Thursday, March 19, 2009

Two International Jazz Stars Featured in April Jazz Concert in Ft. Lauderdale

#JazzBluesFlorida #jazz #blues #Florida #Concerts #Festivals #Clubs

Jiggs Whigham, Trombone and Shelly Berg, Piano Appear in Ft. Lauderdale


Jiggs Whigham, jazz trombonist and Shelly Berg, jazz pianist, will be the featured artists for the April concert presented by the Gold Coast Jazz Society. A ‘Bone, A Grand and A Band featuring Whigham, Berg and members of the Gold Coast Jazz Society Band will take place on Wednesday, April 1 at the Amaturo Theater at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts, 201 SW 5th Ave, Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The show begins at 7:45 pm. Single tickets are $35 and $40 and Student tickets are $12 with ID. Tickets are on sale through the Broward Center’s AutoNation Box Office at 954-462-0222 or online at www.goldcoastjazz.org or www.browardcenter.org. A pre-concert Jazz Riff jazz talk will be given by radio personality Stu Grant at 7:00pm in the theater before the show.

Trombonist Jiggs Whigham, is well known in both classical and jazz worlds. A native of Cleveland Ohio, Whigham first came to the attention of critics and fans at age 17 as featured soloist and first trombonist with the Glenn Miller Orchestra, directed by Ray McKinley. He was also first and solo trombonist with Stan Kenton, performed in studio and Broadway musicals engagements in New York, and was featured soloist with the Kurt Edelhagen Jazz Orchestra at the West German Broadcasting Company in Cologne.

Whigham enjoys an active career both here and abroad. He is currently a soloist and worldwide trombone clinician, conductor of the BBC Big Band in Great Britain, artistic director of the Berlin Jazz Orchestra, visiting Professor at the Guildhall School of Music And Drama in London and visiting tutor at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, England. He was recently appointed musical director of both the LaJJOB (Brandenburger Youth Jazz Orchestra) and 'BUJAZZO' (German national Youth Jazz Orchestra). For more information about this artist, go to www.jiggswhigham.com

“Shelly Berg is one of the finest pianists around in the early 21st century playing modern mainstream jazz”, according to the All Music Guide. Also a native of Cleveland, Berg is the son of jazz musician Jay Berg. Shelly entered the Cleveland Institute of Music at age six to study classical music and jazz. A performer, composer and arranger, he has a variety of musical talents but has devoted most of his time to being a music educator. Formerly the Head of Jazz Studies for the Thornton School of Music at the University of Southern California, Berg was recently appointed the Dean of the famed University of Miami Frost School of Music but still maintains an active performance career. He is a past President of the International Association for Jazz Education (IAJE), and he was the 2003 “Educator of the Year”, as named by the Los Angeles Jazz Society.

Berg has written music for television, film, rock bands and symphony orchestras. His TV credits include ABC's Fudge and CBS's A League of Their Own. He has orchestrated for Kiss (Psycho Circus), Chicago (Night and Day), and Richard Marx (Flesh and Bone) and Elliot Smith (XO). His film credits include the Warner Brothers' releases Almost Heroes (1998) and Three to Tango (1999). He has written for the Royal Philharmonic, the American Symphony Orchestra and for orchestras in Los Angeles, Houston, Boston, Chicago and Atlanta. He also has an extensive list of recordings to his credit.

Whigham and Berg will be joined by members of the Gold Coast Jazz Society Band under the leadership of Eric Allison, Music Director.

The Gold Coast Jazz Society, a not-for-profit organization, is dedicated to the preservation and promotion of jazz music through a mainstage concert series, free community concerts, jazz education programs and other events. Season sponsors include HI Foundation, BankAtlantic, DeMeo Young McGrath, Miller Wiggin & Associates, Morgan Stanley, The PaperMill, WLRN FM and the Riverside Hotel. Go online www.goldcoastjazz.org for more information about the Gold Coast Jazz Society or call 954-524-0805.

Funding for this organization is provided in part by the Broward County Board of County Commissioners as recommended by the Broward Cultural Council, and by the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs, the Florida Arts Council, the National Endowment for the Arts and Funding Arts Broward.


Pam Dearden
Executive Director
Gold Coast Jazz Society
1350 E. Sunrise Blvd.
Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33304
954-524-0805
www.goldcoastjazz.org
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