DEX 100: Dexter Gordon Centennial Tribute Concert

Arts + Literature Laboratory presents DEX100, a Dexter Gordon centennial tribute concert, on Friday, February 2, 7:30pm. Tickets $20 general admission or $15 student/ALL Member in advance online, or $25 at the door for everyone. Tickets available at https://dex100madison.bpt.me.

Performers will include Jon Irabagon, Eric Koppa, Pawan Benjamin, Johannes Wallmann, Peter Dominguez, Matt Endres.

This concert will be attended by by Dexter's widow and biographer, Maxine Gordon, during her visit to Madison in February 2024. Jazz historian, long time jazz advocate, executive, and archivist, Maxine Gordon "is a force in her own right, advocating for the music and musicians in many capacities" - All That Jazz.

In 2013, Maxine and her son Woody Shaw III founded The Dexter Gordon Society, a nonprofit cultural organization created to preserve, document, and present their collective life's work. She is also President of Dex Music LLC which oversees Dexter Gordon’s copyrights and protects his name and likeness.

Other public programs during Maxine Gordon's Madison visit include a talk about her upcoming book, Quartette: Four Women in Jazz, at the Sequoya Public Library, Wednesday, January 31 at 10:30am, co-presented by the Wisconsin Book Festival, and "Lunch with Maxine," at Cafe CODA, Saturday, February 3 at 12:30pm, co-presented by Madison Jazz Society.

The Dexter Gordon Centennial Project has been a year-long celebration of the life and legacy of musical icon Dexter Gordon beginning on the 100th anniversary of his birth - on February 27, 2023 - and commencing through February of 2024. Organized by The Dexter Gordon Society, Inc. the commemorative nonprofit preserving Gordon's memory, the project will include events, publications, and initiatives designed to extend Gordon's profound impact, serving as a source of inspiration and cultural enrichment, while guiding the next generation of visionary artists into the future.

Jon Irabagon

First-generation Filipino-American Jon Irabagon (b. 1978, Chicago) has been influenced by the self-empowering and individualistic philosophies and aesthetic of the great AACM (Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians) ensembles as well as the historic world-class tenor saxophone lineage from his hometown. Equally adept at composing for rising stars in new music and the most intricate modern jazz ensemble, Irabagon builds on this foundation by adding modern classical and late-period John Coltrane to his compositional base, focusing primarily on mixed chamber ensembles to take advantage of hand-chosen musicians' voices and attitudes.

After earning a Bachelor of Music from DePaul University, Irabagon continued his education by earning a Master of Arts from the Manhattan School of Music and completing post-graduate studies in the jazz program at Juilliard, where he received an Artist Diploma. However, Irabagon’s accomplishments do... Read More

Eric Koppa

Saxophonist Eric Koppa began his musical journey in Monroe, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit, discovering jazz music in 1989. With friend and fellow musician Jacob Sacks (David Ambrosio/Paul Motian), he organized a jazz combo in junior high. This was followed by years of participation at the Montreal Detroit Jazz Festival and an introduction to some of the great jazz artists of the Detroit area.

Eric received outstanding soloist awards his junior and senior years at festivals and competitions, including nomination to play lead alto in an honors workshop band led by Frank Mantooth. For three years in high school, he played lead alto in the state honors jazz band at the MSBOA sponsored Michigan Youth Arts Festival held in the spring at Western Michigan University. While at WMU, he received clinic instruction from his future saxophone professor, Trent Kynaston.

Having spent time on the campus and with the faculty of WMU, during those years at the arts festival, a transition... Read More

Pawan Benjamin

As both an accomplished Saxophonist and Bansuri flute player, Pawan Benjamin stands at the intersection of profound musical traditions. Rooted in Jazz and Improvisation, his pursuit of learning later led him to the Bansuri Flute and a deep study of Nepali Folk and Indian Classical Music. His unique perspective into these legacies of music has allowed him to work with a myriad of world-class artists, and perform and teach around the world.

Pawan has performed alongside artists such as Roscoe Mitchell, Reggie Workman, Ranjit Barot, Bill T. Jones, Taufiq Qureshi, Rez Abbasi, Marc Cary, and others.

Performance credits include the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Newport Festival, the Kennedy Center, the Rubin Museum of Art, Lincoln Center, the Mondriaan Jazz Festival, the Bimhuis, the NCPA in Mumbai, Goa International Jazz Festival, and more.

Johannes Wallmann

Johannes Wallmann is a pianist, composer, and the Peterson Professor of Jazz Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Wallmann has recorded nine critically acclaimed albums as a leader, including Elegy for an Undiscovered Species (Shifting Paradigm Records), which was named a “Best of 2021” album by DownBeat magazine and described as “delightfully mind blowing throughout” by Midwest Record. DownBeat magazine has called Wallmann “a remarkable pianist and composer [whose] evocative compositions are brimming with melodic cogency and rhythmic pull” and called his playing “confident, muscular and elegant.”

Born 1974 in Germany and raised on Canada's Vancouver Island, Wallmann studied jazz piano and composition at Berklee College of Music and at New York University. Over twelve years in New York City and five years in Oakland, CA, he established himself as a versatile and in-demand sideman before moving to Wisconsin in 2012. Wallmann has toured throughout North America,... Read More

Peter Dominguez

Peter Dominguez grew up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin participating in the Music for Youth Orchestras, and performing with his father, pianist and singer Frank DeMiles. His teachers included Willard Feldman and Clyde Russell. Peter went on to study with Roger Ruggeri and Richard Davis at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, where he earned his baccalaureate and masters degrees with a teaching assistantship 1980-82.

In 1981 he was the first recipient of the Milton J. Hinton scholarship competition award. A teaching assistantship and doctoral studies with Dr. Lucas Drew at the University of Miami, Coral Gables followed in 1982-84. Eventually securing positions in both the Florida Philharmonic and Michigan State University, Peter chose MSU, served as Professor of Double Bass and Jazz Studies 1984-96, and was instrumental in developing their Jazz Studies program. During his Michigan years, he continued studies with Robert Gladstone and performed with the Detroit Symphony.

Matt Endres

Born in Sauk City, Wisconsin, Dr. Matthew Endres is the teaching professor of drum set and jazz history at the University of Wisconsin, and is the UW Marching Band Percussion Coordinator. In addition, he adjudicates music festivals and competitions extensively throughout the United States. He received his bachelor of music degree in drum set at the University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point, his master’s degree in jazz studies from the University of Illinois, and his doctoral degree in jazz studies and ethnomusicology at the University of Illinois.

Endres has performed extensively as a bandleader and a sideman in national and international venues. He is the drummer for the international award-winning group Old Style Sextet, which in 2014 placed second in the world-renowned Cotai Jazz and Blues Competition in Macau, China. He has appeared on multiple albums, including It’s About Time (2013) with the Adrian Barnett Septet; the Old Style Sextet self-titled album issued by Blujazz (... Read More

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Arts + Literature Laboratory is located at 111 S. Livingston Street #100, Madison, Wisconsin, 53703.

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