Imani Winds blows the roof off.

—All Things Considered (National Public Radio)

Program

VALERIE COLEMAN: Red Clay
JEFF SCOTT: Homage to Duke
JEAN FRANCAIX: Quintette
STEFON HARRIS : Anatomy of a Box (A Sonic Painting in Wood, Metal and Wind): San Francisco premiere of a new work by Stefon Harris.

ENCORE:
HARRIS: Blues for Denial

About This Performance

Dynamic performances, genre-blurring collaborations and culturally significant programming are the hallmarks of the Grammy-nominated Imani Winds. Here, they team up with composer/performer
and former SFP Artist-in-Residence Stefon Harris, a classically trained wizard of improvisation, for a San Francisco premiere work co-commissioned by San Francisco Performances.

Click here to read a review of the Imani Winds/Stefon Harris performance at the University of Iowa on September 25.

Links/Downloads

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Artist Biography

Imani Winds has established itself as more than a wind quintet. Since 1997, the Grammy nominated ensemble has taken a unique path, carving out a distinct presence in the classical music world with its dynamic playing, culturally poignant programming, genre-blurring collaborations, and inspirational outreach programs. With two member composers and a deep commitment to commissioning new work, the group is enriching the traditional wind quintet repertoire while meaningfully bridging European, American, African and Latin American traditions.

The group is in the midst of its Legacy Commissioning Project, an ambitious five-year endeavor launching Imani Winds into its second decade of music making. The ensemble is commissioning, premiering and touring ten new works for woodwind quintet written by established and emerging composers of various musical backgrounds. The select composers originate from different points of the globe bringing experience not only in classical music, but jazz, Middle Eastern, Latin, and harder to define sounds. The Legacy Project kicked off in 2008 with world premieres by Alvin Singleton and Roberto Sierra. In 2008-09, Jason Moran’s Cane will premiere at the Kimmel Center for the Arts in Philadelphia, followed by a performance at Carnegie Hall’s Zankel Hall.

In 2007-08, Imani Winds performed extensively with jazz icon Wayne Shorter, culminating in a summer European tour of jazz festivals in Vienne (France), Lubeck (Germany), Kongsberg (Norway), Copenhagen (Denmark), Limerick (Ireland), and the North Sea Jazz Festival in Rotterdam, Netherlands. In 2008-09, the group will play several engagements with the Shorter Quartet, including dates at Carnegie Hall, Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, and Is Sanat Art and Culture Centre in Istanbul.

The wide range of programs offered by Imani Winds demonstrates their mission to expand the wind quintet repertoire and diversify sources of new music. From Mendelssohn, Jean Françaix, György Ligeti, and Luciano Berio, to Astor Piazzolla, Elliott Carter and John Harbison; to the unexpected ranks of Paquito D’Rivera and Wayne Shorter, Imani Winds actively seek to engage new music and new voices into the modern classical idiom. Imani members Valerie Coleman and Jeff Scott both regularly contribute compositions and arrangements to the ensemble’s expanding repertoire, bringing new sounds and textures to the traditional instrumentation.

Through commissions and performance the quintet regularly collaborates with other artists. Josephine Baker: A Life of Le Jazz Hot!, a collaboration with chanteuse René Marie and choreographer Christopher Huggins, has been performed in New York, San Francisco, and Los Angeles, among other cities, to great acclaim. Imani Winds performed the world premiere of Terra Incognita, the first-ever commission for classical artists by jazz composer, performer and legend Wayne Shorter, and have shared the stage with Yo-Yo Ma for a rousing performance of Jeff Scott’s arrangement of Piazzolla’s Libertango. In 2007 the ensemble collaborated with bassist/trombonist Chris Brubeck of the famed Brubeck family for a performance and recording of music written especially for wind quintet and jazz quartet (released by Koch in 2008). The group’s Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center residency culminated in a recital in New York’s Alice Tully Hall with renowned clarinetist/saxophonist/composer Paquito D’Rivera. The ensemble has also worked with luminaries such as bandoneonist Daniel Binelli, saxophonist Steve Coleman, clarinetist David Shifrin, and pianists Gilbert Kalish, Andre Michel-Schub, Wu Hab and Shai Wosner. Future collaborations include Stefon Harris and David Krakauer.

Imani Winds’ extensive touring schedule has brought them to the Herbst Theater for San Francisco Performances, Seattle’s Meany Hall, University of Illinois’ Krannert Center for the Performing Arts, Ensemble Music Society of Indianapolis, La Jolla Music Society, and the Virginia Arts Festival. Additionally, they have performed at Atlanta’s National Black Arts Festival, Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall, Chicago Symphony Musicians Residency Program, the Ravinia Festival, the Kennedy Center, and the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society.

Imani Winds enjoy frequent national exposure in all forms of media, including two features on NPR’s All Things Considered, appearances on APM’s Saint Paul Sunday, NPR’s Performance Today and News and Notes with Ed Gordon, the Bob Edwards Show on XM Satellite Radio, BBC The World, as well as frequent coverage in major music magazines and newspapers.

Their excellence and influences have been recognized with numerous awards including the 2007 ASCAP Award, 2002 CMA/ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming, as well as the CMA/WQXR Award for their debut and self-released CD Umoja. At the 2001 Concert Artists Guild International Competition, Imani Winds was selected as the first-ever Educational Residency Ensemble, in recognition of their tremendous musical abilities and innovative programming.

Imani Winds have three releases on Koch International Classics, including their 2006 Grammy Award nominated recording entitled The Classical Underground. A fourth release, This Christmas, is released now for the Christmas 2008 season.

 

Vibraphonist-composer Stefon Harris is heralded as "one of the most important young artists in jazz" (Los Angeles Times). He is unquestionably developing what will be a long and extraordinary career.

Stefon Harris' passionate artistry, energetic stage presence, and astonishing virtuosity have propelled him into the forefront of the current jazz scene. widely recognized and lauded by both his peers and jazz critics alike, the 30 year-old is committed to both exploring the rich potential of jazz composition and blazing new trails on the vibraphone.

A graduate of The Manhattan School of Music, he received a B.A. in Classical Music and an M.A. in jazz performance. Stefon is a recipient of the prestigious Martin E. Segal Award from Lincoln Center and has earned back to back to back Grammy nominations for Best Jazz Album including The Grand Unification Theory (2003), the 2001 release of Kindred (Blue Note) and his 1999 release of Black Action Figure (Blue Note) for Best Jazz Instrumental Solo. North Sea Jazz (Netherlands) named Harris for the prestigious International 2002 Bird Award for Artist Deserving Wider Recognition. He has been voted Best Mallet player by the Jazz Journalist Association (2003, 2002, 2001 and 2000), Debut Artist of the Year by Jazztimes, Downbeat's Critics Poll Winner for Vibraphone and Rising Star, Vibraphone (2003) Newsweek's Best Jazz CD, Best New Talent and 1999-2000 Readers Poll Best Vibraphonist by Jazziz Magazine and Chicago Tribune's Debut of the Year.

Mr. Harris has performed at many of the world's most distinguished concert halls, including Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall. The Kennedy Center, San Francisco's Herbst Theater, UCLA's Royce Hall, Chicago's Symphony Center, Detroit's Orchestra Hall, and The Sydney Opera House. He has toured and recorded with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and performed his original compositions with the Dutch Metropole Orchestra in Den Hague. He has toured South Africa, Brazil and Europe performing at the North Sea Jazz Festival, Istanbul Jazz Festival and the Umbria Jazz Festival, among others.

In 2001 he premiered The Grand Unification Theory - a full length concert piece commissioned by The Troy Savings Bank Music Hall which was later presented at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center. He has also appeared at the legendary Playboy Jazz Festival, Montreal Jazz Festival and the Orange County Performing Arts Center. Most recently Mr. Harris received a commission from The Wharton Center for Performing Arts, Michigan State University which will debut in 2005.

An active educator Mr. Harris conducts over 100 clinics and lectures annually at schools and universities throughout the country. He is currently Artist in Residence at San Francisco Performances and in 2002 at The Isabelle Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston. In addition he has been an active member of the Executive Board of Directors for Chamber Music America

Blackout, Stefon's new project featuring a hybrid of acoustic music and progressive sounds debuted its CD, Evolution in April 2004 and also embarked on a national tour. Praised for "pursing jazz on it’s own terms" (Washington Post); the band features Casey Benjamin (alto sax), Marc Cary (keyboards), Darryl Hall (bass) and Terreon Gully, and has performed to sold out crowds at The Kennedy Center and North Sea Jazz Festival.

The 2003 release of The Grand Unification Theory; an eleven movement piece featuring Latin, Classical, African and Jazz influences earned a Grammy nomination, JAZZIZ Critics Choice and 4 star reviews from Downbeat Magazine, Rolling Stone and the Los Angeles Times,

His 2001 CD Kindred earned him his second Grammy nod for Best Jazz Album. A quartet recording with the noted pianist Jacky Terrasson Kindred is a follow-up to his sophomore release Black Action Figure (Blue Note Records) which was also nominated for a Grammy for Best Jazz Instrumental Solo. His premiere as a leader, A Cloud of Red Dust, was voted Best Debut Recording at the 1999 New York Jazz Awards.

In addition to leading his own band, Mr. Harris has recorded as part of The Classical Jazz Quartet, a series of jazz interpreted classics with Kenny Barron, Ron Carter, and Lewis Nash. He has also recorded and toured with many of music's greatest artists, including Joe Henderson, Wynton Marsalis, Cassandra Wilson, Buster Williams, Kenny Barron, Charlie Hunter, Kurt Elling, Cyrus Chestnut, Steve Coleman, and Steve Turre among many others.