Chris Madsen Quartet with vocalist Alyssa Allgood - Celebrating Lester Young & Billie Holiday, Pt. 2 (1)

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Celebrating Lester Young and Billie Holiday!

Alyssa Allgood - vocals

Chris Madsen - saxophone

Tom Vaitsas - piano

Dennis Carroll - bass

Neil Hemphill - drum

Two respective titans of their instruments, saxophonist Lester Young and vocalist Billie Holiday offered game-changing approaches to jazz in the first half of the 20th century.  Coming up in the Swing Era of the 1930s, they made huge splashes with big bands before finding themselves together on record.  From that point, jazz history was made and one of the most influential partnerships of all time had been formed.  For the last twenty years of their lives, they collaborated on and off, but always shared a special connection, making some of the most telepathically beautiful music to grace the ear.  Tonight, we reimagine music recorded by each of them separately and together.

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Jazz saxophonist Christopher Madsen is one of the most in-demand figures in the Chicago jazz world as a performer, composer, and pedagogue.  He serves as full-time jazz faculty at the University of Illinois at Chicago, jazz faculty at Midwest Young Artists in Highwood, IL, and was Coordinator of Jazz Studies at Northwestern University (Evanston, IL) from 2008-2014.

He is a sought-after jazz clinician, adjudicating at jazz festivals and offering workshops to ensembles of all ages and levels from across the globe. He is a Vandoren Performing Artist, and has also contributed jazz articles to The Instrumentalist magazine and been interviewed on several radio broadcasts about jazz history and his performing career.

As a leader and sideman, Madsen’s discography is extensive. He has released five albums as a leader since 2004 and can be heard as a player and composer on countless additional releases with artists such as Michael Dease, Marquis Hill, and Jeff Hamilton.  He has performed at jazz festivals and live music venues domestically as well as in Japan, Spain, and Costa Rica.

www.chrismadsen.net

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Alyssa Allgood has gained attention for “her technical control and [the] creative imagination of her work (Howard Reich, Chicago Tribune). She has been described as an “impressive bop-oriented singer” by DownBeat Magazine and “an emerging talent of considerable strength” by The New York City Jazz Record.

Allgood was named “Best Jazz Entertainer” in the 2019 Chicago Music Awards. Her performance accolades include a residency at the Jazz at Lincoln Center Club in Shanghai, appearances at Birdland Jazz Club in New York City, and headlining appearances at the Green Mill, the Jazz Showcase and Winter’s Jazz Club in Chicago. Allgood has also appeared at the Chicago Jazz Festival, the Dakota, the Jazz Estate and Noce Jazz Club.

She won the first Ella Fitzgerald Jazz Vocal Competition held in Washington D.C. in 2017, where part of her prize was to join the “Four Generations of Miles Davis” Band for a song at the famous Blues Alley. Other notable awards include being named a Finalist in the 2016 and 2017 Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocal Competitions, a 2016 Jazz Fellow through the Luminarts Cultural Foundation in Chicago and second place winner in the 2016 Mid-Atlantic Jazz Voice Competition. She also placed as a Semifinalist in the 2015 Shure Montreux Jazz Voice Competition; where she competed live in Switzerland for a jury presided by jazz legend Al Jarreau.

Allgood’s debut album, Out of the Blue, was released in Fall 2016 to wide critical acclaim. The album reimagines the classic Blue Note Records era with original arrangements and lyrics. It received a 4 star review from DownBeat Magazine and was named a “Best Release of 2016” by seven different publications including The Huffington Post and All About Jazz and a “Best Debut Release of 2016” by The New York City Jazz Record. Critics consistently praised Allgood’s instrumental approach and accomplished scat and vocalese singing.

Allgood's sophomore album, Exactly Like You, was released in November 2018 on Vancouver label Cellar Live Records. It received a 3.5 star review from DownBeat Magazine, and was described as “the vocal record of the year” by the Chicago Jazz Magazine.

www.alyssaallgood.com