Celebrate Mel Torme's Birthday With Jeff Hedberg and c11 9/13 At The Skokie Theatre

Hedberg brings Mel Tormé & Marty Paich's Dek-tette to life on September 13th,1925, in Chicago, Illinois, one of the greatest voices was born...

Come to Skokie Theatre this September 13, 2009, to celebrate the brilliant career of Mel Torme. Hot off the Chicago jazz scene, vocal and multi-instrumentalist Jeff Hedberg will bring to life Torme's music from the Marty Paich Dek-tette series, considered by many to be Mel's highest vocal achievement. This collection, originally recorded between 1955 and 1957, was created on the Bethlehem record label when Mel was thirty years old. Some of the albums highlighted are Lulu's Back in Town and Swings Schubert Alley and Sings Fred Astaire.

Some legendary and rare charts will also be introduced, including "Lulu's Back in Town", "The Carioca", "Too Darn Hot", "Too Close for Comfort", "A Foggy Day" and "When the Sun Comes Out".

Jeff Hedberg is a 28-year-old jazz singer, flugelhorn and trumpet player.

His musical training includes a Master of Music in Jazz Pedagogy from Northwestern University and a Bachelor of Music in Music Education from Elmhurst College. During his time at both institutions Jeff had the opportunity to perform with both the EC Jazz Band and the NU Jazz Ensemble, both well-known big bands. During which he played both lead trumpet and jazz chair. Through his schooling, as well as his own pursuits, Jeff has studied with Doug Beach, Mark Colby, Jackie Allen, Brenda Lualdi, Bob Rummage, Mark Streder, Libby York, Jeff Deustch, Phoebe Fuller, Rob Parton, Don Owens, Joel Spencer,Mike Kocour and Judy Roberts.

Jeff's playing and singing styles are most notably rooted in the styles of Chet Baker and Mel Torme. As Scott Gotschall, of jazzwriter.com, writes in the liner notes of Jeff's debut recording, "Certainly one can hear Mel Torme, Ella, and of course Chet Baker in his performance. But to only describe this artist as an ‘updated' or ‘modern' version of someone else would be to deprive him of the identity that comes from blending various styles into one cohesive voice."

The aforementioned CD, The Summer Knows, released by BluJazz, is a collection of works that Jeff has encountered through his studies and pursuits. It includes distinctive stylings of songs such as "Comes Love," "Nica's Dream," and "Cry Me a River." All of which stem from his admiration of performers that include Julie London, Carmen McRae, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Chet Baker, and Judy Roberts. Roberts, a veteran Chicago pianist/vocalist joins Jeff for the only duet on the CD with a expressive rendition of Monk's "‘Round Midnight." Though his infldfuences are many, Jeff's high regard for Chet Baker is obvious in his performance of "Let's Get Lost" and "Funny Valentine."

Jeff is also the leader and founder of C11.

C11 is...Rich Moore-alto sax, Brett Palmer-tenor sax, JoNathan Edwards-bari sax, Joe Lill,-trumpet, Nick Drozdoff-trumpet, Steve Duncan-trombone, Lisa Taylor-french horn, Rich Armandi-tuba, Ken Spurr-piano, Joe Policastro-bass and Ed Brezeale-drums

WHERE: Skokie Theatre
7924 N. Lincoln Avenue
Skokie, Illinois 60077
(847) 677-7761

info@skokietheatre.com

TICKETS: $20 in advance/$25 at door
To purchase tickets, visit http://www.skokietheatre.com/