Some have seen the light. And we agree with their message: Jazz is music for the body and soul.
If you also appreciate America’s great original musical form, you won’t want to miss the Sixth Annual JAZZALOT: Music for the Soul.
The benefit concert features the one and only George (Saxman) Benson and the fabulous Cliff Monear Trio along with the talented young musicians of the Detroit Civic Jazz Ensemble.
The really big show is Tuesday, May 22, at Temple Israel in West Bloomfield. The concert benefits Living for Music, a Michigan non-profit corporation whose goal is to produce and market music CD recordings designed to provide a pleasurable listening experience to cancer patients, survivors and care-givers. Living for Music reports all proceeds from the sale of their CDs are donated to organizations devoted to the cure and treatment of the disease.
A superstar soloist as well as a veteran performer with the greatest names in contemporary jazz, George Benson is recognized as Detroit’s master of jazz saxophone, from the incredible highest of high Cs on the soprano to the deepest B-flat a tenor can offer. As a jazz educator, he has taught many of today’s emerging stars. He is the author of “Jazz Etudes Over Classic Jazz Changes,” a study of the complex chords of jazz saxophone. Michigan audiences will remember Benson’s blazing work with Rackham Symphony Choir’s “Too Hot to Handel” in December.
The Cliff Monear Trio is hailed for their authentic jazz lineage. Led by pianist Cliff Monear, recording artist and member of the Wayne State University music faculty, audiences are led to the most special places that can only be reached through music — destinations within the mind and heart and soul.
The Civic Jazz Orchestra is the most advanced Jazz Band in the Detroit Symphony Orchestra’s Civic Youth Ensembles. The Civic Jazz Program provides Michigan’s premiere young jazz musicians with pre-professional training that builds upon the strong tradition of jazz in Detroit. Musicians benefit from training provided by leading professionals in the jazz field, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra’s unparalleled facilities and a season of concert presentations at the Max. M. Fisher Music Center.
If you haven’t heard this talented group of young people, this is your chance. When you hear them you will not believe that the average age of the performers is 16. They are led by the percussionist, Sean Dobbins. Sean has performed in the first five JAZZALOT concerts. In that time, he has gained recognition across the nation as one of the finest in his field.
The tax-deductible admission is $30 per ticket (cash or check only — no credit cards). Tickets are available at the door. Temple Israel is located at 5725 Walnut Lake Road, West Bloomfield Township, Michigan, 48323.
Tickets also are available by check made out to: Living For Music, Inc., 34056 W. 13 Mile Rd., Farmington Hills, MI. 48331. Please include a self-addressed, stamped envelope or request that prepaid tickets be held in will-call at the door.
The image above of George Benson was created by Roy Feldman. We at Detroit Performs are most fortunate to enjoy the noted photographer’s work, including his amazing profile of drummer Sean Dobbins, through his biographic series, The Green Room.