Ravinia 2023 Issue 6

JUSTINE JAIME (EUMAN); CORY DEWALD (ELLING) CHRISTIAN EUMAN Born and raised in south suburban Chicago, Christian Euman was surrounded by music between school, church, and home—his fa- ther an electric bassist and his mother a choir singer—that stoked interest in the drums from his first kit at age 4 to beginning school band and studies at age 10. Regularly partic- ipating in all-state concert and jazz ensem- bles, in high school he held the drum chair in the Honors Jazz Combo at the Illinois Music Education Association All-State Jazz Festival and the pit orchestra for a state production of Hairspray . Euman attended Western Michi- gan University from 2009 to 2013 graduating summa cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in jazz studies, having focused on jazz drum set with Keith Hall and visiting artist Billy Hart, classical percussion with Judy Moonert, and composition and ensemble playing with Scott Cowan, Andrew Rathbun, and others. In 2010, he placed second in the Percussive Arts Society International Drum Set Competition. These years included numerous opportuni- ties to perform with and compose/arrange for such musicians as Donny McCaslin, Edward Simon, Tim Hagans, and the New York Voic- es, as well as Robert Glasper and Kris Bowers outside of the school’s setting. Euman also performed with several musical theater pro- ductions around Michigan and Chicagoland, including a stint with the pit for Crowns at Chicago’s Goodman Theatre. Upon returning to Chicago, he began collaborating with the likes of Kurt Elling, Geof Bradfield, Marlene Rosenberg, Robert Irving III, Matt Ulery, and United Voices Chicago (formerly the Chicago Children’s Choir) as well as leading sets with his own quintet and octet. Euman then auditioned into the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Performance master’s pro- gram at UCLA, where he worked with such figures as Hal Crook, Stefon Harris, Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Chris Potter, and Lewis Nash, also further studying drums with Jamire Williams and Joe La Barbera, as well as composition and arranging with Billy Childs. In the Los Angeles area, he has played alongside Childs and Elling as well as Geoff Keezer and Walter Smith III, among others. Christian Euman previously appeared at Ra- vinia in 2019 as a member of the Billy Childs Jazz/Chamber Ensemble. KURT ELLING One of the foremost jazz vocalists of the past 25 years, Kurt Elling is continuing to gather honors, in 2021 winning his second Grammy Award among 15 nominations stretching back to his debut on the Blue Note label in 1995 with Close Your Eyes . The newest winning disc, Secrets are the Best Stories , joins his 2009 set Dedicated to You , a tribute to John Col- trane and Johnny Hartman. Elling’s accolades also include a 14-year run atop DownBeat ’s Critics and Readers polls and 12 Male Vocal- ist of the Year prizes from the Jazz Journal- ists Award, as well as three Prix du Jazz Vocal (France), two Echo Awards (Germany), and two Edison Awards (the Netherlands). In addition to recording and performing with his own combos, Elling has played along- side such artists as Branford Marsalis, Dani- lo Pérez, Stefon Harris, Fred Hersch, James Morrison, and Charlie Hunter, as well as with larger ensembles like the Clayton/Hamilton Jazz Orchestra, Bob Mintzer Big Band, BBC Concert Symphony, Holland’s Metropole Or- chestra, Irish Radio and Television Orches- tra, Scottish National Jazz Orchestra, and the WDR Orchestra and Big Band in Germany. In the tradition of pioneers Eddie Jefferson and Jon Hendricks, Elling regularly adds to vocal jazz by writing and recording signature lyrics to the music of foundational composers like John Coltrane, Keith Jarrett, Pat Metheny, Jaco Pastorius, Wayne Shorter, and Joe Zaw- inul, often incorporating references to classic poetry and prose. Additionally, he has co-cre- ated multidisciplinary works for the City of Chicago and the Steppenwolf Theatre, and is collaborating on a jazz musical titled The Big Blind , which has been previewed at Jazz at Lincoln Center. Elling has been a trustee and vice chairman of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences and a resi- dent artist of the Monterey and Singapore Jazz Festivals. Kurt Elling first performed at Ravinia in 1995, and tonight is his sixth ap- pearance at the festival. In 2021 he returned with music from his Grammy-nominated album with Charlie Hunter, SuperBlue —the follow-up SuperBlue: The Iridescent Spree will be released this month—and earlier this sum- mer, Elling helped prepare the Ravinia Steans Music Institute Singers Program’s “Songbook Standards” concert. BENNETT GORDON HALL 2:00 PM SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2023 BLACK OAK ENSEMBLE † DESIRÉE RUHSTRAT, violin AURÉLIEN FORT PEDERZOLI, viola DAVID CUNLIFFE, cello KATTENBURG Trio à cordes * KUTI Serenade for String Trio * Allegro giocoso Scherzando Adagio ma non troppo KLEIN String Trio Allegro Lento Molto vivace –Intermission– HERMANN Strijktrio * KRÁSA Tánec * FRID Trio à cordes * Allegretto Andante cantabile Allegro giocoso all’ungherese † Ravinia debut * First performance at Ravinia RAVINIA MAGAZINE • AUGUST 28 – SEPTEMBER 10, 2023 40