Imani Winds to perform at the Ford

The five path breaking musicians of the Grammy-nominated Imani Winds have successfully created a fusion between classical chamber music, jazz, and Afro-Latin traditional music. In the decade since its formation in 1997, the group has set about changing the perception of the wind quintet, bringing new sounds and textures to the flute, bassoon, oboe, clarinet and horn combination. The Washington Post said of the ensemble (whose name means “faith” in Swahili), ”Imani Winds represents nothing less than the future of the once-quaint notion of the wind quintet.” They come to the Ford directly from the Santa Fe Music Festival, where they are playing a newly commissioned collaborative work and a world music program. Earlier in the summer they performed at jazz festivals in France, Germany, Norway and the Netherlands.

Their program under the stars at the Ford Amphitheatre on Friday, August 1 at 8:30 p.m. travels from South America to Africa and back to the United States with soulful, accessible pieces. The opening piece, “Afro Blue” stands as one of Cuban conguero Mongo Santamaria’s greatest works. Imani’s flutist/composer Valerie Coleman has arranged the jazz standard to echo the African call and response ritual, continuing Santamaria’s celebratory tradition. Also in the Cuban tradition is Paquito D’Rivera’s “Kites Over Havana.” Written specifically for Imani Winds, “Kites” was inspired by an anonymous poem about flight and freedom that is spoken throughout the piece. Brazilian instrumental music inspired Julio Medaglia’s suite, “Belle Epoque in Sud-Amerika,” originally composed for the Berlin Philharmonic Wind Quintet. Ugandan composer Justinian Tamasuza contributes to the program with “Abaafa Luli” (“They Who Died Then” in the Luganda language), written in tribute to twenty-two 19th century Ugandan Christian converts who were slaughtered when they refused to renounce their faith. “Homage to Duke,” composed by Imani’s hornist Jeff Scott, is inspired by Duke Ellington’s gospel hymn “Come Sunday.” The evening’s finale is “Libertango,” a classic of the Argentinian tango music master, Astor Piazzolla, which becomes an explosive tour de force for wind quintet in an arrangement by Jeff Scott.

In addition to Coleman and Scott, members of the Imani Winds include Toyin Spellman Diaz on oboe, Mariam Adam on clarinet and Monica Ellis on bassoon. The group has three releases on Koch International Classics, including their 2006 Grammy Award-nominated recording entitled The Classical Underground. They have been featured on NPR's All Things Considered, MPR'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.

Tickets, priced at $25 for adults and $12 for full-time students and children, can be purchased at www.FordTheatres.org or by calling the Ford box office at (323) 461-3673.

Imani Winds’ “Afro Blue” is a Chamber Music Under the Stars event presented by the Ford Theatre Foundation and is generously supported by The Mari and Edmund D. Edelman Foundation for Music and the Performing Arts.

All ticket holders are invited to picnic and dine prior to the show starting at 6:30 p.m. During the warm summer months, the Ford Amphitheatre is an intimate (no seat is more than 96 feet from the stage) and affordable place to relax and enjoy world class music in an open air setting. The historic outdoor venue (it opened in 1920) has played host to many distinguished chamber music events starting with concerts by violinist Jascha Heifetz, cellist Gregor Piatigorsky and their colleagues in the 1950s and 1960s.

Media sponsors for Imani Winds are KJAZZ 88.1 FM and Flavorpill.

THE FACTS
WHO
IMANI WINDS
Music – World – Classical – Jazz

WHAT
The program includes:
MONGO SANTAMARIA – “Afro Blue” (arr. V. Coleman)
ARTURO MARQUEZ - “Danza de Mediodia”
JEFF SCOTT – “Homage to Duke”
JUSTINIAN TAMUSUZA – “Abaafa Luli”
PAQUITO D’RIVERA – “Kites Over Havana” (trans. V. Coleman)
JULIO MEDAGLIA – Suite “Belle Epoque in Sud-Amerika”
ASTOR PIAZZOLLA – “Libertango” (arr: J. Scott)

WHEN
Friday, August 1, 2008 at 8:30 pm
Ford gates open at 6:30 p.m. for pre-concert picnicking.

WHERE
Ford Amphitheatre
2580 Cahuenga Blvd. East
Hollywood, CA 90068
Just off the 101 (Hollywood) freeway across from Hollywood Bowl and south of Universal

HOW MUCH
Tickets: $25, Students and children 12 & under $12

PURCHASE TICKETS
www.FordAmphitheatre.org
323 461-3673

PICNICKING & CONCESSIONS
Grounds open 2 hours before show time for picnicking. Ticketholders may bring their own picnics (alcohol allowed), purchase food and drink on site or order box dinners in advance from Crumble Catering, 310 652-3797. Food at the Ford and box dinner menus online at www.FordAmphitheatre.org.

PARKING
On-site, stacked parking costs $5 per vehicle. FREE satellite parking serviced by FREE shuttles to the Ford is available at the Universal City Metro Station lot at Lankershim Blvd. and Campo de Cahuenga. The Ford shuttle stops in the "kiss and ride" area and cycles every 15-20 minutes.


This event is part of the Ford Amphitheatre 2008 Season, a multi-disciplinary arts series produced by the Los Angeles County Arts Commission in cooperation with Los Angeles County-based arts organizations. For a complete season schedule, directions to the theater, parking information, and box dinner menus, log on to www.FordAmphitheatre.org.