By Tiffany Edwards , University Relations
Reggie Workman
Ties to jazz legend Miles Davis will bring together for the first time four accomplished jazz musicians and students from the jazz studies program that bears his name.
Friday and Saturday, Feb. 10-11, the Miles Davis Jazz Studies Program at UNCG will welcome Jimmy Cobb (drums), Mike Stern (guitar), Reggie Workman (bass) and Wallace Roney (trumpet) for a unique weekend of master classes, a film and a public concert in honor of the late master trumpeter.
“Miles Davis Alumni with the UNCG Jazz Ensemble,” a public concert Feb. 11, will feature the music of Miles Davis, performed and arranged by students from the university’s jazz program, and heightened by the talents of Davis’ former sidemen. In the first half, Workman and Cobb will join the UNCG Ensemble on stage; in the second half, they will form a quartet with Roney and Stern.
In addition to the concert’s notable performers, the audience will include special guests Cheryl Ann and Gregory Davis and Peter Bradley, all children of Davis.
The program will feature student arrangements of: “81,” Mike Sailors; “Nardis,” Brandon Tesh; “All Blues,” Andrew Hays; “Milestones,” Mark Shoun; and “Old Milestones,” J.P. Smith.
Wallace Roney
Tickets are $20 adults/$15 seniors/$10 students. The concert will be held at 8 p.m. in Aycock Auditorium. Call (336) 334-4849 for tickets.
In conjunction with the concert, the Weatherspoon Art Museum will screen “Miles Davis Electric: A Different Kind of Blue” at 2 p.m. Feb. 11 in the Weatherspoon auditorium. Admission is free.
In an Oct. 9, 2004, review for the New York Times, Stephen Holden wrote, “‘Miles Electric’ is an exceptionally concise, well-organized concert documentary. There’s none of the padding you often find in concert movies, and once the jam begins, there are no distractions.”
A student group will perform after the film.
The concept for Miles Davis Jazz Studies Program arose in 1996 when Buddy Gist, a good friend of Miles Davis, approached the UNCG School of Music with a trumpet that was used by Davis on the most popular jazz album in history, “Kind of Blue.” Two years later, the Miles Davis Jazz Studies Program was instituted and Davis’ trumpet is currently on display outside of the Recital Hall, where the jazz ensembles regularly perform. Additionally, a collection of serigraphs designed by Davis, who was also an artist, lines the walls of the School of Music library. Most recently, Franca Mulligan, the widow of Gerry Mulligan, gave a copy of “Deception,” written by Miles Davis and arranged by Mulligan on “Birth of the Cool,” to the UNCG School of Music.
Mike Stern
For more information about the jazz studies program at UNCG, visit http://www.uncg.edu/mus/jazz.
Jimmy Cobb (drums) – Largely self-taught, he played engagements with Charlie Rouse, Billie Holiday, and Pearl Bailey as a young man in Washington. After leaving the city in 1950, he played with Earl Bostic (with whom he made his first recordings), Dinah Washington (for three and a half years), Cannonball Adderley, Stan Getz, and Dizzy Gillespie. In 1958 he replaced Philly Joe Jones in Miles Davis’ group, with which he remained until 1963. His talents are featured on Davis’ CD, “Kind of Blue.” He then joined Paul Chambers in the Wynton Kelly Trio, which toured and recorded both on its own and with Wes Montgomery and J. J. Johnson. He accompanied Sarah Vaughan through the 1970s and later played with Rich Cole, Sonny Stitt, Nat Adderley, and Ricky Ford.
Mike Stern (guitar) – Stern studied at the Berklee College of Music and got his start as a guitar player with Blood, Sweat & Tears at the age of 22. Following a stint with Billy Cobham's powerhouse fusion band from 1979-80, Stern was recruited by Miles Davis and played a key role in his celebrated comeback band of 1981. During his three-year period with Miles, Stern appeared on three recordings with the jazz maestro – “Man With The Horn,” “Star People” and “We Want Miles.” From 1983 to 1984, he toured with Jaco Pastorius’ Word of Mouth band and in 1985 returned to Miles’ lineup for a second tour of duty that lasted close to a year. Since that time, he has also played with David Sanborn, Michael Brecker and John Scofield, among others, and released three Grammy-nominated albums. He was named Best Jazz Guitarist of the Year by the readers and critics of Guitar Player magazine in 1993 and received the Orville W. Gibson Award for Best Jazz Guitarist in 1997.
Reggie Workman (bass) - Workman is an internationally acclaimed bassist, composer, arranger, record / concert producer, and educator. Although best known for his work with John Coltrane, his collaborative projects with other artists include: Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, Yusef Lateef, Lee Morgan, Booker Little, Elvin Jones, Alice Coltrane, Freddy Hubbard, Wayne Shorter, Max Roach, and many others. In recognition of his contribution to the artist community spanning a period of more than 40 years, he was named a Living Legend in 1999 by the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation, and in 1995 by the African-American Historical and Cultural Museum of Philadelphia. Workman has received numerous Meet the Composer grants. Since 1998 he has been involved with the Montclair Academy of Dance and Music Laboratory in New Jersey, as well as with Montclair Community Pre-K Center, where he and his wife are developing creative concepts for children of all ages and cultures.
Wallace Roney (trumpet) – Roney first came to prominence in Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers in the early 1980s. Later in the ’80s and early ’90s, Roney was an integral part of Tony Williams’ quintet. In 1991, Roney played with Miles Davis at the Montreux Jazz Festival, a performance which was released on the album, “Miles Davis and Quincy Jones at Montreux.” Roney recorded his debut album, “Verses,” on the Muse label in 1987. A number of albums on Muse, Warner Bros. and Stretch Records followed. His most recent album is “Prototype,” recorded in 2004 for High Note Records.
