A TRIBUTE TO WAYNE SHORTER FEATURING RICK VANMATRE

Enigmatic saxophonist Wayne Shorter firmly engraved his own likeness into the Mount Rushmore of Jazz’s greatest composers. In 2023, we lost one of the most important tenor saxophonists of his generation when Wayne Shorter passed away. Cincinnati's powerhouse RickVanMatre will honor Wayne's 60+ year career with bands from Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers to Weather Report as he takes the stage with the CCJO to pay tribute to this grandmaster who left us with beautiful tunes like “Infant Eyes,” “Black Nile,” “Footprints” and more.

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Opening Act: School for Creative & Performing Arts, under the direction of Erwin Stuckey

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Music Sponsors: Brad Pickard and Vicki Young

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Artist Profile: Rick VanMatre, tenor and soprano saxophone

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Rick VanMatre is one of the most exploratory saxophonists in the worlds of jazz, classical and progressive music. He has presented concerts, jazz club performances,and orchestra concerti in the US, Europe, Israel, Brazil and Asia. In addition to recording with his own groups showcasing his compositions, he has recorded as a jazz soloist with the Cincinnati Symphony Pops Orchestra, PsychoAcoustic Orchestra, New Third Stream Quartet and many others. He has appeared with the Duke Ellington Orchestra led by Mercer Ellington, with Cincinnati legends like Frank Vincent, Dee Felice and Carmon DeLeone, and on an extended tour with the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra led by Buddy Morrow. He has commissioned unique jazz/classical concerti and presented them with the New York Repertory Orchestra, Illinois Philharmonic, Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra, Sichuan Symphony Orchestra (China) and Jeju Wind Orchestra (South Korea). Reviewing his CD Lines Above on Summit Records, Fanfare magazine wrote “VanMatre is simply an outstanding and awe-inspiring improviser and jazz composer” and the Cincinnati Enquirer stated his “artistry was seamless, technically superb…musically inventive [and] effortless.” VanMatre is Professor Emeritus at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. Formerly as Director of Jazz Studies, he produced five recordings including Serenade in Blue which was described by Cadence magazine as a “necessary part of any big-band enthusiast's library.” VanMatre has been named “Best Jazz Musician” by Cincinnati Magazine, a “reed titan” by Midwest Jazz magazine, and in 2018, he was inducted into the Cincinnati Jazz Hall of Fame. Please visit his YouTube Channel and his website, rickvanmatre.com.

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Rick would like to dedicate his performance to Herb Aronoff.