Lisle pianist to add Latin flair to COD jazz concert

Move over wind section, there’s a new guy in town.

Local artist and pianist Jose Valdes joins the DuPage Community Jazz Ensemble’s oversized big band for a performance at 3 p.m. Sunday, March 25, at College of DuPage’s McAninch Arts Center.

The addition of Valdes means a focus on the piano in an ensemble that typically focuses on the wind section. It also means listeners will hear some Latin touches.

“They will enjoy hearing the big band with a slightly different tint of music, since we’re going to be doing two things,” said Valdes, who lives in Lisle. “Firstly, we’ll be doing material of Latin flair to some extent, and secondly, it’s a concert to a great extent that will feature the pianist. Sometimes with big bands you do not see that often because big band is very structured around the wind players.”

The DuPage Community Jazz Ensemble is a group of 20 musicians with various musical backgrounds, said Tom Tallman, professor of music at College of DuPage.

“It’s an ensemble and it’s also a class. We perform at the minimum one concert and one dance very semester,” he said. “We’re open enrollment. What that means for musical ensembles is if you want to sing or play your instrument, here we are.”

The result is a uniqueness of combined skill levels and various instruments.

“It’s not every day that you see a big band with two guitars,” Tallman said. “I can’t say, ‘We already have one,’ and I don’t (say that).”

The first part of the concert will feature some pieces by Duke Ellington and Count Basie.

The second part features Valdes, a musician and band leader for more than 30 years, whose company, Valdes Music Productions, is an umbrella organization for a variety of ensembles including The International Orchestra, The Mambo All-Stars, The VMP Orchestra, Caribbean Steel, The Latin Jazztet, Jazz Facets and Trio Latino.

Valdes will bring his sound to the performance with pieces such as his original arrangement of “Nica’s Dream” by composer Horace Silver.

“There’s an awful lot of it that is different and new for those who are accustomed to listening to different big bands like this,” Tallman said.

Tickets are $4. For information, call (630) 942-4000 or visit atthemac.org.