FLY ME TO THE MOON: A TRIBUTE TO QUINCY JONES Comes to the Soraya
The concert is on October 18.
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The Soraya will pay homage to the giant of American music, Quincy Jones, on Saturday, Oct. 18 at 8 p.m. The concert, featuring vocalists Ms. Lisa Fisher and José James, will be led by Chris Walden as conductor of his Pacific Jazz Orchestra’s 17-piece big band. This carefully curated concert will celebrate the artist’s work from the 1960’s to 1978, immersing audiences in the quintessential sounds of Quincy Jones.
“Quincy Jones is one of the most influential artists of our lifetimes,” said Soraya Executive and Artistic Director Thor Steingraber.
“His early years in jazz can become lost among his subsequent five decades at the pinnacle of popular music. As soon as the world lost Mr. Jones, The Soraya turned to Chris Walden and Pacific Jazz Orchestra to craft a celebration of Jones early successes, including his arrangements for Frank Sinatra.”
Quincy Jones was one of the most powerful forces in American popular music for more than half a century, and a household name for decades. His lifelong impact remains huge, including a long list of those whom he mentored, among them GRAMMY Award-winning bandleader and arranger Chris Walden, who is also founder and artistic director, and conductor of the Pacific Jazz Orchestra (PJO).
"I actually got to know Quincy quite a bit after I came to Los Angeles about 30 years ago. At some point I was introduced to Quincy and I got to work a little bit with him — but most importantly we became friends,” Walden said in an interview with Soraya Executive and Artistic Director Thor Steingraber.
“When I started the Pacific Jazz Orchestra, I asked him if he would join our board of advisors and he was the first person to say yes, so he played a huge part in my life and was sort of a father figure to me and therefore this concert is really special to me."
In sharing details about the repertoire of this homage to Jones’ early work, Walden said he will include original arrangements Jones wrote for his own big band, singers that he worked with, compositions from his film and television accomplishments, and arrangements by Walden utilizing some of Jones’ themes from the period. He also shared the reason for the title of the concert.
"We're calling the concert Fly Me to the Moon because I think one of the most iconic big band arrangements that (Jones) has written is “Fly Me to the Moon” for Frank Sinatra (in 1964),” Walden said.
“It's not his own composition...but Quincy took it and kind of made this custom arrangement for Frank Sinatra which became one of Frank Sinatra's signature arrangements, and Quincy Jones so skillfully crafted that for Frank.”
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