Chopin @ Constellation

The Metropolitan Jazz Octet (MJO), founded in the 1950s by saxophonist-composer Tom Hilliard and later revived by Jim Gailloreto and John Kornegay, carries forward a vital piece of Chicago’s jazz heritage. Blending the sweep of a big band with the intimacy of chamber music, the Octet transforms arranging into an art of color, texture, and surprise.

For this program, MJO collaborates with acclaimed pianist Ben Lewis to reimagine two of Chopin’s celebrated piano works. Chopin’s music, rich with lyrical melodies, chromatic daring, and rhythmic flexibility, has long resonated with jazz musicians. Though he never wrote jazz, his spirit of improvisation and ornamental freedom feels strikingly modern, offering fertile ground for reinterpretation.

Through contemporary, masterful treatments, Lewis and MJO recast Chopin’s musical poetry into vibrant soundscapes pulsing with a jazz heartbeat. The program also features original octet compositions by Kornegay and Gailloreto, bridging tradition and innovation in equal measure.

Impromptu in A-flat major—one of Chopin’s most cherished shorter works—reveals his flair for brilliant figuration and lyrical expression.

Prelude in E minor, steeped in Romantic intensity, conveys immense depth of emotion.

Quandary is a contemporary jazz waltz with complex harmonies and rhythms. The title describes a musical dilemma: which motifs to use or toss?

No Man’s Land is a post apocalypse adventure. The music conjures images of twisted rubble, desolate landscapes, and the heroes that struggle.