Jeffrey Lindberg and the Chicago Jazz Orchestra to Perform at Symphony Center

Group will be joined by jazz great Ahmad Jamal on April 18 in sold-out Orchestra Hall

Jeffrey Lindberg and the Chicago Jazz Orchestra will perform with jazz legend Ahmad Jamal on April 18 in Chicago.

WOOSTER, Ohio - Jeffrey Lindberg, professor of music at The College of Wooster, and the Chicago Jazz Orchestra will make their first Jazz at Symphony Center appearance in Chicago when they perform with jazz great Ahmad Jamal on Friday, April 18. The sold-out concert in the 3,000-seat Orchestra Hall will feature Lindberg's arrangements of Jamal's "Divertimento" and Jimmy Heath's "Mellowdrama."

"It is a tremendous honor to be invited to share the stage with Ahmad Jamal for this Jazz at Symphony Center performance," said Lindberg, who also conducts The College of Wooster Jazz Ensemble and the Wooster Symphony Orchestra. "Mr. Jamal is one of the greatest pianists of all time, and the experience of performing with such a jazz master will be truly remarkable."

Jamal and his trio, which includes James Cammack (bass) and Idris Muhammad (drums), will open the concert, and then return after intermission to join Lindberg and the saxophone and brass sections of the Chicago Jazz Orchestra (CJO).

Formed in 1978 by Lindberg and the late Steve Jensen, the CJO members performing on April 18 will be saxophonists John Wojciechowski, Chris Lega, Scott Burns, Bill Overton, and Jerry DiMuzio; trumpeters Danny Barber, Doug Scharf, Art Davis, and Burgess Gardner; and trombonists Scott Bentall, Kendall Moore, Tom Matta, and Michael Young. The band is Chicago's oldest professional jazz orchestra in continuous operation and one of the oldest jazz repertory orchestras in the country.

CJO's repertoire spans the gamut of jazz, from works by Duke Ellington, Count Basie, and Dizzy Gillespie to compositions by Lionel Hampton, Benny Carter, Oliver Nelson, Ray Charles, and others. The orchestra has performed in many of the nation's most prestigious venues, including the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., Ravinia in Chicago, and Millenium Park, also in Chicago. CJO is known for its commitment to transcribing classic American jazz recordings in order to document and preserve them for future generations. In addition, the orchestra has received grants from the National Endowment for the Arts for artistic excellence.

Lindberg, who arrived at Wooster in 1986, has distinguished himself as a master of both the American jazz orchestra and the European symphony orchestra. He has received numerous commissions from the Smithsonian Institution to transcribe original jazz and orchestra recordings, many of which have been performed by such artists as Joe Williams, Clark Terry, Gunther Schuller, and David Baker, as well as such ensembles as the Count Basie Orchestra, the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra, and the Woody Herman Orchestra. Lindberg's annual six-concert series package (three orchestra performances and three jazz programs) in Wooster is unrivaled by any community its size in the country. Likewise, his annual Wooster Symphony Orchestra youth concert helps elementary students appreciate classical music while encouraging them to consider participating in their school's music program.

Jamal is one of the world's most celebrated jazz pianists and composers. A child prodigy, Jamal began playing piano at the age of 3. He joined the musicians union at 14, and began touring at 17. In 1951, he formed his first trio (the Three Strings) and signed his first record contract. His first hit single and album ("But Not for Me") remained on the bestselling charts for more than two years. Other hits included arrangements of the folk tune "Billy Boy," as well as "Poinciana." He also recorded "New Rhumba," "Excerpts from the Blues," and "It Ain't Necessarily So," all of which were used by Miles Davis and Gil Evans on the albums "Miles Ahead" and "Porgy and Bess." Jamal also performed the title composition by Johnny Mandel for the soundtrack of the motion picture "MASH!" and two tracks from his album, "But Not for Me," were featured in Clint Eastwood's film, "The Bridges of Madison Country." In 1994, Jamal received the American Jazz Masters Fellowship Award from the National Endowment for the Arts. That same year, he was named a Duke Ellington Fellow at Yale University. His most recent release, "After Fajr," is at the top of the jazz charts.