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About this clip:
Joe Lovano and his Classic Quartet perform his original blues “Big Ben”, dedicated to saxophone legend Ben Webster, during their concert on November 18, 2022 as part of the 2022-23 Season, broadcast on Fridays Live.

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About the concert:

For about five years in the early 2000s, Lovano played in a quartet with Hank Jones, a dean of jazz piano whose career stretched back to the 1930s and included stints with
Benny Goodman, Charlie Parker and Ella Fitzgerald. They recorded four albums and became friends: “With Hank, there was a lot of love and a lot of beautiful magical moments,” he says. This program – dedicated to the memory of Jones, who passed away in 2010 at age 91 — is Lovano’s attempt to recapture some of that love and magic.

With his superb Classic Quartet, including pianist Renee Rosnes (a founding member of the SFJAZZ Collective), bassist Peter Washington and drummer Lewis Nash, the
GRAMMY-winning Lovano will sample the repertoire that he explored with Jones beginning in 2003 on the Blue Note album “I’m All For You”.

On that album and three subsequent Blue Note recordings — “Joyous Encounter”, “Kids: Live at Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola” and “Classic! Live at Newport” — he and the pianist created what Lovano describes as a “tapestry” of music. “We developed an amazing repertoire, and we had an amazing friendship,” Lovano says. “In life, everything happens in a certain divine timing. Reflecting on my time with Hank by playing this music again in San Francisco — it’s something else.”

PERSONNEL:

Joe Lovano: tenor saxophone
Renee Rosnes: piano
Peter Washington: bass
Lewis Nash: drums

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***SFJAZZ is a non-profit organization that presents year-round jazz concerts, festivals and educational programs at the SFJAZZ Center in San Francisco, CA.