When the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra plays Chicago on Friday night, there’s no question who the star of the evening will be.
Though superb trumpeters Jon Faddis and Nicholas Payton will play most of the night’s solos, they’ll be directing their energies toward celebrating the genius and the innovations of the first great soloist in jazz, Louis Armstrong.
“I’ve learned a lot about Armstrong during the course of this tour, and I’ve learned to appreciate him a lot more,” says Faddis, who brings “The Majesty of Louis Armstrong” tribute to Orchestra Hall.
“The first thing I’ve learned is that his music is timeless. People in the audience get as excited about hearing these old scores as if they were brand new. The music really still sounds fresh.
“The second thing is that I now have a much greater appreciation for Armstrong and what he contributed to music. His music looked way ahead, to the future, which I never realized before.
“As a musician, it’s very easy to lose sight of what another musician accomplished if you only listen to the records. But when you attempt to play his music night after night after night, you realize how demanding it is. You realize it’s time to buckle down and get to work.”
No doubt the proliferation of high Cs and beyond will tax the abilities of any modern trumpeter, but there’s more to playing Armstrong than simply negotiating the stratospheric registers of the instrument.
“Actually, it’s not so much the high notes that are the most difficult for me-it’s the articulation,” says Faddis, who commands a brilliant trumpet technique.
“For me, it’s articulating the individual notes but also getting them to swing, that’s what’s tough. And when Louis starts breaking (playing solos), he swings it hard, which is not easy to re-create.”
There may be no greater testament to the technical and musical demands of the Armstrong canon than the fact that, on this tour, his solos are being shared by two trumpeters, each a phenomenal player in his own way. Faddis has a larger-than-life sound and a transcendant technique; Payton offers a profound and intense lyricism that derives from the same New Orleans tradition that produced Armstrong.
“It’s taking both of us to handle this music,” says Faddis. “That ought to tell you something about Louis Armstrong.”
The concert will cover three facets of Armstrong’s oeuvre: his work with Joe “King” Oliver, his Hot Five and Hot Seven repertoire, and some of his big-band material. Along the way, Faddis, Payton and friends will perform several of the Armstrong milestones, including “Chinatown, My Chinatown,” “Potato Head Blues,” “Snake Rag” and “Weather Bird.”
Because Armstrong fans typically hear this music only in recorded form, the chance to hear these scores live, with first-rate soloists, is rare.
The concert also highlights an interesting situation in the politics of jazz: Faddis is artistic director of the Carnegie Hall Jazz Band, yet he’s leading this tour by the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, which is under the artistic direction of trumpeter Wynton Marsalis.
“There was some politics a couple of years ago that didn’t really allow this kind of thing to happen before,” says Faddis.
“But since then, Wynton has played with our (Carnegie Hall) band, and I’ve played with his (Lincoln Center) band, so I don’t think of it as that big of a deal anymore.
“So I think things are getting better, since we’re just trying to play music. We’re trying get beyond the politics.”
The program begins at 8 p.m. Friday in Orchestra Hall, 220 S. Michigan Ave.; for information, phone 312-435-6666.
– The Rich Corpolongo Trio, which boldly experiments with new musical forms, plays the last entry in its Thursday night series this week at the Bop Shop, 1807 W. Division St. The band includes drummer Mike Raynor and bassist Jeff Czech; 312-235-2334.
– Phil Pospychala’s annual Tribute to Bix Beiderbecke will run Friday through Sunday at Raffaelli’s, Routes 21 and 137, Libertyville. The lineup will include: Banu Gibson and the New Orleans Hot Jazz, 8 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday; Ralph Norton’s Varsity Ramblers, with Vince Giordano, 8 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday; Leah LaBrea and her Flexo Boys, 1 p.m. Sunday.
For information, phone the Bix Hot Line, 708-362-4016.
– Singer Grazyna Auguscik performs Saturday at the Green Mill Jazz Club, 4802 N. Broadway; phone 312-878-5552.
– This week’s offerings at The Chambers, 6881 N. Milwaukee Ave., Niles: Saxophonist Greg Fishman, Thursday; singer Kirsten Gustafson, Friday; trombonist Audrey Morrison, Saturday; bassist John Bany with pianist Jim Ryan, Sunday; 708-647-8282.
– Chicago tenor saxophone great Von Freeman plays Saturday at Andy’s, 11 E. Hubbard St.; 312-642-6805.
– Todd Colburn and his Sounds of the Avant Garde play Saturday at the Bop Shop, 1807 W. Division St. And brothers George and Von Freeman appear March 18 at the club; 312-235-3232.
– The jazz series at the Coronet Theatre, 817 Chicago Ave., Evanston, continues with a set featuring drummer Billy Cobham, Friday; phone 708-733-0030.
– The last installment of the Cabin Fever Jazz series at Gorton Community Center in Lake Forest will begin at 4 p.m. Sunday. Jazz Conceptions, with banjoist Tuey Connell and vibist Ken Hall, will perform. The community center is at 400 E. Illinois Rd., Lake Forest; 708-234-6060.
Coming up in the jazz rooms:
Jazz Buffet, 2556 W. Diversey Ave.: Trombonist Bill Porter, through Saturday; organist Jack McDuff, March 14-18; pianist Stephen Scott, March 21-25; multi-instrumentalist Howard Levy, March 28-April 1; 312-862-0055.
Jazz Showcase in the Blackstone Hotel, 636 S. Michigan Ave.: Multi-instrumentalist James Moody, through Sunday; vibist Gary Burton and pianist Makoto Ozone, March 14-19; guitarist Mark Whitfield, March 21-25; an all-star band with bassist Ray Brown, vibist Milt Jackson, pianist Cedar Walton and drummer Billy Higgins; 312-427-4846.
Pops for Champagne, 2934 N. Sheffield Ave.: Trumpeter Rob Mazurek, through Saturday; trumepter Steve Jensen, March 14-18; bassist Thaddeus Expose, March 21-25; 312-472-1000.
