Miles Electric Band, featuring Davis Alumni Performs At The Soraya, 3/1

The Miles Electric Band, a progressive, All-Star ensemble of Miles Davis alumni who are revising the framework for modern jazz improvisation, will perform at the Younes and Soraya Nazarian Center for the Performing Arts (The Soraya) on Thursday, March 1 at 8:00pm. The avant-garde collective revisits repertoire from Davis' electric period (1968 - 1975) in paying homage to The Chief. The band represents two generations of players: Davis' contemporaries and the next generation.

Grammy winner Vince Wilburn, Jr., drummer/bandleader of Miles Electric Band, has jazz in his DNA. He is the nephew of Miles Davis, an internationally renowned music icon who changed the course of music five times. As the official caretaker of Davis' music, Wilburn perpetuates his uncle's legacy, leading a unique roster of artists that is guaranteed to be the quintessential Miles experience. As a futurist, Davis pushed his musicians to be innovative and forward thinking. His motto was, "Never look back." The highly eclectic group was put together by Wilburn, Jr., with the intention of continuing to expand the boundaries of music, while paying homage to the classics.

The Miles Electric Band performance at The Soraya will feature nine players from their rotating ensemble of All-Star musicians bridging the classic with the contemporary. The line-up includes Miles Davis alums, Grammy nominated artists, John Beasley and Robert Irving III on piano, Grammy nominee Badal Roy on tabla, legendary P-funk guitarist and MD Blackbyrd McKnight, noted percussionist Munyungo Jackson and Grammy winner Vince Wilburn, Jr. on drums. Also filling essential roles in the cast are bassist Darryl Jones, recognized for his recordings with Sting and decades long tour duty on bass for the Rolling Stones, and Antoine Roney on saxophone who has toured the world with jazz veterans Freddie Hubbard and Elvin Jones.

In an article in The Atlantic, Miles Electric period is described as the time Miles Davis, "plugged into the zeitgeist, traded his suits for hipster finery and opened up his music to distortion and groove-based repetition...transcending his roots in acoustic jazz." Davis' double album, Bitches Brew, is perhaps his most well known release from this period. The Guardian explains, "Bitches Brew signaled a watershed in jazz and had a significant impact on rock. In combination with Miles' fame and prestige, the album gave the budding jazz-rock genre visibility and credibility, and was instrumental in promoting it to the dominant direction in jazz."

"Miles Davis was an American jazz icon whose music influence continues to this day," said Thor Steingraber, Executive Director of The Soraya. "This evening showcasing The Soraya's commitment to inventive and inspirational jazz musicians. In addition to Miles Electric Band, this spring The Soraya will host the Clayton Hamilton Orchestra, Cécile McLorin Salvant, Amir ElSaffar's Two Rivers Ensemble and Terence Blanchard - some of the genres most exciting names."

Tickets for Miles Electric Band priced from $33-$78, are now available at ValleyPerformingArtsCenter.org or by calling (818) 677-3000. The Younes and Soraya Nazarian Center for the Performing Arts (The Soraya) is located on the campus of California State University, Northridge (CSUN), 18111 Nordhoff Street Northridge, CA 91330-8448, at the corner of Nordhoff and Lindley.

Rolling Stone called Miles Davis, "The most revered jazz trumpeter of all time [and] one of the most important musicians of the 20th century. He was the first jazz musician of the post-hippie era to incorporate rock rhythms, and his immeasurable influence on others, in both jazz and rock, encouraged a wealth of subsequent experiments. From the bebop licks he initially played with saxophonist Charlie Parker to the wah-wah screeds he concocted to keep up with Jimi Hendrix, Davis was as restless as a performer could get."

Miles Electric Band Members performing on March 1
Vincent Wilburn, Drums+
Christian Scott, Trumpet
Debasish Chaudhury, Tabla
Darryl Munyungo J., Percussion+
Robert Irving III, Piano/Keys+
John Beasley, Keyboards+
Darryl Jones, Bass+
David Gilmore, Guitar
Antoine Roney, Sax
+ = Miles Davis alumni

About Miles Electric Band
BAM Magazine said of Miles Electric Band, "The Miles Electric Band show was an extraordinary swirl of world music, polyrhythms, rock and funk. Propelled by bold soulful rhythms, the Miles Electric Band's new interpretations of Miles Davis jazz-rock classics had an otherworldly quality. Their fresh interpretations of Miles' innovative funky jazz-rock classics provided an unforgettable musical experience."

As the first finger taps of the tabla echo off the face of the canyon at the rear of the Los Angeles gulch known as the Hollywood Bowl, something spiritual and magical begins to happen. It is as if the spirits of Miles Davis and the many Jazz masters who have gone on to glory have been summonsed to a command performance. They willingly arrive one by one bestowing their blessings upon this ensemble of world-class musicians brought together to both revisit and renew the innovation of the legendary Miles Davis. Like a new millennium church tent revival, the Hollywood Bowl begins to transform into a living-breathing testimonial to the power of musical genius. Ladies and Gentlemen, presenting the Miles Electric Band.

It was the winter of 2011 when the call came. Vince Wilburn, Jr, nephew of jazz icon Miles Davis and drum master in his own right, received an inquiry from the Chicago Jazz Philharmonic regarding a performance in conjunction with the "Miles Davis Festival." The festival would be a four month long celebration of the music of Miles Davis. Presented by the Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University - the oldest theatre in the city - the festival would consist of nineteen performances held in sixteen venues across the city January to April 2011. Wilburn, Jr. who recorded and toured with his uncle from '84 - '87 and who, along with his first cousins Erin and Cheryl Davis is responsible for Davis' legacy as executors of his estate, jumped at the chance to perform. Wilburn, Jr. shares, "Ironically, though I was born and raised in Chicago, when I toured with Miles, we never played Chicago, so the Chicago Jazz Philharmonic presented a chance to fulfill a life-long dream."

Beginning with the idea of reassembling the band which had performed "Bitches Brew Remix" (honoring the 40th Anniversary of Bitches Brew) in August of 2010 during LA's Sunset Junction Festival, Wilburn, Jr. began placing his calls starting with bassist Darryl Jones, testing the waters one by one until he had assembled a stellar cast to breathe life into the music of Miles Davis' electric period.

Prior to the debut performance, excitement and momentum began to build for the show. A visit by Wilburn, Jr. to WGN-TV for a lunchtime sit-down to discuss the evening's performance was the tip off that something very special was about to happen. And happen it did, as scores of Miles Davis fans from Wilburn's old neighborhood and across the city packed Martyrs, a north side Chicago venue borne from an old post office building and known for it's commitment to live music. So many people poured in that evening that the Fire Marshall threatened to shut down the festivities. But, as is the rule in the business, the show would go on exceeding the expectations of everyone involved, fueled by magic and igniting the flame for what was soon to come.

The idea that something noteworthy was possible that evening in Chicago was not lost on Vince Wilburn, Jr. and his circle of friends. At producer Gerald McCauley's suggestion, the performance was recorded. Upon playback from the very first note, it was clear that the time had come for this group.

Apart from Bitches Brew material, the band had started to pick up music from all over Davis' electric period, and it was time to reflect that adaptation in the band name, which was soon changed to the Miles Electric Band.

As is the case with anything extraordinary, news from the band's appearance in Chicago's Miles Davis Festival filtered back to Los Angeles. Not soon afterward, the Hollywood Bowl called looking to feature the Miles Electric Band as part of "A Miles Davis Celebration," an evening tribute to Miles Davis featuring signature periods of his career. Vince Wilburn, Jr. then began the process of alerting the personnel. The chance to make magic again was still fresh, and despite the players' own grueling tour schedules they each agreed to clear their calendars for the Bowl on June 27, 2012. This show coincided with the LA launch of the popular Miles Davis postage stamp, which was quick to sell out.

Drawing upon the enormous pool of talent influenced through the decades by Miles Davis, trumpet duties will by design be handled by special guest artists. In Chicago and Los Angeles, Grammy winning trumpeter Nicholas Payton was featured, and at Sunset Junction it was Grammy winner Wallace Roney, with other Jazz heavyweights set to join in the future.

As the band exited the Bowl stage an ecstatic Herbie Hancock, the evening's host, declared the show was "Incredible!" According to Daily Variety, "Everyone rocked and socked, and it wasn't nostalgic in the least..."

The Miles Electric Band had indeed managed to capture the Jazz icon's spirit of innovation.

For Miles Davis fans, it should come as no surprise that his spirit was in the air that night anointing a new generation. Davis' last performance was at the Hollywood Bowl in August 1991 just one month before he died. It was finally time to let the music live again. The Los Angeles Times noted "the ever-evolving trumpeter never looked back, so contemporary interpreters better keep an ear to the present."

www.milesdavis.com / @MilesElectricBand / @MilesElectrics

About the Younes and Soraya Nazarian Center for the Performing Arts (The Soraya)
The Soraya opened its 2017-2018 season on September 16 with a performance of AMADEUS Live (Milos Foreman's 1984 Academy Award-winning Best Picture with live orchestra) with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra and members of the LA Opera Chorus. The evening honored the Younes and Soraya Nazarian Foundation in recognition of the family's recent $17 million gift that will rename VPAC as the Younes and Soraya Nazarian Performing Arts Center, known as The Soraya. The gift is one of the largest in the history of the California State University and the system's largest single gift to support the arts; gift to support the programming and operations of the award-winning Valley Performing Arts Center - which has become one of the cultural jewels of the region in the six years since it opened.

The 2017-18 Soraya season signals a new era for the premier event venue. Under the leadership of Executive Director Thor Steingraber, the renamed Younes and Soraya Nazarian Performing Arts Center expands its programming and outstanding multidisciplinary performances. The mission of The Soraya is to present a wide variety of performances that not only includes new and original work from the Los Angeles region but also work from around the world that appeal to all of LA's rich and diverse communities.

Located on the campus of California State University, Northridge, The Soraya's season offers a vibrant performance program of nearly 50 classical and popular music, dance, theater, family and international events that will serve to establish The Soraya as the intellectual and cultural heart of the San Fernando Valley, and further establish itself as one of the top arts companies in Southern California. The award-winning, 1,700-seat theatre was designed by HGA Architects and Engineers and was recently cited by the Los Angeles Times as "a growing hub for live music, dance, drama and other cultural events."

Date: Thursday, March 1 at 8:00pm

Venue: Younes and Soraya Nazarian Center for the Performing Arts (The Soraya)
18111 Nordhoff Street, Northridge, CA 91330

Tickets:
Prices: Starting at $33. Prices subject to change.
By Phone: (818) 677-3000
Online: ValleyPerformingArtsCenter.org

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