Orbert Davis Sextet

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 25

TIME: 2:00-3:00PM

VENUE: WAGNER STAGE. MIDWAY PLAISANCE AT South WOODLAWN AVE.

ORBERT DAVIS

It’s no wonder DownBeat dubbed trumpeter, composer, and educator Orbert Davis "Orbert, Inc." in their four-page feature story, in which they marveled at Davis’ expansive career and list of accomplishments. 

An established leader in Chicago’s arts and culture communities, Davis is co-founder, conductor, and artistic director of Chicago Jazz Philharmonic, a 55+ piece symphonic jazz orchestra dedicated to bringing together audiences of diverse backgrounds through multi-genre projects. He is widely respected not only for his work related to all things jazz, but also for his commitment to using arts education and advocacy to enact positive change in society. 

In addition to the music education work he does through CJP, Davis also co-owns and operates Discover Music: Discover Life, Inc., a company that develops curriculum and implements programs that uses music to teach academic and life skills.  

As a composer, Davis has many commissions to his credit, including the score to the PBS documentary DuSable to Obama: Chicago's Black Metropolis, for which he won an Emmy. He also won a Jeff Award for Best Original Music in a theater performance for Paradise Blue. His most recent recording, The Chicago River, was commissioned by Symphony Center Chicago to accompany a cinemagraph about the city’s historic turn-of-the-century reversal of the river’s flow. 

Davis has a Bachelor’s degree in trumpet performance from DePaul University, a Master’s degree in Jazz Pedagogy from Northwestern University, and an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Governors State University. He is a former Associate Professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago and Artist-in-Residence at Columbia College Chicago.

The musicians:

Orbert Davis - trumpet

Leandro Lopez Varady - piano

Stewart Miller - bass

Ernie Adams - drums

Rajiv Halim - tenor sax

John Moulder - guitar