The ycc 9ufius Chajes,'Encore Concert Series presents...
Peter Yarrow
of 'Peter, Pau( & fAlaT and
Bethany Yarrow
Saturday, December 4, 199.9 at 8 p.m.
Performance at Temple Emanu-El • 14450 West 10 Mile Road • Oak Park, MI
Members: $10 • Non-Members: $15
As a member of the legendary folk trio, Peter, Paul and Mary,
Peter Yarrow's rich tenor sound has been a profound voice for progressive
political change fetlmost four decades. Come hear this living legend
perform "Light
ndle" and °the* ngs from his collection with his
daught F fhany. This is a Chan
h concert for all ages.
,
Sponsoreck
Co-spons®
'Jewish Communitr
Neighborhaq
ter of Metropolitan Detroit
r f eject & Temple Emanu-El
For tickets, caL
7) 661-7649 in West Bloomfield.
A scene from "The Harlem Nutcracker," choreographed by Donald Byrd_
the swing era, has transcribed more
than 300 works by Ellington and
Strayhorn. He expanded Ellington's 31-
minute Nutcracker Suite with another
hour and a half of his own music.
"The challenge was to remain
myself and not to be intimidated by
either of them, or Tchaikovsky, for
that matter," the composer-conductor
says. "I took the Tchaikovsky themes
and used the Ellington and Strayhorn
pieces as a model."
Besides being conductor and
arranger for the Lincoln Center Jazz
Orchestra from 1988-1994, Berger
has written scores for Broadway
shows, including Sophisticated Ladies;
films, such as The Cotton Club; and
television.
Berger, whose compositions and
arrangements also are found on
recordings by artists from Rosemary
Clooney to Jon Hendricks, first
showed an interest in music as he lis-
tened to his mother playing the piano
at home. After keyboard lessons, he
turned to the trumpet.
"I had a pretty serious teacher, and
she taught me a lot about theory and
writing music," Berger recalls. "I
found that interested me more than
playing. The first day of seventh grade,
I showed up [to audition] for the
school dance band, and we started
playing swing arrangements. What
was happening rhythmically and the
whole aesthetic of the music became
the focus of my life."
Berger began amassing a collection
of jazz records and went on to write
arrangements and compose. He was
encouraged by his high school band
director, who helped convince Berger's
parents to let him pursue a musical
career.
After graduating from Ithaca
College, Berger settled in New York
and played with a couple of bands
before starting his own.
"Other bands would play my
music, but they also wanted to play
theirs," he explains. "I only got a few
of my things in. If I had my own
band, it would be just my things. I've
worked for or with a lot of the guys I
admired as a teen-ager, and some of
them have played in my band. Several
of the guys in my band now were my
idols. Knowing that they respect me
that much is quite touching."
Berger's CD of The Harlem
Nutcracker debuts the day the show
opens in Detroit.
The swing-style album includes five
selections from Nutcracker Suite by
Ellington and Strayhorn and nine
works by Berger, including "Snowflake
Joys" and "Marquis Shuffle.
Berger, divorced and the father of
two teen-agers, recently took on a per-
sonal project by writing an arrange-
ment for his daughter's small swing
band. Upcoming professional projects
involve doing more swing and other
Ellington pieces.
"We're going to make another
album in January," he explains. "It's
dance-oriented — all the things we
play in the clubs. I'm going to be
doing some Ellington Sacred Concerts
with Jessye Norman, and we're also
going to be doing a PBS show in the
spring. The band will be going to
Washington a year from now for the
200th anniversary dinner celebration
of the White House."
The Harlem Nutcracker will be
performed at the Detroit Opera
House at the following times: 8
p.m. Fridays, Saturdays,
Wednesday and Thursday, Nov.
26-Dec. 4; 7 p.m. Sunday, Dec.
5; 2 p.m. Saturdays, Nov. 27
and Dec. 4; and 3 p.m. Sundays,
Nov. 28 and Dec.5. $12-$40.
(734) 764-2538.
MeNSAM, :AISIMAMAIWZAOMMAZIMISROMMMaa.
ox,
N E( ;1
m 10( )1)
PROJECT
Funded in part by: Natalie & Manny Charach Endowment Fund.
Irwin & Sadie Cohn Endowment for the Arts. DeRoy Testamentary
Foundation. Boaz Siegel Culture Fund Benard Maas Foundation
Hiram Dorfman and David Engelbert Trustees
c (S).4
Italian Grilk
NEW HOURS:
Mon.-Fri. 4:00-12:00
SAT. 5:00-12:00
(734) 254-0400
Reservations Suggested Please
****
Rating By
The Detroit Free Press
Executive Chef Eriq Lukasik
D.,,
I
•
1' F(
Experience an upscale
Steakhouse featuring
Piedmontese Beef
Recognized by American Heart Assn. ‘01
Also Featuring
Variety of Bone-in Chops.
Fresh Catch. Pasta.
Ittiogikulitth and e'gars in the Piano. Bar
Zoe Intertaitunent gharttlaq-Satuday
4—
1-96
M-14
CC
CC
Q>
U;
9
A
Plymouth Rd.
THE GALLERY RESTAURANT
I
p
Enjoy gracious dining amid a beautiful
atmosphere of casual elegance
BREAKFAST LUNCH DINNER
OPEN 7 DAYS: MON.- SAT. 7 a.m.- 9:30 p.m. SUN. 8 a.m.- 9 p.m.
West Bloomfield Plaza • 6638 Telegraph Road and Maple • 248-851-0313
4