TRAVERSE CITY -- In his career, jazz musician Jeff Haas has taken to the stage with many notable musicians including Marcus Belgrave, George Benson and scores of other renowned musicians.
But on Monday, July 21, in a concert that aptly could steal its title from Haas' 1996 award-winning jazz album "L'Dor VaDor -- Generation to Generation," Haas will share the stage with some lesser-known musicians.
Though it's been less than two months since the Interlochen Arts Academy held its 2008 commencement ceremonies, four of its graduates are about to make their post-graduation debut and will have the opportunity to show their musical talents alongside Haas.
The City Opera House in downtown Traverse City will play host to jazz vocalist Rachel Borovik, pianist Gil Chapman, bass player Max Beckman and drummer Gabe Smith. The four IAA grads will be joined on stage by Traverse City West Senior High graduate Myles Boothroyd on saxophone.
The performance will showcase tunes by Gershwin, Cole Porter and Duke Ellington as well as original music by vocalist Borovik, who originally conceived the idea for the concert.
"I'm always looking for opportunities to perform and (we are all) off to music conservatories in the fall so I thought of the idea of a concert kind of prompting the theme of high school musicians going off to pursue their passion of music," Borovik said.
She brought the idea to Sheryl Hayward, executive director of the City Opera House. "She really liked the idea and she liked the idea of supporting young students and so we put some things together and here we are," she said.
The idea for the concert came together just before the group of students graduated from Interlochen. In the time since then Borovik has been pounding the pavement promoting the show and coordinating details.
She's quick to give credit to her mentor and jazz piano teacher, Haas. "(He) has been really helpful to me in that regard," she said. "He's a teacher of mine and he'll help me with contacts and things like that and I had him proofread my press release and stuff like that."
Not only did he help behind the scenes, but he also agreed to sit in on a few numbers with the group. "He's going to play the piano on probably two or three tunes with the group and myself," Borovik said. "We're really excited to have him on board."
She said the biggest challenge has been coordinating busy summer schedules (Beckman, Chapman and Smith are the hired house band at the Interlochen Center for the Arts this summer) against time constraints of the Opera House, which hosts many events throughout Cherry Festival and the Traverse City Film Festival.
But despite any challenges, Borovik is grateful for the chance to perform.
"It's such a great opportunity to perform at such a beautiful place and we're really excited about it," Borovik said. "I get to share some of my original music and some jazz classics. "
In a month or so, Chapman and Smith will join Borovik at Berklee School of Music in Boston while Beckman will head to DePaul University in Chicago.
Tickets for the event are $10 in advance and $15 at the door and are available by calling the City Opera House at 941-8082 or e-mailing info@cityoperahouse.org. The doors open at 7 p.m. and the concert will start at 8 p.m. A cash bar will be available.
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