CARLY KNASZAK
Assistant Reverb Editor
The Cleveland Jazz Orchestra will make its Fredonia debut with “An Evening of Ella and Ellington” this Saturday opening for the DFT Communication Pops Series. The performance will pay tribute to jazz legends Ella Fitzgerald and Duke Ellington.
The jazz orchestra is led by Paul Ferguson; Fredonia’s own Bruce Johnstone is a guest soloist on baritone sax. The concert will feature senior Nia Drummond and The Fredonia Voices, who both recently performed with the orchestra on Sept. 12 in Cleveland.
“The Cleveland Jazz Orchestra is such an amazing group. When I first rehearsed with them I was so blown away with how big the sound is, and there [are] so few of them. They are genuinely nice people,” Drummond said.
Last time Drummond performed with the orchestra she sang for the Ella Fitzgerald numbers.
For 31 years The Cleveland Jazz Orchestra has been the Northeast Ohio’s premier jazz voice. It’s known for bringing guest performers with them to sing, but the orchestra also likes reaching out to newer artists to give them an opportunity for their voices to be heard.
Senior Michelle Cope attended the concert in Cleveland with Jefferson Westwood, Director of Rockefeller Arts Center.
“We talked to a lot of audience members afterwards, Jefferson and I, and the words that people kept saying were ‘I am in awe.’ It was fun, serious and sensational,” Cope said.
Cope is also Drummond’s business manager and majors in vocal performance, music industry and business administration.
The Cleveland Jazz Orchestra will also be working with The Fredonia Voices. The group are an eight-piece jazz group with current and former students. The group has worked with the Buffalo Philharmonic, and the group is thrilled to be working with the Cleveland Jazz Orchestra again.
“Working with the Cleveland Jazz Orchestra was one of the coolest projects I’ve ever been a part of,” said junior Katelyn Dietz.
“They were so professional and talented and their musicianship helped us step up to the challenge and sound better,” Dietz, who is a double major in theatre arts and applied voice with a concentration in jazz studies and part of The Fredonia Voices, said.
“The atmosphere on the stage was mellow and laid-back. Everyone was having a wonderful time and it was transferred to the music and to the audience. If you asked any of us a year ago if we could have foreseen this, I’m sure we would all say no,” said Lovely Philema, a senior communication disorders and sciences major. Philema is also member of The Fredonia Voices.
For the holidays the Cleveland Jazz Orchestra will perform “Take the A Train: A Tribute to Sinatra & Holiday,” honoring Frank Sinatra and Billie Holiday and “A Not-So-Silent Night” (Charlie Brown Christmas and Pop Culture Christmas).
Another member of The Fredonia Voices is Gabby Carr, a junior business administration and audio/radio production double major.
“It really gave me a glimpse of something I know I want to continue doing after I graduate. I’m so excited to be able to do it again,” Carr said.
The Cleveland Jazz Orchestra works with and has inspired many students. They even have an education program which works with students who are interested in performing.
Tickets for “An Evening of Ella and Ellington” can be purchased at the Ticket Office. The concert starts at 7:30 p.m. in King Concert Hall.