Band.
General admission to Destination JAZZ is $10 in advance through April 12, and $20 beginning April 13. Student tickets are $10. Student bands will perform from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. The Cookers set will begin at 7 p.m. Free parking for the concert is readily available on site at Waynesboro Area Senior High School. Tickets are available online at www.artsalliancegw.org, or at the door on the day of the event. Questions about the event should be directed to [email protected].
In addition—on Friday, April 25, the Steve Rudolph Trio will perform a special free concert (donations encouraged) from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Gallery 50/Music Makers, located at 50 West Main Street, Waynesboro, PA, featuring pianist Steve Rudolph, bassist Hassan J.J. Shakur and drummer Larry Marshall. With 14 acclaimed CDs as a leader, Rudolph has served as producer, arranger, and performer on many recordings including sessions with Johnny Coles, Bill Goodwin, Ali Ryerson, Matt Wilson, Cal Collins, Jonathan Ragonese, Phil Haynes, Roger Humphries, JD Walter, and Vinny Valentino. His vast experience encompasses concert performances with many jazz masters including Louie Bellson, Clark Terry, Terry Gibbs, Al Grey and the Mills Brothers. Rudolph has toured throughout the U.S., India, Europe, Canada, Russia and the Caribbean. At home in Harrisburg, he is the leader of many ensembles including the Harrisburg Jazz Collective Big Band.
Generous support for Destination JAZZ comes from a Franklin County Impact Grant, with additional support from Rent in Waynesboro.com. All proceeds help support the nonprofit Arts Alliance of Greater Waynesboro, which presents free live music and visual arts shows every weekend year-round at Gallery 50 and Music Makers in Waynesboro and sponsors and helps support artists, art organizations and art venues throughout the Waynesboro area.
