For our performance at the Shorewood on February 22, 7pm-10, The Nova Contemporary Jazz Orchestra will be welcoming a very special guest to town: Bill Mathieu. In the late 50s, when Mathieu was a young staff arranger for Stan Kenton, he composed and arranged what turned out to be an entire album’s worth of music for Kenton’s orchestra. The result was Standards In Silhouette, released in 1959.

Importantly, though, not all of the compositions Mathieu completed for Kenton were recorded by the bandleader. However, The Nova Contemporary Jazz Orchestra will perform these 14 musical works at the Shorewood this month (Remember, it’s February 22, 7pm-10). As we mentioned, Bill Mathieu will be in attendance, so it’s a great reason to come out and enjoy the music with us.

Since his time with Stan Kenton, Bill Mathieu has led an expansive and varied musical career. You can learn more about him at his website, Cold Mountain Music. Also, a good account of Mathieu’s time with Kenton and Standards In Silhouette is at the Nice and Easy website.