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“November 21, 2016 – Manhattan School of Music (MSM) Jazz Orchestra, under the musical direction of Justin DiCioccio (MM ’71), played the music of Miles Davis’ classic 1957 album, Miles Ahead, featuring the original arrangements by legendary pianist, arranger, composer, and band leader Gil Evans.  Gil Evans played an important role in the development of orchestral jazz, cool jazz, modal jazz, free jazz, and jazz fusion, and collaborated extensively with Miles Davis. On Miles Ahead, Evans arranged the ten pieces that make up the album into a suite, each piece flowing into the next without interruption. “Evans’ scores for Miles Davis on Miles Ahead, and their subsequent collaborations on Porgy and Bess (1959) and Sketches of Spain (1960), are among the most treasured jazz works of all time,” comments DiCioccio, who is conducting the 19-piece MSM Jazz Orchestra at these performances. “This will be a treat for us – and for all Miles Davis and Gil Evans fans.” Davis played flugelhorn throughout the album, while the MSM concerts will feature NEA Jazz Master David Liebman on soprano saxophone. According to Liebman, his approach to the music is to “concentrate on tone and color, and above all, be lyrical. Exchanging the soprano sax for the trumpet allows me to shape the music in some ways, but of course the specter of Miles is always there, and I’ve tried my best to be true to his approach.”