For this special edition of Jazz on the Square, the KJO and pianist Eric Reed will perform a free concert inside the Square Room on Market Square. Doors open at 7:15pm. Seating is first come, first serve. This concert is part of the preparation for our new album. The following day, we will go into the studio to record music for our 20th Anniversary CD. For more info on our recording project including info on how you can obtain your own copy, click here.

Pianist Eric Reed is widely acknowledged as one of the brightest stars of his generation. A veteran of bands led by the likes of Wynton Marsalis, Betty Carter, Freddie Hubbard and Joe Henderson, Reed brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to every musical situation.

As a leader, Reed has more than a dozen recordings to his credit, and a significant source of his inspiration has been the music of pianist Thelonious Monk. This made him an obvious choice for guest pianist when the KJO decided to play a tribute to Monk in the Fall of 2012. Three of the arrangements that orchestra leader Vance Thompson created for that event will be documented for the first time on our 20th Anniversary CD: “Ask Me Now,” “Monk’s Mood” and “Rhythm-a-ning.”

The program will also include music by two pianists with Tennessee roots: Mulgrew Miller and Donald Brown. Thompson arranged Mulgrew’s classic “Grew’s Tune” for a concert with Miller in 2003, but the opportunity to record the piece never presented itself. Donald Brown’s “Back Down in Lu Easy Anna” will round out the recording. This was one of the earliest arrangements done for the KJO back in 1999. It was part of the band’s very first recorded effort, The Music of Donald Brown, an album which is no longer commercially available.