Stevie Wonder wrote his first Motown hit at 13. Today, his catalog spans six decades.
His repertoire covers a wide range of genres, but he has not really been associated with jazz – until now.
“Paul Gavin, who is the artistic director of the Jazz Collective, has always been influenced and inspired by Stevie Wonder, and he wondered what it would be like taking Stevie Wonder's music and literally making them jazz standards,” explained Andrew Kurtz, the Music Director and founder of the Gulf Coast Symphony.
Wonder wrote some of the most joyful music ever recorded, and it turns out jazz was hiding inside every note all along.
“Because Stevie Wonder himself performed music that was soul-influenced, funk-influenced, of course pop, and so that kind of energy in the music I think translates really well to our jazz ensemble,” Kurtz added.
The Collective will be accompanied in concert by vocalist Alyssa Jones and a guest horn player for a “jazzified” musical celebration of Stevie Wonder’s beloved songbook.
The concert takes place July 30 at 7 p.m. in the Music and Arts Community Center in Fort Myers.
MORE INFORMATION:
While Stevie Wonder produced soul, R&B, gospel and popular music, he was nonetheless deeply influenced by jazz. He even wrote an instrumental soul-jazz album in 1968 titled “The Jazz Soul of Little Stevie.”
That same year, he recorded an instrumental harmonica record under the pseudonym "Eivets Rednow" (his name spelled backwards), which featured a notable jazz-inflected cover of Burt Bacharach's "Alfie."
What makes Gavin and the Gulf Coast Jazz Collective’s approach distinctive is that they’re transforming his most popular Motown, R&B and pop songs into jazz pieces – an endeavor that’s aided by the fact that many of his melodies utilize jazz chords and progressions.
The Music and Arts Community Center is located 13411 Shire Lane, Fort Myers.
Support for WGCU’s arts & culture reporting comes from the Estate of Myra Janco Daniels, the Charles M. and Joan R. Taylor Foundation, and Naomi Bloom in loving memory of her husband, Ron Wallace.
