"...once seated at the piano, Mr. Hyman launched into ferocious solo improvisations that
made eclectic use of Scott Joplin, Jelly Roll Morton, Fats Waller, Duke Ellington and other
jazz piano greats. At 88, Mr. Hyman is widely regarded as one of jazz's most spellbinding
virtuosos, a master of piano approaches, some dating back to jazz's start in the early 20th century.
For the past 65 years, Mr. Hyman has been recording and performing ragtime, stride,
boogie-woogie, swing, bebop and all other jazz styles in between and beyond, becoming
an encyclopedic link to the music's past." -- The Wall Street Journal (2015)
"...the soaring clarinet line sounds at home amid New Orleans’ moody summer elements,
as if Evan Christopher’s playing has been part of the city’s soundscape all along. And in a way, it has...
Christopher doesn’t just incorporate the “Latin tinge” Jelly Roll Morton spoke of;
he’s fluent in the music of the cultures from which that tinge emerged...His rare,
multi-dimensional comprehension of the music’s history—along with his all-star chops
and rich, lyrical tone—allow him to position the New Orleans clarinet as its own musical
language. It’s a complex approach but it gives him the flexibility to riff on the early
jazz tradition one minute and improvise a soul-drenched blues the next without
compromising the personality of his own voice." -- Offbeat Magazine (2014)
The Shedd Institute is extraordinarily pleased to present two of its oldest friends and favorite artists, together, for the first time at The Shedd, for an extraordinary evening of Creole-tinged jazz magic: the incomparable pianist and composer Dick Hyman, and the nonpareil clarinetist Evan Christopher. Both categorical masters of their instruments; both dedicated scholars in full command of their form and its history.
It will be a rare, one-of-its-kind evenings that is simply not to be missed.
This concert is eligible for The Shedd's
Free Shedd Jazz Student Ticket program, which makes a limited number of free tickets to 2015-16 Shedd jazz concerts available to students elementary through college. The program is made possible by a grant from
Chamber Music America and
Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. Contact The Shedd Ticket Office for information.