Berklee Concert Jazz Orchestra to Perform with Dayna Stephens March 29

The Needham Bank Great Hall Concert Series continues as the Berklee Concert Jazz Orchestra (BCJO) performs with acclaimed saxophonist Dayna Stephens on March 29. 

March 24, 2014

The Needham Bank Great Hall Concert Series continues as the Berklee Concert Jazz Orchestra (BCJO) performs with acclaimed saxophonist Dayna Stephens (called "an intensely organic player" by the New York Times) on Saturday, March 29.

The BCJO is composed of 19 of the best and brightest young talents at the college. In addition to playing music by great jazz masters like Duke Ellington, Bob Brookmeyer, and McCoy Tyner, the group debuts brand new repertoire of original student compositions that bend the jazz canon and utilize the many colors of a big band in new ways. Director Greg Hopkins, professor of jazz composition and a jazz trumpeter with Buddy Rich and Dizzy Gillespie, among others, will lead the ensemble.

Saxophonist Dayna Stephens is a fluid, vigorous soloist with a warm, soulful sound. He has proven himself as a highly talented composer and arranger, an acclaimed bandleader, and an in-demand sideman. He's appeared with Terence Blanchard, Herbie Hancock, Carlos Santana, Stevie Wonder, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Roy Hargrove, and others. He teaches at the Stanford Jazz Workshop and private students at the New School in New York.

The performance will take place in the James Hugh Powers Hall, on the second floor of the Needham Town Hall, 1471 Highland Avenue, in Needham, Massachusetts. For tickets, visit greathallperformance.org or call 781 801-2151.