Friday, October 20th, 2017
7:30 p.m.
Wycliffe Gordon
Ordway Concert Hall
345 Washington Street
St. Paul, MN 55102


Tickets now on sale! Call 651-224-4222 or visit www.ordway.org for more information.

Internationally acclaimed jazz trombonist Wycliffe Gordon opens the JazzMN Orchestra 2017-18 series at the new 900-seat Ordway Concert Hall. Gordon has had an extremely successful solo career, touring the world performing hard-swinging, straight-ahead jazz to the delight of audiences and critics alike. His unmatched modern mastery of the plunger mute and his exceptional technique and signature sound has solidified Gordon’s place in musical history as one of the top trombonists of his generation. Featured regularly as a member of the Wynton Marsalis Septet, Gordon has been named “Best Trombone” by the Downbeat Critics Poll for the last four years, was the recipient of the 2015 and 2016 ASCAP Plus Award and was named Downbeat Magazine’s “Trombone Player of the Year” three years in a row.

Monday, December 18th, 2017
7:30 p.m.
JazzMN Orchestra Swings in the Holidays
Chanhassen Dinner Theatre
501 W 78th St.
Chanhassen, MN 55317

Join the JazzMN Orchestra and guest vocalist Connie Evingson at the Chanhassen Dinner Theatre for an evening of holiday favorites. Included will be hits by Diana Krall, Harry Connick Jr., Nat King Cole, the Clayton-Hamilton Big Band, and Gordon Goodwin’s Big Phat Band. Take a break from the stress of holidays and celebrate the season with the best jazz musicians in town!

Saturday, March 10th, 2018
7:30 p.m.
The Commission Project: A Premiere Performance by the JazzMN Orchestra
The Auditorium at Hopkins High School
2400 Lindbergh Dr.
Minnetonka, MN 55305

Wow! Nationally recognized jazz composers David Berger (Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra), Michael Philip Mossman (sideman with Dizzy Gillespie, Art Blakey, Michel Camilo and Mario Bauza), John Wasson (Stan Kenton, Woody Herman), and other prominent composers have created a program of swinging jazz to be premiered by the JazzMN Orchestra! This project, in collaboration with Dr. Rich MacDonald of Winona State University, will result in compositions published for bands across the nation.

Saturday, April 7th, 2018
7:30 p.m.
Bill Evans
The Auditorium at Hopkins High School
2400 Lindbergh Dr.
Minnetonka, MN 55305

Saxophonist Bill Evans first joined the Miles Davis group in 1980 at the age of 22 and has continued with a career that includes collaborations with Herbie Hancock, Dave Grusin, John Scofield, Bela Fleck and Mick Jagger. He has recorded eighteen solo CDs, and received two Grammy nominations. In 2010, Evans recorded Vans Joint, a live release of Evans tunes with the WDR Big Band in Cologne. The JazzMN Orchestra will be performing selections from this award-winning CD in concert with Bill Evans.