January 9, 2004
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Portland, Ore. … Put on your dancing shoes and grab a partner as guest conductor Jeff Tyzik leads the Oregon Symphony in this Bank of America Pops Concert celebration of swing and a salute to the great ladies of jazz featuring vocalist Dee Daniels on Feb. 7, 8 and 9 at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall. Media support provided by Oregon Business Magazine and K103fm.
Tyzik, who has made his reputation as a talented conductor of pops orchestras around the country, is the Principal Pops Conductor with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra in New York. He’ll open the concert with his own arrangement of Duke Ellington’s “Ellington Portrait,” a medley of favorite Ellington tunes including “Sophisticated Lady,” “Rockin’ in Rhythm,” “Prelude to a Kiss,” “Mood Indigo” and “It Don’t Mean a Thing If It Ain’t Got That Swing.” Tyzik follows up with two Joplin rags, including his most famous, “The Entertainer,” and continues with another medley of swing tunes, featuring Benny Goodman’s signature opening, “Let’s Dance.” Tyzik and the Symphony close the first half with music of Count Basie, “Basie’s Back in Town” and “One O’Clock Jump.”
After intermission Daniels will take the stage to sing a number of well-known and well-loved songs, including “There’ll Be Some Changes Made,” “Fever,” “Sweet Georgia Brown,” “Mac the Knife,” “I Can’t Give You Anything But Love” and a medley which includes “It’s All Right with Me,” Gershwin’s “Summertime,” “My Heart Belongs to Daddy” and “Can’t Help Lovin’ Dat Man of Mine.” Daniels, an internationally known jazz vocal soloist, will also perform three of her own arrangements: Mercer and Arlen’s “Come Rain or Come Shine,” Billie Holliday’s signature song “God Bless the Child” and Ellington & Webster’s “I Got It Bad (And that Ain’t Good).”
Performances are scheduled for
Saturday, Feb. 7 at 8 p.m., Sunday, Feb. 8 at 3
p.m. and 7 p.m. and Monday, Feb.
9 at 8 p.m. at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall. Tickets range
in price from $25 to $68 and may be purchased at the Oregon Symphony
Ticket Office (923 S.W. Washington), Monday through Saturday,
9 a.m. to 5 p.m. or charged by phone at 503-228-1353 or (800)
228-7343. Tickets also may be purchased at all Ticketmaster outlets
(503-790-ARTS) or through Ticketmaster Online, via the Symphony’s
Web site at www.orsymphony.org.
Service fees may apply.
Dee Daniels offers the jazz aficionado an ultimate treat – jazz served up with full-bodied silky tones that soar to the height and captures the depth of her four-octave range. She has a warm presence and performance ability in everything from fronting combos in intimate jazz clubs, to fronting big bands or symphony orchestras in concert halls. When she accompanies herself on piano with exceptional ease and artistry, it is to the great enjoyment of her audiences.
Daniels’ style was born in her stepfather's church choir in Oakland, California, honed through the R&B era and brought to full fruition during a five-year stay in Europe from 1982 to 1987. During those years, she had many wonderful opportunities to perform with such legends of jazz as Toots Theilemans, Johnny Griffin, Ed Thigpen, and Monty Alexander, among others. Two of Daniels’ personal performance highlights include singing the blues with the late divine Sarah Vaughan in The Netherlands, and singing gospel with the late great Joe Williams in Germany.
Dee’s international career includes performances in eleven African countries, Australia, Hong Kong and Japan, as well as in North America and several countries throughout Europe. She has cultivated a diverse career that has seen her on the theater stage in the musical comedy, “Wang Dang Doodle” and the starring role in the 2001 “Calgary Stampede.” She has also established herself as a jazz vocalist in demand by the classical music world. She performs her “Great Ladies of Swing” Symphonic Pops program with symphony orchestras across the United States and Canada.
A respected clinician, Dee sincerely believes in sharing her knowledge and experience with young singers/musicians. In 2001, she established the Dee Daniels Jazz Vocal Scholarship at the Capilano College in North Vancouver, BC. Also in 2001, she was the recipient of the FANS Award (a North Vancouver, BC Arts Council presentation); was nominated as Vocalist of the Year, and her “Love Story” CD was nominated for Best Jazz CD of the Year by West Coast Music Awards. In 2002 she was inducted into the BC Entertainment Hall of Fame and a plaque was installed on Vancouver’s Walk of Fame. In 2003 she received the prestigious Commemorative Medal for the Golden Jubilee of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, and was inducted into the University of Montana’s School of Fine Arts Hall of Honor.
Dee is honored to serve on the Advisory Board of the Lionel Hampton Center Initiative. Visit her website at www.deedaniels.com.
Jeff Tyzik has earned a reputation as one of America’s foremost pops conductors. Tyzik is known for his innovative programming, unique arrangements and his engaging rapport with audiences of all ages. Tyzik has been the Principal Pops Conductor with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra since 1994.
Tyzik’s recent guest conducting schedule has given him the opportunity to conduct many of America’s top orchestras including the Detroit Symphony, the Saint Louis Symphony, The Baltimore Symphony, The Seattle Symphony, the Houston Symphony, the Pittsburgh Symphony, the Boston Pops and the Cincinnati Pops. He is also a frequent guest of Canadian orchestras including Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary and Winnipeg. Next season, Tyzik makes his debut with the Toronto Symphony.
Jeff Tyzik’s pops programming is a reflection of his musical diversity. He has crafted many programs that include the greatest music from the jazz, classical, movie soundtrack, opera, Broadway, Irish, Latin, gospel, rock, R & B and big band/swing idioms. Tyzik has worked with such diverse artists as Tony Bennett, Art Garfunkel, Marilyn Horne, Arturo Sandoval, The Chieftains, Mark O'Connor, Doc Severinsen, John Pizzarelli, Billy Taylor and Lou Rawls.
In the 2000-01 Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra season, Jeff Tyzik made his Philharmonic Series debut with the RPO. Tyzik returns to the Philharmonic Series with the RPO during the 2002-03 season in a program that will feature the world premiere of a new Tyzik composition, Concerto for Trombone and Orchestra, the result of a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.
Tyzik was commissioned by the publisher G. Schirmer to create symphonic orchestrations for many of Duke Ellington’s masterpieces including: “Black, Brown and Beige” and the “Nutcracker Suite.” In addition, G. Schirmer also publishes many other Tyzik works for symphony orchestra.
Tyzik’s contemporary compositions have been recorded by the London Symphony Orchestra, the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra and the Summit Brass. His pops arrangements have been recorded by Erich Kunzel and the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, the Rochester Philharmonic, the Vancouver Symphony and Doc Severinsen with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in London.
Jeff Tyzik’s record production skills earned him a Grammy Award in 1986 for an album entitled “The Tonight Show Band with Doc Severinsen.” Early in his career, Tyzik composed and arranged music for the Maynard Ferguson and Woody Herman Orchestras and worked closely with Chuck Mangione as performer and producer. Tyzik has also produced and composed theme music for many major television networks, including ABC, NBC, HBO, Cinemax, Arts & Entertainment and American Movie Classics. Tyzik has released six of his own albums on Capitol, Polygram and Amherst Records.
In 1997 he was named a Paul Harris Fellow by Rotary International in recognition of his commitment to community service. That same year he was also recognized by the Monroe County Music Educators and the Rochester Philharmonic League for his work in public school and community education.
Jeff Tyzik holds Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees from the Eastman School of Music. He lives in Rochester, New York with his wife Jill.
