Throughout songwriter Richard Rodgers' (born June 28, 1902) long career, with 43 Broadway shows and over 900 songs to his credit, he wrote primarily with only two lyricists, Lorenz Hart and Oscar Hammerstein. Much of his output with both men have become standards, but jazz musicians are particularly enamored with his earlier work, with Lorenz Hart. Some theorize that even though he was often at odds with Hart due to the latter’s unreliable work ethic, the fact that Hart set lyrics to Rodger’s music after it was composed allowed freer range to Rodger’s imagination than the work he composed with Hammerstein, who insisted on writing the lyric beforehand and having Rodgers set it to music.

Pianist, bandleader, composer Chick Corea (born June 12, 1941) is one of the most influential jazz musicians of his generation. After serving his apprenticeship with Miles Davis, Corea started a group called Return to Forever, that featured singer Flora Purim, reedman Joe Farrell and drummer/ percussionist Airto Moreira. Many of the compositions Corea penned for this band have become jazz standards. He had numerous trend setting groups of varying sizes throughout his career, featuring cutting edge sidemen and premiering new compositions on a regular basis, in addition to displaying his prodigious keyboard abilities.

Trumpeter/composer Tom Harrell, born June 16, 1946, is one of most creative players of his instrument, and a prolific and fresh compositional voice as well. His achievements are all the more remarkable when you consider he suffers from symptoms of schizophrenia, and has only one lung! Early in his career he toured with the big bands of Stan Kenton and Woody Herman, followed by sideman stints with Horace Silver and Phil Woods. For the past three decades he has carved out his place as a leader in his own right, and composes wonderful original music in abundance.

Composer/lyricist Cole Porter, born June 9, 1891, was a rarity among composers of American popular songs. Besides being among only a handful of songwriters who penned their own lyrics, he was unique in that he was born into a wealthy Indiana family. He produced a staggering number of songs that have been embraced by jazz musicians over the years, in a remarkable career that spanned four decades.

Brazilian songwriter Antônio Carlos Jobim (also called Tom Jobim), born January 25, 1927, is the best known and most prolific of the composers who originated the bossa nova. His compositions have captured the imaginations of jazz musicians from the outset. His lyricism and harmonic imagination have made his tunes popular worldwide, and he is so revered in Brazil, that the Rio de Janero airport is named in his honor, a singular recognition for a popular song writer.

Jackie McLean (May 17, 1931 - March 31, 2006) was one of the many jazz musicians to be deeply influenced in the generation coming up under the influence of Charlie Parker. He always had his own unique sound and approach though, recording with Miles Davis, Art Blakey, Charles Mingus and other leaders before leading his own groups, notably on Blue Note Records, for whom he recorded twenty-three sides. He was one of the early supporters of Ornette Coleman’s innovations, recording with Ornette on his New and Old Gospel LP. He was a revered teacher as well, turning out many students during his long tenure as a professor at Hart School of Music who have gone on to their own careers.

Irving Berlin (May 11, 1888 - September 22, 1989) was one of the most prolific and successful songwriters of all time. His accomplishments as a  composer and lyricist are even more remarkable when you consider that English wasn’t his native language (he grew up speaking Yiddish) and his piano skills were limited to playing in only one key (he famously had a custom built piano with a “gear shift” to transpose the instrument into other keys)! He was an astute businessman as well, one of the first songwriters to control his own publishing. Jazz musicians have embraced his tunes for their lyricism and harmonic twists since his earliest hit, Alexander’s Ragtime Band, which he wrote around the time he was still working as a singing waiter on New York City’s lower East side.

Miles Davis once said all musicians should set aside a day each year to honor Duke Ellington. This year, the Jazz Evensong Quintet has set aside two.

It’s not hyperbole to state that this man contributed as much to jazz and American music as anyone living or dead, his legacy as a composer, performer, and band leader is undeniable. His band featured many of our greatest musicians as well, a great many staying with him for the bulk of their careers.

Saxophonist/composer Joe Henderson (born April 24, 1937) was an eclectic performer, recording over thirty albums on Blue Note records, raging from straight ahead sessions with Horace Silver to more avant-guard outings with Andrew Hill, always sounding like himself in every setting. He recorded with Herbie Hancock and even spent a period of time with Blood, Sweat and Tears. The bulk of the material we’ll play is drawn from the seminal recordings he made with trumpeter Kenny Dorham in the 1960s, many of the tunes this group recorded have become jazz standards.