UMD Jazz Ensembles @ Blues Alley
UMD Jazz Ensembles @ Blues Alley
ABOUT THE EVENT
Join the University of Maryland Jazz Ensembles at Blues Alley for this celebration of American composer Duke Ellington's 125th birthday! Special guests include vocalist Ms. Charenée Wade and saxophonist Mr. Charlie Young, the current director of the Duke Ellington Orchestra.
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Award-winning vocalist, arranger, educator, and composer Charenée Wade has excited audiences all over the world with her ingenuity and vibrancy. A recipient of the 2017 Jazz at Lincoln Center Millennial Swing Award and first runner-up in the 2010 Thelonious Vocal Competition, Wade has worked with artists including Wynton Marsalis, Terri Lyne Carrington, Christian McBride, Winard Harper, Eric Reed, Jacky Terrason, Curtis Lundy, Robert Glasper, and Kyle Abraham. In her early years, Wade was selected as one of four artists for the Dianne Reeves Young Artist Workshop at Carnegie Hall as well as Betty Carter’s Jazz Ahead Program, where she was mentored by Carmen Lundy and Curtis Fuller and performed her original music at the John F. Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. An alumna of what is now the LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts, Wade completed her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music performance at the Manhattan School of Music. Her latest CD, Offering: The Music of Gil Scott-Heron and Brian Jackson, is a powerful reinterpretation of the poet’s musical library, which features notable artists including Lonnie Plaxico, Marcus Miller, Stefon Harris, Malcolm-Jamal Warner, and Christian McBride (spoken word).
Charlie Young has had a rich career performing and recording with various ensembles such as the National Symphony Orchestra, the US Navy Band, the Count Basie Orchestra and the Seattle Symphony Orchestra. Mr. Young has shared the concert stage with many of the music industry's leading icons ranging from Clark Terry and Ella Fitzgerald to Stevie Wonder and Quincy Jones. Performance venues have ranged from London's Royal Albert Hall to New York's Carnegie Hall.
In 1988, Charlie Young was recruited as a member of the Duke Ellington Orchestra where he presently serves as Artistic Director/ Conductor, and lead saxophonist. Young joined the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra in 1995 serving as the ensemble's principal woodwind specialist for over 15 years. In 2013, he was appointed Artistic Director and Conductor.
In addition to working with legendary ensembles, Young and his jazz quintet performed at the 1988 San Remo Jazz and Blues Festival as musical ambassador for Washington DC. In 2008, he was invited to present an inaugural concert and lecture at the opening of the New American University in Cairo, Egypt. Mr. Young is published on over 30 CD recordings, including his solo release "So Long Ago."
Young is a recognized clinician in the field of jazz education as well as in classical and jazz saxophone performance. Clinic presentations in Brazil, Venezuela, Chile, Egypt, Kenya, South Africa, Singapore, and throughout the United States, Europe and Japan has earned Charlie Young a stellar reputation among the most respected in saxophone performance and education.
ABOUT UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND JAZZ ENSEMBLES
The School of Music’s jazz ensembles are composed of more than 100 students. The UMD Jazz Ensemble frequently performs at many off-campus events including the Maryland Music Educators Association annual conference and various local jazz festivals. Each year, the UMD Jazz Ensemble is one of three elite bands that performs at the Calvin Jones Big Band Jazz Festival—one of the most anticipated events on Washington, D.C.’s jazz calendar and frequently broadcast on the BET Network. Combos and big bands also perform a variety of outreach concerts at venues including the National Archives, public libraries, the National Building Museum, area schools and at campus events such as Maryland Day, galas and commencement activities.
ABOUT THE EVENT
Join the University of Maryland Jazz Ensembles at Blues Alley for this celebration of American composer Duke Ellington's 125th birthday! Special guests include vocalist Ms. Charenée Wade and saxophonist Mr. Charlie Young, the current director of the Duke Ellington Orchestra.
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Award-winning vocalist, arranger, educator, and composer Charenée Wade has excited audiences all over the world with her ingenuity and vibrancy. A recipient of the 2017 Jazz at Lincoln Center Millennial Swing Award and first runner-up in the 2010 Thelonious Vocal Competition, Wade has worked with artists including Wynton Marsalis, Terri Lyne Carrington, Christian McBride, Winard Harper, Eric Reed, Jacky Terrason, Curtis Lundy, Robert Glasper, and Kyle Abraham. In her early years, Wade was selected as one of four artists for the Dianne Reeves Young Artist Workshop at Carnegie Hall as well as Betty Carter’s Jazz Ahead Program, where she was mentored by Carmen Lundy and Curtis Fuller and performed her original music at the John F. Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. An alumna of what is now the LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts, Wade completed her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music performance at the Manhattan School of Music. Her latest CD, Offering: The Music of Gil Scott-Heron and Brian Jackson, is a powerful reinterpretation of the poet’s musical library, which features notable artists including Lonnie Plaxico, Marcus Miller, Stefon Harris, Malcolm-Jamal Warner, and Christian McBride (spoken word).
Charlie Young has had a rich career performing and recording with various ensembles such as the National Symphony Orchestra, the US Navy Band, the Count Basie Orchestra and the Seattle Symphony Orchestra. Mr. Young has shared the concert stage with many of the music industry's leading icons ranging from Clark Terry and Ella Fitzgerald to Stevie Wonder and Quincy Jones. Performance venues have ranged from London's Royal Albert Hall to New York's Carnegie Hall.
In 1988, Charlie Young was recruited as a member of the Duke Ellington Orchestra where he presently serves as Artistic Director/ Conductor, and lead saxophonist. Young joined the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra in 1995 serving as the ensemble's principal woodwind specialist for over 15 years. In 2013, he was appointed Artistic Director and Conductor.
In addition to working with legendary ensembles, Young and his jazz quintet performed at the 1988 San Remo Jazz and Blues Festival as musical ambassador for Washington DC. In 2008, he was invited to present an inaugural concert and lecture at the opening of the New American University in Cairo, Egypt. Mr. Young is published on over 30 CD recordings, including his solo release "So Long Ago."
Young is a recognized clinician in the field of jazz education as well as in classical and jazz saxophone performance. Clinic presentations in Brazil, Venezuela, Chile, Egypt, Kenya, South Africa, Singapore, and throughout the United States, Europe and Japan has earned Charlie Young a stellar reputation among the most respected in saxophone performance and education.
ABOUT UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND JAZZ ENSEMBLES
The School of Music’s jazz ensembles are composed of more than 100 students. The UMD Jazz Ensemble frequently performs at many off-campus events including the Maryland Music Educators Association annual conference and various local jazz festivals. Each year, the UMD Jazz Ensemble is one of three elite bands that performs at the Calvin Jones Big Band Jazz Festival—one of the most anticipated events on Washington, D.C.’s jazz calendar and frequently broadcast on the BET Network. Combos and big bands also perform a variety of outreach concerts at venues including the National Archives, public libraries, the National Building Museum, area schools and at campus events such as Maryland Day, galas and commencement activities.