MUSIC
BY BRETT CAMPBELL
SINNE EEG
PITCH PERFECT
Female vocalists fill the halls
S
ome of the most vibrant young voices in jazz and
show music belong to women, and three of the
most intriguing rising vocalists are coming to
town in the next couple weeks.
This Saturday, May 23, the ever-engaging
Broadway House concerts bring Danish singer Sinne Eeg
to town to play warm, luxe original tunes and American
songbook standards. Eeg has emerged from a vibrant
young Scandinavian jazz scene that lately has produced
some of the most fascinating modern intersections of
improvised and composed music in the world, as visitors
to the recent Portland Jazz Festival shows can attest.
In fact, it was Portland State University faculty
member George Colligan — a terrific pianist (and
drummer, trumpeter, and organist) and well-connected
veteran of the New York jazz scene — who helped arrange
this performance, which he’ll accompany on keyboard.
Eeg’s warm alto really delivers on ballads (including her
own classic-styled compositions). To reserve a seat for
this concert at this Broadway bungalow, contact Paul
Bodin at pbodin@uoregon.edu or 686-9270.
Another promising young female singer, Becca
Stevens, plays 8 pm Monday, June 1, at Cozmic. The
Brooklyn singer’s third and latest album, Perfect Animal,
offers her originals alongside covers of Usher, Steve
Winwood and Frank Ocean.
Stevens is frequently compared to compelling singers
like St. Vincent, not surprisingly, as these two share a
producer. Though her new record appeals more to pop
singer-songwriter fans than jazzers, Stevens’ impressive
performance at this year’s Portland Jazz Festival adds to her
string of well-received live shows.
Still another fine young singer, Evynne Hollens,
returns to Eugene to join Shedd regulars like Shirley
Andress and Bill Hulings, plus other young guest
performers, in a musical tribute to one of contemporary
Broadway’s hottest composers, Jason Robert Brown.
Hollens and company will perform tunes from Brown’s
Tony-winning musicals like The Last Five Years, The
Bridges of Madison County and Honeymoon in Vegas,
along with Brown’s award-winning song cycle, Songs for
a New World.
“Hear My Song: Celebrating the Music of Jason Robert
Brown” runs 7:30 pm Saturday, May 30, and 1:30 pm
Sunday, May 31, at The Shedd. Hollens, of course, got her
start at the UO over a decade ago when she helped lead the
award-winning a cappella women’s ensemble Divisi to
national fame (fictionalized in the movie Pitch Perfect).
The world’s most admired jazzman Dave Douglas
joins a Big Band concert 7 pm Friday, May 22, at the UO’s
Beall Concert Hall. The trumpeter and composer has
made dozens of acclaimed albums, won a prestigious
Guggenheim Fellowship and mentored a couple
generations of American jazzers.
That same night, you can hear new music by UO
student composers at the school’s Aasen-Hull Hall. That’s
also where, at 7:30 pm Thursday, May 28, you can hear
the scintillating Oregon Percussion Ensemble, whose
concerts often feature fun theatrical elements as well as
thrilling new music.
Next up at Aasen-Hull Hall, hear UO faculty pianist
Alexandre Dossin and his students play music by the
great Brazilian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos at 7:30 pm
Friday, May 29. The next night, three big UO music
groups — its symphony, wind ensemble and University
Singers — convene at the Hult Center 8 pm Saturday, May
30. The annual UO School of Music and Dance spring
concert will include music from Stravinsky’s great ballet
The Firebird and lots of American music, as well as a
ravishing choral work by the acclaimed young Latvian
composer Ēriks Ešenvalds. The school’s traditional season
closes with the gospel choirs and ensembles concert 5 pm
Sunday, May 31. Be sure to get tickets early!
Speaking of young musicians, Eugene-Springfield
Youth Orchestra plays music by Holst, Beethoven and
more on Thursday, May 21, at South Eugene High School
Auditorium. And, last but not least, Chamber Music
Amici plays its final concert of the season and bids adieu
to its outgoing founding artistic director and violinist
Sharon Schuman on June 1 at the Wildish Community
Theater in Springfield, when some of the area’s top
classical musicians will play delicious music by Prokofiev
and Dvořák. I hope the audience will reward Schuman
with applause for creating one of the area’s most valuable
classical music institutions. ■
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May 30, 2015
3rd Annual 5K/10K Peace Run • Alton Baker Park
Race Welcome by Tulku Jigme Rinpoche
5K/10K Walk/Roll/Run
Cultivating a Culture of Peace
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