David Hilliker's Tribute To Miles

Showtimes:  5pm-6:30pm & 7pm-8:30pm

If a jazz band is going to do a tribute to Miles Davis, the first order of business is deciding which era to salute. Davis changed styles habitually throughout his career, and it would be a fool’s errand to try to cover them all. Drummer David Hilliker is leading a Davis tribute project that focuses on the classic mid-1950s quintet, but it also touches on the next two eras as well.

Pianist Tom Vaitsas and bassist Marlene Rosenberg join Hilliker in the rhythm section, and the trumpeter is Art Davis and Victor Garcia. Hilliker lives in Elkhart, and the others are all based in Chicago.

The repertoire included pieces such as “Four,” “’Round Midnight” and “I Thought About You.” All of them were staples of the ’50s group that included John Coltrane, Red Garland, Paul Chambers and Philly Joe Jones. Hilliker says that the band can also consider slightly later works, running from 1959’s “Kind of Blue” all the way up through the era that saw the lineup switch to Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter and Tony Williams in the 1960s.