Gershwin Reimagined Concert Program

Gershwin Reimagined 31 MAY – 1 JUNE 2019 Melbourne Symphony Orchestra Troy Miller conductor / arranger Laura Mvula vocalist José James vocalist

Program

GEORGE GERSHWIN (1898–1937)

GEORGE GERSHWIN Catfish Row: I. Catfish Row Fascinating Rhythm (arr. Miller) Someone To Watch Over Me (arr. Miller) I Got Rhythm (arr. Miller) Catfish Row: II. Porgy Sings But Not For Me (arr. Miller) Embraceable You (arr. Miller) A Foggy Day (arr. Miller) Catfish Row: III. Fugue — INTERVAL — Catfish Row: IV. Hurricane LAURA MVULA Kiss My Feet (arr. Miller) Show Me Love (arr. Miller) GEORGE GERSHWIN S’Wonderful (arr. Miller) Catfish Row: V. Good Mornin’ Sistuh!

They Can’t Take That Away From Me (arr. Miller)

Running time: approximately 2 hours including a 20-minute interval.

In consideration of your fellow patrons, the MSO thanks you for dimming the lighting on your mobile phone.

Photo by Carl Van Vechten

George Gershwin is perhaps best known for the orchestral compositions that spanned both popular and classical music.

His 1924 Rhapsody in Blue elevated jazz to a ‘respectable’ genre, while his ‘folk opera’ Porgy and Bess is considered to be among the most important American musical compositions of the 20th century.

In tonight’s concert you’ll hear selections from Catfish Row, an orchestral work by Gershwin based on music from Porgy and Bess.

Gershwin wrote numerous songs for stage and screen that quickly became standards, including Someone to Watch Over Me, Embraceable You and They Can’t Take That Away from Me. His lyricist for nearly all of these tunes was his older brother, Ira, whose witty lyrics and inventive wordplay received nearly as much acclaim as George’s compositions.

Although tragically cut short by a brain tumour, Gershwin’s musical career had an outsized impact on American music – both popular and classical – that is still felt today.

Melbourne Symphony Orchestra

Troy Miller conductor / arranger

The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra is a leading cultural figure in the Australian arts landscape, bringing the best in orchestral music and passionate performance to a diverse audience across Victoria, the nation and around the world.

Creator of Gershwin Reimagined, Troy Miller is a multi-instrumentalist, composer, conductor and producer; a rare talent whose artistry transcends the confines of genre. He has worked as producer on albums with Jamie Cullum (Island Records), Laura Mvula (Sony), Gregory Porter (Blue Note) and Rag n Bone Man while his conducting roles have taken him to the London Symphony Orchestra, Philharmonia and BBC Concert orchestras among others.

Each year the MSO engages with more than 5 million people through live concerts, TV, radio and online broadcasts, international tours, recordings and education programs.

Under the spirited leadership of Chief Conductor, Sir Andrew Davis, the MSO is a vital presence, both onstage and in the community, in cultivating classical music in Australia. The nation’s first professional orchestra, the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra has been the sound of the city of Melbourne since 1906.

The MSO regularly attracts great artists from around the globe including AnneSophie Mutter, Lang Lang, Renee Fleming and Thomas Hampson, while bringing Melbourne’s finest musicians to the world through tours to China, Europe and the United States.

Troy studied at the Guildhall School of music where he is now a visiting professor.

In his early career Troy started as a drummer, performing and recording with the likes of American vibes legend Roy Ayers, Amy Winehouse and Mark Ronson.

Highlights of Troy’s collaborations include: Adele, Lu Lu, Chaka Khan, Cliff Richard, Macy Gray, Branford Marsalis, Gloria Gaynor, Grace Jones, Sister Sledge, Donna Summer and Mark Turner. Troy has been a Yamaha and Sabian artist for nearly 10 years and has performed many masterclasses on their behalf.

The MSO acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the land on which we are performing. We pay our respects to their Elders, past and present, and the Elders from other communities who may be in attendance.

Laura Mvula vocalist

José James vocalist

British-born Laura Mvula’s debut album, Sing to the Moon, was released in 2013 to critical acclaim. In 2016, after winning multiple MOBO awards, Mvula received her second Mercury Prize nomination for The Dreaming Room, which went on to win the 2017 Ivor Novello Award for Best Album. If Sing to The Moon was the sound of a young artist honing her craft, then The Dreaming Room can be described as the sound of a confident and accomplished lyricist showing the progression of an artist who has truly come into her own.

Minneapolis born vocalist, José James blends elements of jazz, R&B and hip-hop to create the distinctive sounds that make his work unique. The Los Angeles Times boasts, “James [is a] genre hybridist who claims both b-boys and jazz purists in his fan base... a winningly singular presence in contemporary American music. Not just singular, but magnetic.”

Laura has gone on to compose the music for the Royal Shakespeare Company’s production of Anthony and Cleopatra which opened in Stratford in March 2017 and later transferred to the Barbican. In 2018 she collaborated with author Ben Okri, writing a musical accompaniment to his poem Love Like A Lion, a composition that was premiered at the Proms.

James has released seven albums and played on prestigious stages all over the world, including the Central Park Summerstage in New York, The Kennedy Center in DC, London’s Royal Festival Hall and Billboard Live Tokyo, to name a few.

James’ latest musical venture, Lean On Me: José James Celebrates Bill Withers pays homage to one of his personal heroes.

Released on Blue Note in 2018, with this album James aims to unite listeners and champion each other’s voices and stories through Wither’s brilliant catalogue.

About the Melbourne International Jazz Festival The Melbourne International Jazz Festival is an annual, world-class festival taking place in concert halls, arts venues, clubs and throughout Melbourne. From Friday 31 May to Sunday 9 June Melbourne will come alive with the spirit of jazz.

MIJF is one of the leading centres of jazz presentation in the world providing a platform for performance, collaboration, education and engagement. Its diverse programming includes modern masters of jazz such as Herbie Hancock, Billy Childs, Linda May Han Oh and Ms. Lisa Fischer alongside late night art parties, free events, international collaborations with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and pathways for emerging artists.