TEXAS PERFORMING ARTS
PRESENTS

THE MILES DAVIS EXPERIENCE: 1949- 1959
FEATURING AWARD-WINNING TRUMPET PLAYER
AMBROSE AKINMUSIRE & HIS QUINTET

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2011, 8:00 P.M.
IN BASS CONCERT HALL

POST-PERFORMANCE TALKBACK WITH THE ARTISTS
IN THE HALL IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING THE PERFORMANCE

“Miles Davis is the most revered jazz trumpeter of all time, not to mention one of the most important musicians of the 20th century.” —Rolling Stone

“Akinmusire and his band demonstrated a remarkably fluid, adventurous interplay and a patiently imaginative way with melody that sounded as steeped in the music’s history as it was hard-wired with the sound of something new.” – The Los Angeles Times

Miles Davis. The name alone has become synonymous with jazz music and its place in popular culture. The Miles Davis Experience: 1949-1959 is a new multi-media musical production that recaptures the historical and cultural context of this critical period of American sound through the lens of jazz music and its most iconic innovator. Award winning trumpet player Ambrose and his Quintet will perform the music of Miles for this much anticipated evening of jazz nostalgia, November 8 in Bass Concert Hall.

The program will follow Miles’ musical development in linear chronology, telling of the challenges and optimism in post-war America, civil rights struggle, historical milestones and the creative cauldron of new music that Miles pioneered and nurtured.

The tribute features celebrated trumpet player and winner of the 2007 Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition, Ambrose Akinmusire, joined by his Quintet, featuring Walter Smith III (tenor sax), Sam Harris (piano), Harish Raghavan (bass) and Justin Brown (drums). The band stays true to the sound and feel of the original recordings, drawing from the most noted and accessible Miles tracks from 1949 and continuing through his Blue Note years, culminating in his masterpiece and commercial breakout, Kind of Blue.

More than just a musical performance, the show features iconic era images brought together by beat poet-style narrator and actor, Donald Lacy. Lacy draws from the noted poets of the era and the writers who influenced Miles. Images from performances and recording sessions are projected as backdrops along with candid photos of Miles.

For more information on The Miles Davis Experience, please visit http://www.texasperformingarts.org/season/davis.

Campus & Community Engagement Event:
Post-Performance Talkback
*Wednesday, November 2, 2011, immediately following performance in Bass Concert Hall

CALENDAR LISTING
Wednesday, November 2, 2011, 8:00 pm –Texas Performing Arts presents The Miles Davis Experience at Bass Concert Hall (E. 23rd St. and Robert Dedman Dr). A map of the campus: http://texasperformingarts.org/visit/maps_directions. Tickets ($24 – $34 / Limited $10 student tickets / discounted tickets available for UT faculty & staff, seniors and Military) are on sale now at authorized ticket outlets, which include the Bass Concert Hall Box Office, most H-E-B stores and all Texas Box Office outlets, online at TexasPerformingArts.org, or by calling (512) 477-6060 or (800) 982-BEVO.

PRESS CONTACT:
Gene Bartholomew; 512.471.0632
gbartholomew@TexasPerformingArts.org