SSC Hosts Afro Blues Ensemble for 100th Birthday of Dizzy & Ella

South Suburban College Hosts the “Afro Blues Ensemble” for

100th Birthday Celebration of Dizzy Gillespie & Ella Fitzgerald

SOUTH HOLLAND, IL–SSC Faculty, Staff, Students and the Community are cordially invited to attend SSC’s Free Black History Gala featuring the Afro-Blues Ensemble’s 100th Birthday Celebration of Dizzy Gillespie & Ella Fitzgerald on Wednesday, February 21, 2018 in the Performing Arts Center (PAC). The concert will be from 7:00-8:00 pm followed by a “Soul Food” buffet from 8:00-9:00 pm. This unique ensemble, led by Art “Turk” Burton, Master Percussionist, will feature other world class musicians highlighting their musical genius.

John “Dizzy Gillespie” Birks is considered one of the greatest trumpeters of all-time. He was a trumpet virtuoso and improviser. His beret and horn rimmed glasses, his scat singing, his bent horn, pouched cheeks, and his light-hearted personality were essential in popularizing Afro-Cuban Jazz, Latin Jazz and bebop. Always a musical ambassador, he toured Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America under the sponsorship of the U.S. State Department. He left a legacy of goodwill and good humor that infused jazz musicians and fans throughout the world with a genuine sense of jazz’s ability to transcend national and ethnic boundaries—for this reason, Gillespie was and is an “international treasure.”

Dubbed the “First Lady of Song,” Ella Fitzgerald was the most popular female jazz singer in the United States for more than 50 years. In her lifetime, she won 13 Grammy awards and sold over 40 million albums. Her voice was flexible, wide-ranging, accurate and ageless. She could sing sultry ballads, sweet jazz and imitate every instrument in an orchestra. She worked with all the jazz greats, from Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, and Count Basie to Nat King Cole, Frank Sinatra, and Dizzy Gillespie. She performed at top venues all over the world and packed them to the hilt. Her audiences were as diverse as her vocal range. They were rich and poor, made up of all ethnicities, all religions, and all nationalities. In fact, many of them had just one binding factor in common, they all loved her.

You, too, will love this performance featuring Art “Turk” Burton, percussion; Leon “Q” Adams, trumpet; Edwin Daughtery, saxophone; Edward Beard, piano; Dushon Mosley, drums; and featuring the legendary Oscar Brown, Jr.’s daughter, Maggie Brown, vocals. More information is available by calling South Suburban College’s Office of Student Life & Leadership at (708) 596-2000, ext. 2499 or 5841.

It’s not too late to have a stellar performance of your own this semester by taking a class or two at South Suburban College. The college is located at 15800 S. State Street in South Holland, IL. For more information about all of SSC’s programs, admissions and registration, please visit www.ssc.edu or contact the Admissions Office at (708) 210-5718.