Queens Jazz Orchestra pays tribute to late local music scholar – Queens Daily Eagle

By Rachel Vik

The Queens Jazz Orchestra pays tribute to the essentials of the jazz world with a performance on June 17.

“Bird Flight” will pay tribute to broadcaster Phil Schaap and jazz great Charlie Parker, with the orchestra led for the first time by new conductor Antonio Hart.

“We are delighted to welcome back the Queens Jazz Orchestra from Flushing Town Hall for the first time since the start of the pandemic,” said Executive and Artistic Director Ellen Kodadek.

Schaap, a Hollis resident, has received six Grammy Awards for his compilations of vintage jazz recordings and received an NEA Jazz Master in 2021. His radio show was dedicated to the work of innovative saxophonist Parker, who performed alongside pioneers such as Miles Davis and Thelonious. Monk.

The concert will be Hart’s first as a conductor.

“Antonio Hart is an incredible musician and bandleader, who was personally chosen by Dr. Jimmy Heath to be his successor for QJO,” Kodadek said. “We can’t wait to see him lead the full orchestra of incredibly talented performers in our beautiful venue! Jazz and Queens fans rejoice.

Hart – Grammy nominee and head of Queens College Jazz Studios Aaron Copland School of Music – took over from co-founder Heath, who died in 2020.

In-person tickets are $45 for the public, $35 for members, and $20 for students. The performance will be streamed live on the Flushing Town Hall YouTube channel.