Johannes Wallman-Nick Moran Quintet, UW Jazz All Stars, Sun Prairie Jazz Combo
to
Capitol Square 2 E. Main St., Madison, Wisconsin 53703
As it turns out, the return of Jazz at Five to its traditional home at the top of State Street was short-lived. However, this time the summer concert series is moving just a couple blocks counterclockwise on the Square, to the South Hamilton Street corner. Concerts begin with a youth band at 4 p.m., followed by UW Jazz All Stars and a quintet led by pianist Johannes Wallmann and bassist Nick Moran, Aug. 28; and the DB Orchestra and All That Jazz Big Band, Sept. 4. Find more info at jazzatfive.org.
Jazz at Five series, 4-8 pm Wednesdays, 8/7-9/4, Capitol Square-South Hamilton. Free.
media release: Jazz at Five’s Summer Performance Series is moving to the Capitol Grounds! After talking with the city and construction team for the new History Center, Jazz at Five has decided that it would be best for us to find a new downtown location while trying to stay as close to our original site as possible.
The 2024 Jazz at Five Performance Series will be on the South Hamilton side of the Capitol Square. Experience the magic of live music against the backdrop of our beautiful Capitol. From young talents to seasoned local acts, our lineup promises something for everyone.
Food, beer, wine, and non-alcoholic beverages vendors will be on-site, so come hungry and thirsty! Feel free to bring a picnic blanket and settle in on the Capitol Grounds for a relaxing evening downtown.
The UW All Stars features returning students selected from UW’s undergraduate jazz major and from UW’s jazz ensembles. The jazz program of the Mead Witter School of Music offers two undergraduate jazz studies degrees (a Bachelor of Music in Jazz Studies and a Bachelor of Arts/Science with a jazz studies track), and a doctoral minor in jazz studies. A Masters of Music in Jazz Studies is currently underdevelopment.
UW’s jazz ensemble program consists of seven auditioned ensembles: the UW Jazz Orchestra (big band, which just celebrated its 55th anniversary), the Bridge Project (outreach and community engagement ensemble, including a jazz quartet and string quartet),the Blue Note Ensemble (each semester focuses on the music of one 1950s/1960srecording artist), the Jazz Composers Group (septet performs student and faculty compositions), the Afro-Cuban Jazz Ensemble (performs music of the Afro-Cuban diaspora), the Jazz Standards Ensemble (performs music from the jazz canon, with an emphasis on idiomatic performance practice), and the Contemporary Jazz Ensemble (focuses on the music of current recording artists and frequently performs with guest artists).
German-Canadian pianist Dr. Johannes Wallmann, Yamaha Piano Artist and UW’s Area Chair of the Jazz Studies Program, and American-Peruvian bassist Nick Moran, Director of UW’s Afro-Cuban Jazz Ensemble, are leading a quintet performing all-new music from an upcoming album release Wallmann and Moran recorded with an all-star ensemble in New York City in February 2024.
Wallmann and Moran’s previous collaboration, Elegy for an Undiscovered Species (Shifting Paradigm Records) was named a “Best of 2021” album by Downbeat Magazine, “Best of Jazz on Bandcamp, June 2021,” a “Top 10 Album of 2021”by Culture Currents, a “Top 30 Jazz Albums for 2021” by Strictly Jazz Sounds WORT host Steve Braunginn, and a “Top 20 Madison Records of 2021” by Tone Madison.
For their Jazz at Five performance, Wallmann and Moran will be joined by their UW jazz program colleagues Dr. Matthew Endres, drums, and the newest addition to the UW jazz faculty, saxophonist Arun Luthra.
Rounding out the Quintet, and also performing as a special guest with the UW All-Star student ensembles, is trumpeter Russ Johnson, Director of Jazz Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside. In addition to being a prolific first-call sideman who is featured on recent recordings by Geof Bradfield, Rachael Sage, Ethan Philion, Michael Bettine,Ohad Talmor, Andrew Rathbun, Greg Ward, and many others, Johnson has also released several albums as a leader, including Reveal (2023), which All About Jazz praises for its “wide gamut of expression and a true spirit of mutuality, the disc is a terrific representation of Johnson and his colleagues' many talents.” Other albums of Johnson’s include the Headlands Suite (Woolgathering Records, 2018), Meeting Point (Relay Recordings, 2014) and Still Out To Lunch! (Enja Records, 2014), which have appeared on many “Best of” lists including Down Beat, the Chicago Tribune, Chicago Reader, NYC Jazz Record and Magnet magazine.