Aardvark Jazz Orchestra Announces 45th Season, Music by Duke Ellington, Mark Harvey and More

SOMERVILLE, Mass. - Sept. 2, 2017 - PRLog -- Called "stunningly beautiful" (New York City Jazz Record) and praised as "one of the best jazz ensembles in the world" (Jazz Podium, Germany), The Aardvark Jazz Orchestra, led by founder/music director Mark Harvey, launches its 45^th season with three Fall events:

On Saturday, September 9, 2017 at 7:00 pm, Aardvark performs The Worlds of Jazz at the Hanaway Theatre, Silver Center for the Arts, 114 Main Street, Plymouth, New Hampshire 03264. Tickets:  $15 to $30.    Call:  603-535-2787. Expect an exhilarating show with classics by Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Benny Goodman, Dizzy Gillespie and Miles Davis, including Satin Doll, Every Day I Have the Blues, Roll 'Em, Manteca, and All Blues.   Also on tap:  stellar originals by Mark Harvey, including the orchestral premiere of his latest piece SGS (Saint-Gaudens Studio) in honor of famed sculptor Auguste Saint-Gaudens.

On Saturday, October 7, 2017 at 9:00 pm, the Aardvark Jazz Orchestra performs premieres and recent works by Mark Harvey at Killian Hall, MIT, 160 Memorial Drive, Cambridge, MA.  Free Admission.   Information:  617-452-3205.  The show features an updated version of Mark Harvey's Swamp-a-Rama Suite, which was first performed on April 29, 2017, Day 100 of the Trump administration.  The rollicking suite includes the Trumputin Tango, Fake News Blewz, and Perseverance Pavanne.  The program will conclude with Harvey's No Walls, inspired by Duke Ellington's belief in moving beyond category in art and life, expressed in his pithy question:  Did God Ever Make a Wall?  The piece, written in 2007 as a tribute to Doctors Without Borders, continues to resonate today as Aardvark's anthem of inclusivity and hope.

On Saturday, December 9, 2017 at 7:30 pm, the Aardvark Jazz Orchestra celebrates its 45th Annual Christmas Concert at Emmanuel Church, 15 Newbury St., Boston, MA.  Tickets are $20 at the door, with proceeds to benefit a worthy cause.  For information:  617-452-3205 or 617-776-8778.  Aardvark plays jazz carols and music in the spirit of the season, a joyous evening that has been a Boston holiday tradition for more than 4 decades.

For information on the September 9 show at the Silver Center:

https://www.plymouth.edu/silver-center/season-events/aardvark-jazz-orchestra-the-worlds-of-jazz/

For more about the Aardvark Jazz Orchestra:

http://www.americasmusicworks.com/aardvark-jazz-orchestra.html

Called "spellbinding" (The Boston Globe) and "captivating" (Jazz Improv), The Aardvark Jazz Orchestra, founded in 1973, is one of the longest continuously operating large jazz ensembles in the world. The orchestra performs original compositions by Mark Harvey, as well as classics from the jazz tradition, American music, and world music.  Aardvark has premiered more than 175 works and has released 14 CDs, including 8 discs on Leo Records.  Guest artists have included luminaries Sheila Jordan, Jaki Byard, Dominique Eade, Jimmy Giuffre, Geri Allen, Vinny Golia, Robert Honeysucker, Sheila Jordan, Rajesh Mehta, Lewis Porter, Matt Savage, and Walter Thompson.

Mark Harvey is the founder and music director of the Aardvark Jazz Orchestra.  He has performed in major venues including Fenway Park and Symphony Hall, Boston, the Knitting Factory and the Village Gate (NYC), the National Gallery of Art (DC), the Left Bank Jazz Society (MD), the Southern California Institute of Architecture (CA), the Berlin Jazz Festival (Germany), and the Baja State Theater (Mexico).  His musical credits also include recordings with George Russell's Living Time Orchestra (Blue Note), and Baird Hersey & the Year of the Ear (Arista/Novus) and appearances with Gil Evans, Howard McGhee, Sam Rivers, Claudio Roditi, and other notables.  Dr. Harvey has received numerous awards and commissions.  He teaches jazz studies and composition at MIT.

Aardvark is:  Arni Cheatham, Peter Bloom, Phil Scarff, Chris Rakowski, Dan Zupan/saxophones and woodwinds; KC Dunbar, Jeanne Snodgrass/trumpets; Jay Keyser, Jeff Marsanskis/ trombones; Bill Lowe/ bass trombone; Richard Nelson/guitar; John Funkhouser/string bass; Harry Wellott/drums; Grace Hughes, Jerry Edwards/vocalists; Mark Harvey/ trumpet, music director.

Aardvark is managed by Americas Musicworks, Rebecca DeLamotte, managing director, 29 Newbury Street, Somerville, MA 02144 USA.  Telephone:   617 776 8778