Ornette Coleman Quartet Performs Exclusive Texas Engagement at Bass Concert Hall

Texas Performing Arts celebrates legendary Pulitzer Prize winning saxophonist/composer Ornette Coleman's 80th birthday with a command performance of Ornette and his Quartet at Bass Concert Hall on Thursday, November 18. This is Ornette's only scheduled Texas engagement!

One of the great innovators in jazz, Ornette Coleman has played a seminal role in American music. Identified with the free-jazz movement of the 1960s, Fort Worth-born Coleman belongs to that rare breed of artists/thinkers whose influence extends far beyond the realm of their chosen medium. Always putting his remarkable virtuosity at the service of melody and emotion, Coleman continues to have a powerful impact on the color and sound of music as well as how musicians play, improvise, and compose - and how music lovers listen.

For his essential vision and innovation, Ornette Coleman has been rewarded with numerous accolades, including the MacArthur "Genius" Award; an induction into the American Academy of Arts and Letters; honorary doctorate degrees from the University of Pennsylvania, Bard College, the New School for Social Research, and the Berklee School of Music; the American Music Center Letter of Distinction; The Lillian Gisch Prize; and the New York State Governor's Arts Award.

Performing with Coleman at this engagement is Denardo Coleman, drums; Tony Falanga, acoustic bass; and Al MacDowell, electric bass.

Campus & Community Engagement Event:

Pre-Performance Lecture: Jeff Hellmer, Professor of Jazz Studies
Thursday, November 18, 2010, 7:00 p.m.
Bass Concert Hall Lobby

Professor Jeff Hellmer brings a wealth of experience as an educator and performer to the UT jazz program. Twice named a finalist in the Great American Jazz Piano Competition, he has performed, taught, and adjudicated throughout the United States as well as in Russia and Taiwan.

 

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