Jeff Lindberg’s (CJO) Launches "30 Years and Still Swinging'

Jeff Lindberg’s (CJO) Launches “30 Years and Still Swinging"

Jeff Lindberg’s Chicago Jazz Orchestra (CJO) Launches “30 Years and Still Swinging” in memory of co-founder, Steve Jensen to celebrate the Orchestra’s 30th anniversary.  Concerts will be staged in venues North, South, West and Downtown in the Chicagoland area.  

Concert #1 (Downtown):

On October 29, 1978, the Jazz Members Big Band played its first performance at Gaspar’s at the corner of Belmont and Southport on Chicago’s North Side. Thirty years later, on Sunday, October 19, 2008, Jeff Lindberg’s Chicago Jazz Orchestra celebrates its run as Chicago’s oldest professional jazz orchestra in continuous operation by presenting its blockbuster concert, Exquisitely for Ella:  A Songbook Tribute to Ella Fitzgerald, featuring three of Chicago’s greatest singers:  “Chicagoan of the Year” Dee Alexander; CJO vocalist Frieda Lee; and cabaret singer Spider Saloff. This performance includes the greatest material from Ella’s songbook albums. A string section will augment the band to accommodate the special arrangements recorded by Ella Fitzgerald. The performance takes place at 4:00 p.m. at the Thorne Auditorium, 375 E. Chicago Avenue in downtown Chicago. Master of Ceremonies will be WVON radio personality, Cliff Kelley. There will be a special pre-concert, 30th Anniversary Benefit Buffet from 2:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. in the lobby of the Thorne Auditorium. The Adrian Ruiz Trio will be the featured reception entertainment. 

Pricing for the benefit buffet is as follows: $125 -buffet, entertainment and one priority seat for opening concert; $175 – buffet, entertainment and one priority seat for two season concerts; $225 – buffet, entertainment and one priority seat for all four season concerts. Reception patrons purchasing $175 and $225 tickets will be listed in the program. Concert only tickets are: $45/$35/$25/$15. For more information on ordering pre-concert reception tickets, or concert only tickets, please contact the CJO message line at 312-409-3947, or visit our website at www.chicagojazzorchestra.com. 

The Eleventh Annual Subscription Series continues with Concert #2 (West) - A Tribute to Count Basie on Friday, November 21st at Wentz Concert Hall at North Central College, Naperville, Illinois ; Concert #3 (North) The CJO with Joey DeFrancesco, Hammond B3 Sensation, on Saturday, February 7th at the Evanston Township High School Jazz Festival, Evanston, Illinois ; and Concert #4(South) –A Tribute to blues great, Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown, “American Music – Texas Style”, on Sunday, May 3rd at the DuSable Museum, Chicago.  

Jeff Lindberg’s Chicago Jazz Orchestra was founded in 1978 (Jazz Members Big Band) by Jeff Lindberg and the late Steve Jensen. Composed of Chicago’s top musicians, the CJO is Chicago’s oldest professional jazz orchestra in continuous operation and one of the oldest jazz repertory orchestras in the country. Conductor and Artistic Director Jeff Lindberg is one of the foremost transcribers in jazz. As a result, the Orchestra’s repertoire draws upon his vast library, which includes the works of Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Dizzy Gillespie, Lionel Hampton, Benny Carter, Oliver Nelson, Ray Charles, and many others.
 
The CJO also performs compositions and arrangements by members of the orchestra, including Associate Artistic Director Charley Harrison, whose CD Keeping My Composure, featuring Jeff Lindberg’s Chicago Jazz Orchestra, is garnering excellent reviews locally and nationally.

Jeff Lindberg’s Chicago Jazz Orchestra became the first professional jazz orchestra in Chicago to present a yearly subscription series (1998-99).  Now in its eleventh season, the annual subscription series features Chicago-based artists as well as internationally known musicians. The CJO is nationally recognized, and will celebrate its 20th year as the resident orchestra for The Kennedy Center Honors Gala this December. The CJO’s 2005 compact disc Clark Terry and Jeff Lindberg’s Chicago Jazz Orchestra: George Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess (Americana Music) is receiving widespread critical acclaim, including a rare “FIVE-STAR” rating in Downbeat magazine, and a nomination as “Jazz Album of The Year” by the Jazz Journalists’ Association. Clark Terry was voted Trumpeter of the Year by the Jazz Journalists’ Association for his work on the Porgy and Bess CD.  In addition, the CD also made the Jazz @ Lincoln Center, Jazz Times and Jazz Education Journal top lists.
 
The CJO receives support from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs (CityArts Grant), a program grant from the Illinois Arts Council, as well as funding from the National Endowment for the Arts. Support is also received from The Joseph B. Glossberg Foundation, The Shana Alexander Charitable Foundation of New York, The Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelly Foundation, William & Terri Lowry, The MacArthur Foundation, American Airlines, The Palmer House Hilton, The Oppenheimer Family Foundation, The Jazz Institute of Chicago, WDCB, and the Irving B. Harris Foundation. The Chicago Jazz Orchestra Association receives organizational support from The Chicago Community Trust in cooperation with the Arts & Business Council of Chicago through its SmartGrowth Program.

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