by Frances Moffett
In celebration of the legendary jazz musician Miles Davis’ 85th birthday this year, The Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University is presenting the Miles Davis Festival. It’s a showcase to honor the musical works and contributions of the famed trumpeter.
Chicago jazz trumpeter and
composer Orbert Davis (no relation to Miles) will give homage with two programs
during his “Sketches of Blue: An Orbert Davis Tribute to Miles” tribute concert
Thursday at ATRU. Orbert said that this festival is important because of the
impact that Miles Davis had not only on jazz music, but on music overall.
“First of all, (the fest)
is filling a void in American society. Even in Chicago, we have one jazz radio
station. Where do we find jazz? The danger in our society is that we’ll lose
the history if more and more people aren’t exposed to it in this way. The fact
that this is a concert dedicated to one person, it has tremendous historical
significance. It’s not just that we’re doing the songs of Miles Davis, it’s
really about who he was and the incredible innovation that he brought to the music,”
Orbert Davis told the Defender.
During the program, the
Orbert Davis Sextet with Ari Brown and Ernest Dawkins will play “Kind of Blue”
in its entirety. During the second portion of the show, the Chicago Jazz
Philharmonic Chamber Ensemble will perform the world premiere “Sketches of
Spain (Revisited),” adapted and composed by Orbert Davis.
Miles’ influence on Orbert
was tremendous.
“For me, I learned from
Miles how to be in the moment. Miles never picked up a trumpet to his lips to
show off. He basically said, ‘Hey, here is what I have to say—deal with it.’ I
think that Miles calms me down and encourages me to really think and
concentrate on what I’m saying. I learned to take my time and be right there
and say what I have to say and mean it. That’s what Miles did every time he
played,” he said.
Orbert has been playing
the trumpet since he was 10 years old after joining the school band program.
“There’s something about making music,” he explained. “Once I started playing,
I became totally obsessed with it. My parents would have to tell me to stop
practicing! I just loved it; I discovered myself through the music. It’s been
here my whole life.”
His love of jazz music not
only comes from the sound and the way it makes him feel playing it, but also
from the challenge it presents.
“Jazz has always been the
center of what I’ve wanted to play because to me it’s the most challenging
music. No matter what style I was involved in, jazz was always at the center.
The jazz musician has to not only interpret the music but also compose it
spontaneously, which takes a lot of thought, a lot of experience and it takes a
lot of risk to be in the moment. It’s like thinking horizontally and vertically
at the same time. I love the challenge—I love that what I will play today I
didn’t play yesterday,” the musician said.
In his tribute to Miles,
Orbert will be performing with the Chicago Jazz Philharmonic Chamber Ensemble,
the orchestra he co-founded in 2004. He said that in composing his rendering of
Miles’ “Sketches of Spain,” he became so engulfed in the process, he felt as if
he had gone to Spain himself.
“I spent about 80 percent
of my time doing research,” he said. “I researched every article in National
Geographic about Spain, from the very first article all the way up to 2000. I
read every one and looked at the pictures, and when I started composing the
pictures, I arranged the ones that inspired me on a computer screen and I
stared at them as I was composing the music. In a sense, I feel like I’ve been
to Spain. The one movement that I wrote myself is in tribute of the African
people of Spain. It has a Middle Eastern flavor, but the groove represents
Africa. And I think that Miles…kind of gives me license to do that and that’s
the nature of jazz. Jazz isn’t about playing what Miles played; it’s about
being inspired by what Miles did and taking it to another level.”
Orbert hopes that the
audience is able to experience the music and its message at a very deep level
and that they leave the show feeling inspired by the performances.
“Jazz is very
inspirational and inspiring—it’s not the same as a pop concert where we know
that the artist has practiced so many hours and they present the same thing
every night. With jazz, it’s new every time we play it, and I hope that the
audience walks away with that newness,” he said.
Copyright 2011 Chicago
Defender
