AFFINITY

In 2014 Niels Lan Doky coined the term “Jazz Masterworks Series” to describe a concept designed to be the jazz equivalent of classical masterworks. While the latter mostly comprises through-composed music written prior to the invention of recording technology and only available in the form of written scores for future musicians and orchestras to read and re-create performances of, the vast majority of jazz is improvised and only a small portion of each piece of music is pre-composed or written down - thus making it harder for subsequent generations of artists to perform jazz masterworks in the same way it is done in the realm of classical music. However, the Jazz Masterworks Series employs a methodology where jazz history’s most iconic albums are performed live, i.e. the exact same compositions that appeared on the original recording are performed live, in the exact same order, and with the exact same instrumentation. A group of contemporary musicians playing those same instruments is cast specifically for the occasion to not only perform this material, but also and especially to interpret the material in their own way. Given the huge role of improvisation in jazz, it is part of the genre’s essence that no musicians can or should sound exactly alike, and no performance of any piece of music can ever be duplicated note-for-note not even by the same musicians. 

Jazz history’s greatest albums are the genre’s masterworks and since creating the Jazz Masterworks series in 2014 Niels Lan Doky and his International Jazz Collective have done numerous performances of iconic jazz albums such as Kind of Blue by Miles Davis, Ella and Louis by Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong, Now He Sings Now He Sobs by Chick Corea, Getz/Gilberto by Stan Getz and Joao Gilberto, Takin’ Off by Herbie Hancock, Speak No Evil by Wayne Shorter and many more.  

Now the time has come for the Niels Lan Doky International Jazz Collective to perform a Jazz Masterworks Series rendition of the 1979 Affinity album by Bill Evans and Toots Thielemans, a true masterpiece album and a major high point in both artist’s career. 

ABOUT THE 1979 ALBUM “AFFINITY” FROM BILL EVANS AND TOOTS THIELEMANNS: 

The album “Affinity” released in 1979 marks the historic encounter between the American pianist and jazz icon Bill Evans (1929-1980) and the Belgian harmonica player Toots Thielemans (1922-2016) who aside from being his country’s most influential jazz artist of all time is also widely recognized as the world’s greatest harmonica player and the unparalleled leading innovator of the instrument.

Throughout his career, most of Bill Evans’ albums were recorded just with his trio and he did a surprising small number of collaborations with other artists, the most famous one being the groundbreaking album “Kind of Blue” with Miles Davis from 1959. But other collaborative master pieces include “Undercurrent” with Jim Hall from 1962, “Waltz For Debby” with Swedish vocalist Monica Zetterlund from 1964, two albums with Tony Bennett from 1975 and 1977 and not least the “Affinity” album with Toots Thielemans from 1979. The latter considered this album to be the artistic pinnacle of his career and the fact that it is one of Bill Evans’ most popular recordings is often attributed to Toots Thielemans whose presence, according to music critics, made Bill Evans’ music more accessible. The “Affinity” album featured Evans and Thielemans alongside the members of Evans’ trio at the time, bassist Marc Johnson and drummer Elliot Ziegmund. On selected tracks,  tenor and soprano saxophonist Larry Schneider was added.

THE CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED FOR SUBMISSIONS.

5 WINNERS WILL BE NOTIFIED DIRECTLY VIA EMAIL - SO CHECK YOUR SPAM IN CASE YOU WON!