Jon Hendricks' Miles Ahead - almost 50 years in the making - is finally to receive its global premiere in New York on Friday 17 February 2017, at 7pm.
In the presence of the master wordsmith himself - Miles Ahead will be performed by the London Vocal Project (a 20-piece choir plus rhythm section), featuring special guest soloists - all of whom have a long and deep association with Jon and his music. Propelled by the success of 'Sing a Song of Basie' - the seminal Lambert, Hendricks and Ross album, Jon Hendricks started work on his lyricisation of Miles Ahead almost fifty years ago. However it was only in 2012 - over forty years later - that he began to collaborate closely with London Vocal Project director Pete Churchill who, with the support of the choir, has now helped to bring his creative dream to life. Every note of both MiLes Davis' distinctive solos and Gil Evans' ground-breaking big-band writing has been meticulously re-scored for voices with Jon's words imbuing each track with a new narrative. As this process neared completion LVP began to immerse itself in the soundworld of Gil Evans, memorising the scores and capturing all the nuances of the original recording.
Venue: Saint Peter's Church,
619 Lexington Avenue at 54th Street, New York, NY 10022
Date & timings: Friday 17th February 2017, 7.00pm (doors open at 6.30pm)
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