Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Christopher Burnett was born in Olathe, Kansas on November 2, 1955 and grew up in a military family that moved often before settling in the Kansas City area. He was exposed to music growing up as his mother introduced him to the piano and he was a member of the youth choir at his church. He took up saxophone and clarinet in his school band. After high school, he enlisted in the U.S. Army Music Program where he performed and pursued higher education, studying at the Armed Forces School of Music, Webster University, Missouri’s Columbia College, Berklee College of Music, and American University.
Spending 22 years in the military, Chris rose to the rank of 1st Sergeant in the position of Enlisted Bandleader, staff and faculty assignment at the Armed Forces School of Music, and the leading Chief Petty Officer of the NATO Band in Naples, Italy. He served as NATO Ceremonial Band Conductor, directed the jazz band, played the lead alto saxophone chair with the West Point Military Academy Band’s Jazz Knights, and a featured soloist with the Hof Symphony Orchestra in Germany.
After leaving the military Burnett continued to teach, holding the position of director of the jazz ensemble program and adjunct lecturer at Missouri University of Science and Technology, formerly University of Missouri-Rolla, where he worked as an Adjunct Lecturer for a decade.
He has performed with artists like Bobby Watson, Will Matthews, Marcus Hampton, Ahmed Alaadeen, and many more. Burnett is the Founder and Artistic Director of KC Area Youth Jazz and along with colleagues Erica Lindsay and Sumi Tonooka is a co-founder of the large independent recording label, Artists Recording Collective.
He has held residencies at the historic Drum Room and the Black Dolphin in Kansas City, and appeared as a guest artist and clinician for the Northwest Missouri State Jazz Festival. He released his debut album as a leader, Time Flies in 2013, Firebird in 2014, in 2021 The Standards, Vol. 1, and Live at The Drum Room in Kansas City in 2022.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
John Gordon Markham was born on November 1, 1922 in Oakland, California. After graduating from Piedmont High School he served in the Army during World War II, performing for troops in the Pacific.
A mainstay in countless San Francisco ensembles, John worked with Chuck Travis, Johnny Coppola, and Larry Vuckovich. He worked on the Tennessee Ernie Ford Show in the 49er band and for many years he performed with Jimmy Diamond at the New Orleans Room of the Fairmont Hotel.
He performed and recorded with Charlie Barnet 1950-1952 and then with Billy May 1952-1953. From 1955 mostly working in television, with the occasional tour or recording session. He is noted for his work with many greats, including Frank Sinatra, Benny Goodman, Ella Fitzgerald, Peggy Lee, Bill Perkins, Red Norvo, Vince Guaraldi and other prominent musicians with whom he toured.
Drummer and bandleader John Markham, who led an orchestra under his own name, died October 4, 1998 at the age of 76 years old.
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LONGINEU PARSONS ENSEMBLE
Unity Jazz presents trumpeter Longineu Parsons and his Ensemble featuring pianist Nat Adderley Jr. with special guest vocalist Myrna Clayton.
The career of Longineu Parsons, with its many musical pieces and parts, serves as a metaphor for what he calls “the disorder of the human tribe.” The whole of Longineu Parsons is greater than the sum of his parts, and he has made it his mission – and the mission of his own Tribal Disorder Records – to use music as “a force against disorder in the human tribe.”
In his own life and career, this “disorder” has come in the form of widely diverse musical passions and pursuits. Growing up in Jacksonville, Florida, Parsons instinctively plays the blues as a native language. After cutting his teeth playing hometown gigs starting in junior high, he toured on the Chitlin Circuit for a few years before attending Florida A&M University for his undergraduate degree.
There, two pivotal experiences would help set his course. The first was that he heard the John Coltrane album “Expression” – it opened his ears and changed his life. Though he was already into Miles Davis and “Bitches Brew,” something was different about this. Secondly, he met the famous trumpeter (and FAMU alum) Nat Adderley. Nat took Longineu under his wing and over time, mentor and protégé became lifelong friends. Longineu is honored to play Nat’s cornet as his main horn.
Tickets: $50.00 | CashApp: $UnityJazz / Zelle: 7708991991
Free Parking
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JOE ALTERMAN TRIO
Atlanta native Joe Alterman has performed at venues from the Kennedy Center and Lincoln Center to famed jazz clubs Birdland and Blue Note in New York as well as Eddie’s Attic in Atlanta. His skills and his joyful approach to music have been praised by such jazz greats as Les McCann, Ramsey Lewis, and Ahmad Jamal.
In addition to his mastery of jazz piano, Joe’s creativity can be seen in his leadership of the revamped Atlanta Jewish Music Festival, now known as the Neranenah Festival.
Tickets: $25.00 + $3.52 fee ~ Adult | $15.00 (+$2.85 fee) ~ Student
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SINNE EEG & TIVOLI BIG BAND
A Tribute to Tivoli’s Jazz History with Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughan
Tivoli’s Big Band and Sinne Eeg celebrate Tivoli’s rich jazz history and pay tribute to three of jazz’s greatest artists who performed regularly on Tivoli’s stages in the 1950s, 60s and 70s.
Duke Ellington and Ella Fitzgerald visited the Tivoli numerous times over those three decades, and another of jazz’s greatest voices, Sarah Vaughan, recorded her personal masterpiece, “Sassy Swings The Tivoli,” in 1963, with none other than Quincy Jones as producer.
Tivoli’s Big Band and Sinne Eeg delve into the rich repertoire from Ella Fitzgerald’s “Duke Ellington Songbook” album and recreate for the first time a handful of the titles from “Sassy Swings The Tivoli” in newly written big band arrangements. Inspired by how Quincy Jones might have written them, these arrangements are created by Tivoli’s Grammy-nominated bandmaster and house arranger Peter Jensen.
DKK 195.00 ($28.21) ~ DKK 325.00 ($47.02) Includes ticket fee and entrance to Tivoli Gardens.
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