Whenever multi-Grammy Award winner and NEA Jazz Master Paquito D'Rivera hits the stage, you can be sure you're hearing the best in Swing and Latin Jazz! Celebrate the holiday season when Jon Faddis and The Chicago Jazz Ensemble (The CJE) present the 10th American Heritage Jazz Series featuring Paquito D'Rivera and The Chicago Jazz Ensemble: Commemorating Goodman, Celebrating Swing & Latin Jazz, on Friday, December 12, 2008, at 8:00 pm at the Harris Theater, 205 East Randolph, Chicago. In addition, Faddis and music aficionado, writer and broadcaster Neil Tesser will present a pre-concert conversation about the evenings performance at 7:20 pm.

Paquito and I first met on the bandstand when we both were sitting in with Dizzy Gillespie in the 1980s, said Faddis. We continued to work together with Diz and, of course, with Diz's United Nation Orchestra, for which we each served as music director over the years. Im excited to once again share the stage with Paquito, who is a master of classical, jazz and Caribbean-infused music. He is tremendous fun and a great friend. With The Chicago Jazz Ensemble, these renditions of Benny Goodmans music will definitely shine. Of Benny Goodman, Faddis says, There is so much to honor with Goodman, not the least of which is the 1938 Carnegie Hall concert which marked the first time the bandstand was integrated. It was absolutely brave and remarkable to prioritize artistry and to respect musicians, whatever their race, above whatever prejudice and social pressures exist. Thats deeply admirable. Second, the concert represented the first real moment when jazz was presented at Carnegie Hall. Third, the night was a tremendous success, changing the way audiences both heard and saw jazz, and what can be achieved.