For Immediate Release:
June 5, 2015
Press Contacts:
Eileen Chambers, 312-294-3092
Rachelle Roe, 312-294-3090
Photos Available By Request
[email protected]
SYMPHONY CENTER PRESENTS 2014/15 JAZZ SERIES
CONCLUDES WITH WORLD PREMIERE BY DRUMMER AND
COMPOSER DANA HALL— THE HYPOCRISY OF JUSTICE:
SIGHTS AND SOUNDS FROM THE BLACK METROPOLIS
RIFFIN’ AND SIGNIFYIN(G) ON RICHARD WRIGHT’S NATIVE SON
SCP Jazz Series Commission Honors 75th Anniversary
of Landmark Novel set in Chicago
Performance features Stage Elements Designed by Artist Kerry James Marshall,
Script by Cheryl Lynn Bruce and Narration by TV and Film Actor Wendell Pierce
CHICAGO—Gifted drummer and composer Dana Hall brings a world premiere performance of
his new work—The Hypocrisy of Justice: Sights and Sounds from the Black Metropolis Riffin'
and Signifyin(g) on Richard Wright's Native Son to Symphony Center on Friday, June 19, at 8
p.m. A Symphony Center Presents (SCP) Jazz series commission, this evening-length work
honors the 75th anniversary of Wright’s landmark novel, one of the most important to come out
of Chicago. Hall, who has previously appeared on the series with the Chicago Jazz Ensemble,
leads the performance as Music Director with the Dana Hall Quintet and several guest
musicians, as well as actor Wendell Pierce (Selma, Treme, The Wire). The performance
features stage elements created by internationally-celebrated, Chicago-based artist Kerry
James Marshall and a script written by acclaimed actor, writer and director Cheryl Lynn Bruce.
Set in Chicago in the 1930’s, Wright’s provocative novel Native Son and the tragic events
experienced by its protagonist Bigger Thomas highlight themes of racism, religion, oppression
and disenfranchisement that are still present today. The Hypocrisy of Justice: Sights and
Sounds from the Black Metropolis Riffin' and Signifyin(g) on Richard Wright's Native Son
explores these themes and offers glimpses of different realities through a combination of music,
visual art and spoken word. Hall’s score for small and large jazz ensemble recognizes the rich
legacy of jazz composers including Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Charles Mingus, Thelonious
Monk and Wynton Marsalis.
“Welcoming Dana Hall back to Symphony Center to premiere his new composition with this
incredible group of artists represents a significant moment for our jazz series and our
audiences,” says Jim Fahey, director of programming for Symphony Center Presents. “I have
long admired Dana’s work as musician and a composer and I look forward to experiencing the
creativity of these wonderful artists as they respond to this important novel.”
Hall, who serves as music director and drummer for the performance, assembles an
extraordinary group of artists for the world premiere including fellow quintet members Tim
Warfield, Jr. (saxophone and flute), Bruce Barth (piano), Clark Sommers (bass) and trumpeter
Marquis Hill. Special guest musicians include Steve Wilson (saxophone and flute), Vincent
Gardner (trombone), Tomeka Reid (cello) and Jeff Parker (guitar), all of whom have performed
with Hall in the past. Hall and Fahey also made special invitations to acclaimed visual artist
Kerry James Marshall, writer Cheryl Lynn Bruce and actor Wendell Pierce to participate in the
project.
"When I was thinking about this project, and my desire to present a thoughtful response to a
challenging and widely-recognized work like Wright’s Native Son, I knew that I wanted to work
with musicians who have collaborated with me in the past,” notes Hall. “These are all artists who
I have a history with and we share a musical language together. Having admired and been
inspired by artist Kerry James Marshall’s body of work concerning the black experience, I didn’t
hesitate to ask him if he would like to join me on this journey and I’m delighted that he said, yes.
My conversations over the past year with Kerry and Cheryl Lynn Bruce have yielded many rich
ideas for the piece. Adding Wendell Pierce to the project, an actor of great depth and sensitivity
gives even greater momentum to our work.”
Hall is currently Associate Professor of Music and Director of Jazz Studies at DePaul University.
He is former Artistic Director of the Chicago Jazz Ensemble and a permanent member of the
Carnegie Hall Jazz band. For the last 13 years, Hall has also been a member of the Terell
Stafford Quintet, touring extensively with the group and featured on their last four recordings.
His 2009 debut recording with the Dana Hall Quintet, Into the Light, was named a top 10
Innovative Jazz CD by the Chicago Tribune. Over the course of his career, Hall has performed
as a sideman with major jazz artists including Branford Marsalis, Betty Carter, Ray Charles, Roy
Hargrove and others. Also an active composer, he has been commissioned by a number of
other groups including the Chicago Jazz Festival to write new jazz compositions. The Hypocrisy
of Justice: Sights and Sounds from the Black Metropolis Riffin' and Signifyin(g) on Richard
Wright's Native Son is Hall’s first evening-length composition.
Marshall is a multifaceted artist who uses mediums including painting, sculpture, photography
and collage to comment on the history of black identity. A recipient of the prestigious MacArthur
Fellowship in 1997, Marshall has gone on to an international career that includes a recent
exhibit at the 2015 Venice Biennale as well as solo exhibitions including Kerry James Marshall:
In the Tower at the National Gallery of Art, Washington DC (2013) and Kerry James Marshall:
Painting and Other Stuff, organized by the Museum van Hedendaagse Kunst Antwerpen,
Belgium. In April 2016, the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago opens Kerry James Marshall
(April 23-September 4, 2016), the first major museum survey of Marshall’s work.
There will be a Q&A with Dana Hall and Kerry James Marshall immediately following the
performance in Grainger Ballroom. The Q&A is open to all concert ticketholders.
The CSO is grateful to Dan J. Epstein and the Dan J. Epstein Foundation for generously
underwriting the commission for this concert, and for providing free tickets for students from
Chicago schools to attend.
The Symphony Center Presents Jazz Series is sponsored by Exelon.
Tickets for all CSOA-presented concerts can be purchased by phone at 800-223-7114 or 312294-3000; online at cso.org, or at the Symphony Center box office: 220 S. Michigan Ave.,
Chicago, IL 60604.
Discounted student tickets for select concerts can be purchased, subject to availability, online in
advance or at the box office on the day of the concert. For group rates, please call 312-2943040.
Artists, programs and prices are subject to change.
###
Symphony Center Presents
Jazz
Friday, June 19, 2015, 8 p.m.
The Hypocrisy of Justice: Sights and Sounds from the
Black Metropolis Riffin' and Signifyin(g) on Richard
Wright's Native Son
[SCP Jazz series commission, World Premiere]
Dana Hall Quintet
Dana Hall, Music Director and Drums
Marquis Hill, Trumpet
Tim Warfield, Jr., Saxophone and Flute
Bruce Barth, Piano
Clark Sommers, Bass
and special guests
Kerry James Marshall, Visual Artist
Wendell Pierce, Actor
Steve Wilson, Saxophone and Flute
Vincent Gardner, Trombone
Tomeka Reid, Cello
Jeff Parker, Guitar
Cheryl Lynn Bruce, Scriptwriter
Tickets: $24-$76
___________________________________________________________________________________
About the Artists
Dana Hall
Kerry James Marshall
Wendell Pierce
Cheryl Lynn Bruce
The Chicago Symphony Orchestra
http://www.cso.org and http://www.csosoundsandstories.org/.
Founded in 1891, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra is consistently hailed as one of the greatest
orchestras in the world. Since 2010, the preeminent conductor Riccardo Muti has served as its 10th
music director. Pierre Boulez is the CSO’s Helen Regenstein Conductor Emeritus, Yo-Yo Ma is its Judson
and Joyce Green Creative Consultant, and Mason Bates and Anna Clyne are its Mead Composers-inResidence.
From baroque through contemporary music, the CSO commands a vast repertoire. Its renowned
musicians annually perform more than 150 concerts, most at Symphony Center in Chicago and, each
summer, at the suburban Ravinia Festival. They regularly tour nationally and internationally. Since 1892,
the CSO has made 58 international tours, performing in 29 countries on five continents.
People around the globe listen to weekly radio broadcasts of CSO concerts and recordings on the WFMT
network and online at cso.org/radio. Recordings by the CSO have earned 62 Grammy Awards, including
two in 2011 for Muti’s recording with the CSO and Chorus of Verdi's Messa da Requiem (Muti’s first of
four releases with the CSO to date). Find details on these and many other CSO recordings at
www.cso.org/resound
The CSO is part of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association, which includes the Chicago Symphony
Chorus (Duain Wolfe, Director and Conductor) and the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, a preprofessional
training ensemble. Through its prestigious Symphony Center Presents series, the CSOA presents guest
artists and ensembles from a variety of genres—classical, jazz, world, and contemporary.
The Negaunee Music Institute at the CSO offers community and education programs that annually
engage more than 200,000 people of diverse ages and backgrounds. Through the Institute and other
activities, including a free annual concert with Muti and the CSO, the CSO promotes the concept of
Citizen Musicianship™: using the power of music to create connections and build community.
The CSO is supported by tens of thousands of patrons, volunteers and institutional and individual donors.
Bank of America is the Global Sponsor of the CSO. The CSO’s music director position is endowed in
perpetuity by a generous gift from the Zell Family Foundation. The Negaunee Foundation provides
generous support in perpetuity for the work of the Negaunee Music Institute. CSO Tuesday series
concerts are sponsored by United Airlines.