Concert to Feature 'Living Legends' Wycliffe Gordon and Eric Reed

On Saturday, Sept. 23, Performance Music at The University of Scranton will present the concert “WE!” featuring trombonist and vocalist Dr. Wycliffe Gordon, H’06, and pianist Eric Reed, as part of the University’s annual Family Weekend festivities.

The concert, which will also include an appearance by The University of Scranton Concert Choir, begins at 7:30 p.m. in the Houlihan-McLean Center, Mulberry Street and Jefferson Avenue. Admission is free, with seating on a first-come, first-seated basis.

The concert will be a unique experience for the student performers and their audience, according to Performance Music Conductor and Director Cheryl Y. Boga. “Our student choir will perform Robert Ray’s Gospel Magnificat with Wycliffe and Eric,” said Boga. “It’s a rare opportunity for student musicians to perform this music alongside living legends.”

The recipient of an honorary doctorate from the University and the 2006 commencement speaker, Gordon has developed a long, close relationship with Performance Music through his friendship with the Boga family. He’s performed at the University numerous times since 1996, and has composed new works for its World Premiere Composition Series and the inaugurations of two University of Scranton presidents.

A true virtuoso, Gordon has been named “Trombonist of the Year” 14 times by the Jazz Journalists Association, while the Downbeat Critics Poll has named him “Best Trombone” on six occasions.

A former member of the Wynton Marsalis Septet and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, Gordon has received numerous other accolades, including the Louie Award for his dedication and commitment to the music of Louis Armstrong; the International Trombone Association Award; the Satchmo Award from the Sarasota Jazz Club; the Louis Armstrong Memorial Prize from the Swing Jazz Culture Foundation; Artist of the Year from the Augusta Arts Council; and the ASCAP Foundation’s Vanguard Award.

Gordon’s compositions have been performed throughout the world, and his arrangement of the theme for NPR’s “All Things Considered” can be heard daily. He’s been a featured guest artist on Billy Taylor's "Jazz at the Kennedy Center" series, is one of the country’s most in-demand music educators, and has taught at most of the most prestigious conservatories in the nation.

A Philadelphia native, Reed has been a standout on the jazz scene for more than a quarter century as a leader of numerous ensembles, solo performer, composer, producer, educator and sideman with numerous artists, including extended stints with Buster Williams, Joe Henderson, Freddie Hubbard and Wynton Marsalis. A graduate of California State University, Reed officially assumed the piano chair with Marsalis in June 1990, which is when he and Gordon became bandmates.

Reed has released a number of critically acclaimed solo albums, among them 1993’s “It’s All Right to Swing,” 1998’s “Pure Imagination,” and 2009’s “Stand!,” which have explored his love of jazz, swing and gospel music. With Marsalis, he performed on the landmark albums “Citi Movement” and the Pulitzer Prize-winning “Blood on the Fields.”

Through the years, Reed has collaborated with numerous other jazz luminaries, including Robert Stewart, Irvin Mayfield, Cassandra Wilson, Mary Stallings, Clark Terry, Dianne Reeves, Elvin Jones, Ron Carter, Paula West and Benny Carter. He has also worked as a composer, scoring music for films including the 1999 comedy “Life,” starring Eddie Murphy and Martin Lawrence.

The University of Scranton Concert Choir is a soprano, alto, tenor, base (SATB) mixed choir comprised of 40-plus members from majors and departments spanning the curriculum – none of whom are music majors – brought together by their mutual love for making music.

For additional information on the concert, call 570-941-7624, email music@scranton.edu or visit scranton.edu/music. For more on Gordon, visit wycliffegordon.com.