Joining the ranks of Buffalo Tom, Janeane Garofalo and moe this fall at the Armory, POP Presents: Aardvark Jazz Orchestra – No Walls, Jazz Beyond Category, Music by Mark Harvey and Duke Ellington on Tuesday, September 9th. Click here for show tickets and venue info.
Boston jazz fans looking for a night out with an invigorating big band jazz orchestra concert experience must add September 9 to your calendar. The upcoming show is inspired by a fresh take on Duke Ellington’s credo to move “beyond category” in music and life. The Aardvark concert set list features wide-ranging jazz pieces by Duke Ellington and Aardvark Jazz Orchestra director Mark Harvey. Duke Ellington’s work, “It’s Freedom” (1968), evokes the larger U.S. Civil Rights struggle and the powerful Freedom Songs of the 1960s. Duke’s jazz composition “Chinoiserie” reflects his vision of cross-cultural exchange.
The modern jazz concert also takes a walk down Boston’s colonial past, as it commemorates the 250th anniversary of the founding of America with the premiere of Mark Harvey’s arrangement of “Chester” by Revolutionary War-era Boston composer William Billings. The historical Billings piece (1770), widely recognized in U.S. music history as an anthem of the struggle for independence, finds new meaning in Mark Harvey’s jazz orchestra arrangement, celebrating freedom and democracy today.
The jazz concert finale is “No Walls,” Mark Harvey’s exotic, multi-layered jazz suite that moves through many styles to a vibrant expression of inclusivity inspired by Ellington’s protégé, the South African musician Abdullah Ibrahim.
Make it a night out in Somerville at the Armory with intimate cabaret seating, beer, wine, and a curated bar menu with dinner options and snacks. (Cash bar.)
Free parking behind the venue, and in nearby lot (first come, first served)
This concert event is made possible by a Project Grant from the Somerville Arts Council and the Mass Cultural Council, and with support from Arts at the Armory POP.
POP (Performance Opportunity Program) is a signature program of the Center for Arts at the Armory. Arts at the Armory fundraises to be able to provide artists and cultural workers with use of the Armory Performance Hall at a highly subsidized rate through POP.
Doors open at 7:00 PM
Show: 7:30 PM
Front Section Cabaret Table Seating: $30
General Admission: $25
Click here for tickets and venue info
This is an All Ages show