Jazz At The Wood

Jazz At The Wood was the first CPS High School in the city's history to be invited to perform at the Chicago Jazz Festival (located in Grant Park) in 2007. CPS schools are selected by their rankings at the CPS' All City Jazz Band Competition, which invites high school combos and ensembles to compete for a chance to play at the festival.

What's the real story of the Great Migration? 'Two Wings' will explore at Orchestra HallHoward Reich speaks with pianist and MacArthur Fellow Jason Moran and Alicia Hall Moran, his wife, about the Chicago premiere of 'Two Wings.'

Jazz reviews: 'Two Wings' premiere at Orchestra Hall and Sheila Jordan at 90Howard Reich reviews the Chicago premiere of Jason Moran's and Alicia Hall Moran's "Two Wings" and Sheila Jordan at the Green Mill.

The following is an excerpt from the Chicago Tribune's review (Howard Reich, 5/26/2019) of the Kenwood Jazz Band and String Orchestra's performance with Jason Moran and his wife Alicia Hall Moran at the Chicago Symphony Center on May 24, 2019:

"But nothing quite matched the thrill of hearing and seeing the Kenwood Academy Jazz Band take the stage to play excerpts of “Looks of a Lot,” an evening-length suite Moran composed for the ensemble and performed with it on this stage in 2014 and at the Kennedy Center, in Washington, D.C., in 2017. On this night, a mostly new cast of high school musicians took on the score, but the message of optimism and hope remained quite the same, their work augmented elsewhere in the program by the Kenwood Academy String Orchestra."

Kenwood's Journey.mp4

Jason Moran and the Kenwood Academy Jazz Band.mp4

Kenwood Academy Jazz Band Jona Jam at the Chicago Jazz Fest 2017 (1).mp4

Kenwood's Journey (Full).mp4

In May 2014, the Kenwood Jazz Band performed with “Jason Moran and the Bandwagon” at the Chicago Symphony Center. Jason Moran, an eminent jazz pianist & composer, is the Artistic Director for jazz at the Kennedy Center. He wrote a special piece for the Kenwood Jazz Band to perform with him.

The collaboration between Jason Moran and the Kenwood Jazz Band was featured in the documentary, “Kenwood’s Journey”, on WYCC Channel 20 in October. Read the 4-part documentary and see photo galleries and video at chicagotribune.com/kenwoodjazz.

Four.mp4

Award.mp4

The Kenwood Jazz Band performs at the 2018 Midwest Clinic, held at the McCormick Place in Chicago, IL.

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