Paris, Copenhagen, Sweden, Philadelphia, New York’s Jazz at Lincoln Center … and Madison, Wisconsin! Yes, Madison will be a stop on Maxine Gordon’s 2013 world-wide tour to celebrate the life and music of the late great jazz saxophonist, Dexter Gordon, on the occasion of his 90th birthday: http://www.dextergordon.com/dex-at-90/.
One of the unsung heroes of modern jazz, Maxine Gordon was Dexter’s wife and long-time manager, and shepherds his legacy through the nonprofit Dexter Gordon Society, Dex Music LLC (publishing and licensing company), his upcoming biography, and much more. Under sponsorship of the new Greater Madison Jazz Consortium, Maxine will conduct the following programs during a four-day residency (3/11-3/14/13) in our community. (Note: Program schedule is subject to change. Check this site as the event dates draw near to verify the schedule, or email us at greatermadisonjazzconsortium@tds.net.)
THE PUBLIC PROGRAMS
• MONDAY, 3/11/13, 7:30-9:30 PM: “AN EVENING WITH MAXINE GORDON AND THE UW BLUE NOTE ENSEMBLE” (Location: Morphy Recital Hall, in the UW Humanities Building, 455 North Park Street, Madison). One of the three student ensembles directed by UW Jazz Studies Professor Johannes Wallmann – the Blue Note Ensemble – will be learning Dexter’s music during the Spring semester. This evening, they will give a mini-concert of his music, interspersed with live on-stage interviews of Maxine by WORT-FM jazz hosts Steve Braunginn and Jane Reynolds and an audience Q&A. The audience will include members of all of Professor Wallmann student ensembles (Blue Note Ensemble, Contemporary Jazz Ensemble, and UW Jazz Orchestra) and students from Richard Davis’ Black Music Ensemble. Free and open to the public. http://www.music.wisc.edu/extensions/eventdetails.jsp?event_id=2496 
• TUESDAY, 3/12/13, 6:30–9:30 PM: “ROUND MIDNIGHT” (Location: Chazen Museum of Art Auditorium (in new building), 750 University Avenue, Madison). Dexter had the lead role in Bertrand Tavernier’s 1986 film, “Round Midnight,” the fictional story of an expatriate American jazz musician in Paris loosely based on the lives of jazz greats Lester Young and Bud Powell. He also won a Grammy for the film’s soundtrack, while Herbie Hancock won an Oscar for Best Original Score. Maxine Gordon will introduce the movie with her presentation, “The Making of Round Midnight,” and conduct a Q& A following the film showing. This program is free and open to the public.
• WEDNESDAY, 3/13/13, 6:00 – 9:30 PM: “ROUND MIDNIGHT” (Location: Urban League of Greater Madison, 2222 South Park Street, First Floor, Madison). This free event will be a repeat of Tuesday night’s program at the Chazen.
• THURSDAY, 3/14/13, 12:15 – 1:45 PM: “LUNCH WITH DEXTER” (Location: Goodman South Madison Public Library Branch, 2222 South Park Street, Madison). This free event includes a showing of the 1988 short film “Dexter on Vacation,” Dexter Gordon’s final public performance (with pianist Tommy Flanagan and trumpeter Clark Terry), along with a presentation by Maxine Gordon about Dexter’s life, music, times, and legacy. Audience Q&A/talk-back to follow the film. Reservations required. Call 266-6395 or sign up online at http://host.evanced.info/madison/evanced/eventsignup.asp?ID=28458.
• THURSDAY, 3/14/13, 3:00–4:00 PM: “AN AFTERNOON HOUR WITH DEXTER AND MAXINE” (WORT-89.9 FM. The co-hosts of WORT’s “Strictly Jazz Sounds,” Jane Reynolds and Steve Braunginn, will devote an hour of their weekly radio program to Dexter, interspersing his music with live interview segments with Maxine.
ADDITIONAL PROGRAMS (NOT OPEN TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC)
• Tuesday, 3/12/13: Maxine’s Presentation to Professor Richard Davis’ Black Music History Class. Each semester, UW School of Music Professor Davis’s Black Music History class focuses on a specific instrument (or group of instruments) as the vehicle for studying the history of jazz, and the focus for this Spring semester is the saxophone. Maxine Gordon will speak to Professor Davis’ students about Dexter’s role in the development of modern jazz in the hard-bop era of the 1950s on forward and play examples of his recorded music. Having performed with Dexter in the Lionel Hampton Reunion Band and at the Newport and Aurex (Japan) Jazz Festivals, Professor Davis will collaborate with Maxine Gordon on this presentation.
• Tuesday, 3/12/13: Maxine’s Presentation to UW “PLATO Jazz” Continuing Education Class. Maxine Gordon will be the featured presenter at this week’s class for senior citizens. She will present a cross-section of Dexter’s music from the 1940s through the 1980s, along with commentary that places the music in its historical context.
• Wednesday, 3/13/13: Maxine’s Presentations to High School Music and History Students at Sun Prairie High School. Steve Sveum, the outstanding director of Sun Prairie High School’s jazz program, will be hosting Maxine Gordon for presentations to six music and social studies classes during the school day. Maxine will focus on the more musical/historical aspects of her husband’s life in the music classes, and the more historical/social aspects of their lives in the history classes.
• Wednesday, 3/13/13: Maxine’s Presentation to UW Odyssey Project Students. Led by Professor Emily Auerbach, the award-winning Odyssey Project is a UW humanities class for adult students facing economic barriers to college. Most student participants are persons of color, many of whom are overcoming the obstacles of single parenthood, homelessness, drug and alcohol addiction, incarceration, depression, and domestic abuse. In preparation for Maxine’s classroom presentation and discussion session, Odyssey students will view the film “Round Midnight” and listen to examples of Dexter’s recorded music.
Tags: Chazen Museum of Art, Dexter Gordon, Jazz movies, South Madison Public Library, University of Wisconsin School of Music
