Big band legend teams up with OU jazzers
April 24, 2008
Jazz legend Gerald Wilson will conduct the Ohio University Jazz Ensemble in a free concert of his works from 12:10 p.m. until 1 p.m. this Friday in the School of Music Recital Hall in Glidden Hall.
An American jazz trumpeter, big band leader, composer/arranger and educator, Wilson will conduct the ensemble in his arrangements for the Jimmie Lunceford Orchestra.
In conjunction with the upcoming theater production of “Knock me A Kiss” by Charles Smith, professor and head of OU’s professional playwriting program, the concert will be followed by a panel discussion exploring the topics and ideas within the play and the Harlem Renaissance era, including music, race, gender, family and class divisions within the African-American community.
Originally produced in 2000 by the Victory Gardens Theater in Chicago, “Knock Me a Kiss” is a fictional account inspired by the actual events surrounding the 1928 marriage of W.E.B DuBois’ daughter Yolande to Countee Cullen, one of Harlem’s greatest poets. The play’s cast of characters includes band leader Jimmie Lunceford.
Panelists for the discussion include faculty members Art Cromwell, associate professor in the School of Media Arts and Studies and Honors Tutorial College director of studies; Jennie Klein, assistant professor and chair of art history; Travis Gatling, associate professor in the School of Dance; and Richard Wetzel, professor of music history and literature.
Wilson joined the Jimmie Lunceford Orchestra in 1939 and quickly became its featured trumpeter and arranger.
He has arranged compositions for music legends Duke Ellington, Ray Charles, Dizzy Gillespie, Ella Fitzgerald, Benny Carter and Billie Holiday.
The concert is made possible by Arts For Ohio and the School of Theater, with participation from the School of Media Studies and the School of Music.
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