Jazz at Lincoln Center (JALC) brings “Songs We Love” to the McAninch Arts Center (MAC) 4 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 19 for a special Valentine’s concert. A free MAC Chat precedes the concert provided by a member of WDCB 90.9 staff at 3 p.m. In addition, WDCB 90.9FM Chicago’s Home for Jazz, is the Media Sponsor for this performance.
“Songs We Love” is a musical journey through the first 50 years of jazz song. Under the musical direction of Riley Mulherkar, three guest vocalists, Shenel Johns, Vuyo Sotashe and Brianna Thomas, will join an all-star band made up of New York’s rising stars. Combining their distinct talents, the group will perform their way through four decades of music, beginning with the early blues and jazz of the 1920s and ending in the early 1950s. The program will include the music of Ma Rainey, Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland and more.
For over three decades, Jazz at Lincoln Center has been a leading advocate for jazz, culture, and arts education globally. Under the direction of Wynton Marsalis, Jazz at Lincoln Center has brought the art form of jazz from the heart of New York City to over 446 cities in more than 40 countries. Nearly 200,000 students participate in Jazz at Lincoln Center’s education programs each year.
The Jazz at Lincoln Center Presents touring initiative provides an affordable opportunity to present great jazz programming, featuring up-and-coming musicians who have been identified as rising stars by JALC. The initiative also allows for expansion of the mission of JALC to entertain, enrich and expand a global community for jazz through performance, education, and advocacy.
Tickets
Jazz at Lincoln Center Presents: “Songs We Love” comes to the McAninch Arts Center, 425 Fawell Blvd. in Glen Ellyn, Ill. 4 p.m., Sunday, Feb. 19. Ticket prices range from $50 to $60. For tickets or additional information call 630.942.4000 or visit www.AtTheMAC.org. Box Office hours are Tuesday – Saturday, noon – 6 p.m. and three hours prior to performances.
About the MAC
McAninch Arts Center (MAC) at College of DuPage is located 25 miles west of Chicago near I-88 and I-355 at 425 Fawell Blvd. It houses three indoor performance spaces (the 780-seat proscenium Belushi Performance Hall; the 186-seat soft-thrust Playhouse Theatre; and the versatile black box Studio Theatre), an outdoor venue, the Lakeside Pavilion, plus the Cleve Carney Museum of Art and classrooms for the college’s academic programming. The MAC has presented theater, music, dance and visual art to more than 2 million people since its opening in 1986 and typically welcomes more than 100,000 patrons from the greater Chicago area to more than 230 performances each season.
The mission of the MAC is to foster enlightened educational and performance opportunities, which encourage artistic expression, establish a lasting relationship between people and art, and enrich the cultural vitality of the community. For more information about the MAC, visit www.AtTheMAC.org, @AtTheMAC on Facebook and Instagram.
Support for the McAninch Arts Center is provided in part by the DoubleTree by Hilton Lisle/Naperville; Follett, WDCB 90.9 FM, a grant from the Illinois Arts Council Agency and the College of DuPage Foundation.
Established as a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit charitable organization in 1967, the College of DuPage Foundation raises monetary and in-kind gifts to increase access to education and to enhance cultural opportunities for the surrounding community. For more information about the College of DuPage Foundation, visit www.foundation.cod.edu or call 630.942.2462.
Biographies
Riley Mulherkar (musical director) has been recognized as a “smart young trumpet player” (The New York Times) and “a youngster to keep an eye on” (Wall Street Journal). He is a 2020 recipient of Lincoln Center’s Emerging Artist Award for his work as “an original bandleader, composer, arranger, educator, community activist and advocate for jazz and the arts.” Mulherkar has worked with many leading artists including Wynton Marsalis, Anna Deavere Smith and Alan Cumming. He is a founding member of The Westerlies, a new music brass quartet and also serves as Artistic Director for Jazz at Joye in Aiken, bringing leading young talent to the historic city of Aiken, S.C.
Shenel Johns (guest vocalist) has emerged as one of the shining stars of her generation. A native of Hartford, Conn., Johns has been performing since she was 14 years of age. She possesses a voice that embodies grace and passion and a distinctive, eclectic style personal style that sways effortlessly from jazz to R&B to gospel.
Vuyo (Vuyolwethu) Sotashe (guest vocalist) was born in Mthata in the Eastern Cape and grew up in the small town of Butterworth (Gcuwa). His interest in jazz was sparked by his elder brother’s love of jazz piano, which led him to discover great jazz singers like Fitzgerald, Vaughan, Tormé, Elling and others, influencing his decision to pursue jazz singing. Honors and awards include first prize in the FMR Music Bursary competition (2011) and winning the Mid-Atlantic Jazz Festival (MAJF) Jazz Vocalist Competition (2014).
Brianna Thomas (guest vocalist) is an American jazz singer, vocalist, composer, songwriter, band leader, and percussionist. She was born and raised in Peoria, Ill. and made her singing debut at the age of six. At the age eight she won her first of 13 trophies. Just shy of her teens, her talents were discovered by distinguished jazz educator Mary Jo Papich. Soon after, Thomas toured Europe with the Peoria Jazz All-Stars under Papich’s direction. This was the beginning of Thomas’ career as jazz vocalist. Thomas is compared to Sarah Vaughan, Betty Carter and Dianne Reeves, singing ballad standards, cabaret music, Scat singing, and blues. She specializes in 30s-style swing music.