Lois Gilbert
April-1st-2005, 07:12 PM
For immediate release • Event dates: June 25 – August 6, 2005
Organization: The Stanford Jazz Workshop, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization.
Press contact: Paul Dorn, 650.736.0324, ext. 305 • E-mail: pdorn@stanfordjazz.org
High-resolution images available on request
Headliners Include Slide Hampton, Toshiko Akiyoshi, Mulgrew Miller, Don Friedman, David "Fathead" Newman, Curtis Fuller, Houston Person
STANFORD, CA—The 2005 Stanford Jazz Festival begins June 25 and continues through August 6, featuring more than 100 artists performing more than 30 mainstage concerts. Presented by See's Candies and the Stanford Jazz Workshop (SJW), the annual festival is renowned for presenting a healthy dose of straight-ahead jazz, flavored with innovative modern stylings, traditional, blues, salsa, Brazilian, and other cross cultural approaches to improvised music.
Top performances for the 2005 Stanford Jazz Festival include sets by master trombonists Slide Hampton and Curtis Fuller; talented pianist Mulgrew Miller in a trio with Rufus Reid and Akira Tana; saxman Charles McPherson, featured performer on the film Bird; famed big band arranger Toshiko Akiyoshi presenting the premiere of a new composition for quartet; saxophone master and former Etta Jones sideman Houston Person; a jazz tribute to the late Ray Charles featuring his long-time saxophonist David "Fathead" Newman; a rare Bay Area appearance by pianist Don Friedman; the debut concert performance pairing Hawaiian slack-key guitarist Keola Beamer with pianist Geoffrey Keezer. This year the Stanford Jazz Festival introduces "Inside Jazz," a series of talks by prominent jazz artists and educators presented before selected concerts, providing context and insight into the art form.
Over the 30-plus years of the Stanford Jazz Festival, audiences have enjoyed the special intensity and energy of the performances, due to the relationship between the concert stage and classroom. The annual Stanford Jazz Festival coincides with the Stanford Jazz Workshop's acclaimed educational summer programs, which include a Jazz Camp for students aged 12-17; Jazz Evening Summer for students 12-adult; and Jazz Residency and Weekend Intensive programs for adults. Most of the Stanford Jazz Festival performers are also faculty for SJW's educational programs. From veteran statesmen to emerging talents and local standouts, these artists work closely together—collaborating, teaching, interacting, jamming—while inspiring and being inspired by our enthusiastic students aged 12 to 80. This intensive interaction fuels the energetic performances at the Stanford Jazz Festival.
Founded in 1972, the Stanford Jazz Workshop (SJW) has attracted jazz artists and fans to the campus of Stanford University each summer for its educational programs. As SJW’s programs grew, involving prominent artists such as Dizzy Gillespie and Stan Getz, the organization began presenting public concerts to encourage community appreciation and awareness of jazz. These early concerts served as the beginning of the Stanford Jazz Festival. Today the festival attracts 15,000 music fans and is ranked by many critics and music fans as one of the top jazz festivals on the West Coast.
For more information on the 2005 Stanford Jazz Festival schedule or the Stanford Jazz Workshop’s educational programs visit: www.stanfordjazz.org or call: 650.736.0324. Tickets to Stanford Jazz Festival events range from $10 - $38 general admission (depending on concert) with a half-price discount for students with valid ID and children under the age of 18. Box office: 650.725.ARTS (2787) or www.ticketweb.com
Stanford Jazz Workshop & Festival
2005 Calendar of Upcoming Concert Events
June 25 – August 6, 2005 | Stanford University
Festival passes $425 includes admission to all shows.
Trio: Purchase tickets to three – five performances and get a 10% discount.
Sextet: Purchase tickets to six or more performances and get a 15% discount.
Artists, dates and venues subject to change.
Information: 650.736.0324 or www.stanfordjazz.org
Tickets: 650.725.ARTS (2787) or www.ticketweb.com
STANFORD JAZZ FESTIVAL JUNE EVENTS
A Jazz Tribute to Ray Charles
Featuring David “Fathead” Newman
With Tammy Hall, piano; Akira Tana, drums; Kim Nalley, vocals; Bruce Forman, guitar; Michael Zisman, bass
Saturday, June 25 | 8 pm | Dinkelspiel Auditorium
Tickets: $30 general | $15 students
Inside Jazz: The Rhythm and Blues Connection | 7 pm | Free with concert ticket
Speaker Sonny Buxton
The extraordinary musical genius of the late Ray Charles has attracted music fans for 50 years and inspired the 2004 Oscar-winning film of his life, Ray. One of Charles’ closest colleagues was saxophone legend David “Fathead” Newman, a 12-year member of the Ray Charles Band. A fixture on the New York music scene, Newman has performed and recorded with countless artists, including Aretha Franklin, Lee Morgan, Cedar Walton, and Herbie Mann. On the heels of his latest High Note release, I Remember Brother Ray, David “Fathead” Newman makes his Stanford Jazz Festival debut to join an all-star lineup of local artists for a jazz celebration of the music of the great Ray Charles.
Musical Introductions: Hawaiian Music
With Keola Beamer, slack key guitar; Geoffrey Keezer, piano; Moanalani Beamer, hula dance/vocals
Sunday, June 26 | 3 pm | Dinkelspiel Auditorium
Tickets: $10 general | $5 students
Hawai'i's premier slack key guitarist Keola Beamer, hula dancer Moanalani Beamer, and acclaimed jazz pianist Geoff Keezer present a soothing, melodic trip through the island’s musical traditions. No previous knowledge of Hawaiian music is needed, as the artists will introduce the styles, meaning and context of the music as they perform. Recommended for families and children aged 8 or older.
Keola Beamer/Geoffrey Keezer: Nahenahe Jazz
With Keola Beamer, slack key guitar; Geoffrey Keezer, piano; Moanalani Beamer, hula dance/vocals
Sunday, June 26 | 7:30 pm | Dinkelspiel Auditorium
Tickets: $28 general | $14 students
Hawai'i's premier slack key guitarist Keola Beamer recently collaborated with jazz pianist Geoffrey Keezer for several tracks on Falling Up (Max Jazz Records). Beamer makes his Stanford Jazz Festival debut with Keezer to present their jazz take on “Nahenahe"—the heart and soul of relaxed island harmony. A descendent of one of Hawai'i's most illustrious musical lineages, Keola Beamer traces his roots to the island’s royalty of the 15th century, and is best known for his classic composition “Honolulu City Lights.” Pianist Geoffrey Keezer has matured in the presence of giants, first joining Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers at 18, then serving a lengthy apprenticeship with master bassist Ray Brown. Always in high demand, Keezer’s recent gigs have included work with Christian McBride, Diana Krall, Joshua Redman, and Chick Corea.
STANFORD JAZZ FESTIVAL JULY EVENTS
Wesla Whitfield and the Mike Greensill Trio
With Wesla Whitfield, vocals; Mike Greensill, piano; Vince Lateano, drums; John Wiitala, bass
Friday, July 1 | 8 pm | Campbell Recital Hall
Tickets: $28 general | $14 students
Inside Jazz: It's All in the Arrangement | 7 pm | Free with concert ticket
Speaker Mike Greensill
A longtime favorite at San Francisco's Plush Room, Wesla Whitfield is a popular chanteuse blessed with a full and remarkable voice. Whitfield seizes the great American songbook and makes it her own, refreshing the standards with her suave technique, subtle wit, expressive nuance, and thoughtful arrangements (by her husband and pianist Mike Greensill.) Whitfield makes her Stanford Jazz Festival debut to perform cherished standards, including selections from her latest High Note release, In My Life.
Early Bird Jazz
With Jim Nadel and Friends
Saturday, July 2 | 10 am & 11:15 am | Dinkelspiel Auditorium
Free Admission
An annual event designed as an entertaining introduction to the wonderful world of jazz, Early Bird Jazz features saxophonist and Stanford Jazz Workshop founder Jim Nadel with a friendly group of musicians, providing an enjoyable tour through basic jazz concepts and instruments. Fun for youngsters and grownups too!
Jovino Santos Neto Quarteto
With Jovino Santos Neto, piano; Harvey Wainapel, saxophone; Peter Barshay, bass; Paul Van Wageningen, drums
Saturday, July 2 | 8 pm | Campbell Recital Hall
Tickets: $24 general | $12 students
A dynamic musician who skillfully melds classical, jazz, and indigenous Brazilian music, pianist Jovino Santos Neto honed his craft during a 15-year stint with Brazilian master Hermeto Pascoal. Born in Rio de Janeiro and now based in Seattle, Neto is constantly expanding his world music vocabulary, having worked with artists as diverse as Sergio Mendes, Flora Purim, Miles Davis, and Swiss cellist David Pezzoti. In the past decade Neto has developed and performed his original compositions, drawing on primal Brazilian grooves woven with contemporary jazz harmonies.
Descarga 2: Salsa Meets Jazz
With Wayne Wallace, trombone; Murray Low, piano; Steve Senft-Herrera, bass; Babatunde Lea, drums; Louie Romero, timbales; Michael Spiro, congas; Charles McNeal, saxophone; John Worley, trumpet.
Friday, July 8 | 8 pm | Campbell Recital Hall
Tickets: $24 general | $12 students
A sensation at the 2004 Stanford Jazz Festival, Descarga: Salsa Meets Jazz returns in 2005, with an exceptional ensemble of jazz and Latin stars who will introduce listeners to the tradition, rhythms, and songs of Salsa. For years, New York’s Village Gate hosted a Monday night "Descarga," a jam session where famous jazz soloists dropped in to perform with great Latin rhythm masters. Trombone master Wayne Wallace, a major force in both Latin (Irakere, Pete Escovedo, Tito Puente) and straight-ahead jazz (McCoy Tyner, Bobby Hutcherson, Sonny Rollins), leads a Descarga featuring many of the Bay Area’s internationally known Latin artists and jazz talents.
Don Friedman Trio
With Don Friedman, piano; Akira Tana, drums; Michael Zisman, bass
Saturday, July 9 | 8 pm | Campbell Recital Hall
Tickets: $28 general | $14 students
Inside Jazz: The Art of the Piano Trio | 7 pm | Free with concert ticket
Speaker Jim Nadel
Incorporating both the relaxed cool of the West and the intense hard bop of the East, pianist Don Friedman has a wonderfully lyrical style that he maintains at even the fastest tempos. In his long and respected career, Friedman has compiled an impressive roster of albums under his own name, several of which have earned DownBeat's coveted five-star rating. The Bay Area native leaped onto the West Coast jazz scene in the 1950s, playing with jazz giants like Dexter Gordon and Chet Baker. Following a move to New York, Friedman confirmed his artistry playing with Joe Henderson, Herbie Mann, and Clark Terry. He has continued to play, teach and record there ever since, and returns to the Bay Area after a long absence to make his debut at the Stanford Jazz Festival.
Everything You Wanted to Know About Jazz (but were afraid to ask)
With Jim Nadel and Friends
Sunday, July 10 | 3 pm | Campbell Recital Hall
Tickets: $10 general | $5 students
Jazz education pioneer and Stanford Jazz Workshop founder Jim Nadel leads an ensemble of veteran Bay Area jazz artists in an entertaining concert enhanced with commentary and conversation. This event will take the audience through a musical survey of jazz styles from Swing to Modern Jazz. Nadel and his friends share insights into how jazz is created, the roles of specific instruments, and offers insights that help listeners hear the music from the musicians’ point of view.
Jazz and the Music of Brazil: Sandy Cressman and Homenagem Brasileira
Sandy Cressman, vocals; Celso Alberti, drums; David Belove, bass; Harvey Wainapel, saxophone; pianist to be announced
Friday, July 15 | 8 pm | Campbell Recital Hall
Tickets: $24 general | $12 students
Inside Jazz: Brazilian Jazz | 7 pm | Free with concert ticket
Speaker Harvey Wainapel
Born in New York City of American parents—but with a Brazilian heart—Sandy Cressman began her recording career with the highly acclaimed vocal trio Pastiche. Her connection with Brazilian music was first sparked at UC Berkeley in the late 1970s, and heightened 20 years later when she began performing in a duo with Brazilian master keyboardist Marcos Silva. Cressman and Silva developed an extensive repertoire, musical interplay, and following in the San Francisco Bay Area, and soon expanded their group to a quintet. Sandy Cressman and Homenagem Brasileira are now regular headliners at jazz festivals, clubs, and concert venues, presenting an energetic musical journey through the rich world of Brazilian jazz.
Curtis Fuller Quintet
With Curtis Fuller, trombone; Dick Whittington, piano; Vince Lateano, drums; Andrew Speight, saxophone; Jeff Chambers, bass
Saturday, July 16 | 8 pm | Campbell Recital Hall
Tickets: $32 general | $16 students
A leading figure with the legendary group Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers in the early-1960s, trombone master Curtis Fuller is acclaimed for his fluid sound—recalling J.J. Johnson or Kai Winding—and ambitious creative phrasing. Notable as one of the few trombone players to excel at hard bop, Fuller has worked in several fine bands and participated in numerous great sessions, performing with artists such as John Coltrane, Bud Powell, Kenny Burrell, Dizzy Gillespie, and Cedar Walton. Joining Fuller in a rare Bay Area performance will be hard-driving local saxman Andrew Speight, backed by a stellar rhythm section of Dick Whittington, Jeff Chambers, and Vince Lateano.
Jim Cullum Jazz Band
With Jim Cullum, cornet; Kenny Rupp, trombone; Ron Hockett, clarinet; Howard Elkins, banjo, guitar, vocals; Jim Turner, piano; Don Mopsick, bass; Mike Waskiewicz, drums
Sunday, July 17 | 7:30 pm | Dinkelspiel Auditorium
Tickets: $24 general | $12 students
Stars of National Public Radio’s Riverwalk: Live from the Landing, the Jim Cullum Jazz Band has a great time bringing the past into focus. A longtime favorite of Stanford Jazz Festival audiences, the San Antonio-based group reinvigorates old favorites for contemporary audiences. Leader Jim Cullum plays a cornet similar to the one used by the legendary Bix Beiderbecke, and each band member is an expert in period instruments and performance. But this isn’t a group stuck in the past—the band’s distinctive, high-test style pours joyfully out of every number. With the Jim Cullum Jazz Band, the music is alive and definitely kicking.
Joe Gilman Trio: Brubeck’s Music
With Joe Gilman, piano; Justin Brown, drums; Joe Sanders, bass
Monday, July 18 | 7:30 pm | Campbell Recital Hall
Tickets: $16 general | $8 students
Legendary pianist, composer, and bandleader Dave Brubeck has greatly expanded the rhythmic horizons of jazz during the past 50 years. Still active at 84, Brubeck recently connected with Sacramento-based pianist and educator Joe Gilman, winner of the 2004 Great American Piano Competition and a member of the Capital Jazz Project. This collaboration led to Gilman’s recordings Time Again: Brubeck Revisited, featuring bassist Joe Sanders and percussionist Justin Brown, two exceptional young talents on scholarship at the Brubeck Institute at the University of the Pacific. Brown is also a former SJW student. The Joe Gilman Trio makes its Stanford Jazz Festival debut with its rhythmic, harmonic, and swinging interpretations of the brilliant music of Dave Brubeck.
Ambrose Akinmusire Project
Tuesday, July 19 | 7:30 pm | Campbell Recital Hall
Tickets: $16 general | $8 students
A graduate of the acclaimed Berkeley High School jazz program—which has produced such jazz luminaries as Joshua Redman, Bennie Green, and Peter Apfelbaum—trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire will show off his vibrant sound in a concert featuring original compositions and a great lineup of SJW faculty members. Only in his 20s, Akinmusire is already performing with major contemporary jazz stars, including Steve Coleman, Roy Hargrove, Aaron Parks, and Vijay Iyer.
Tootie Heath Quartet
With Tootie Heath, drums; Andrew Speight, saxophone; Joe Gilman, piano; Michael Zisman, bass
Wednesday, July 20 | 7:30 pm | Campbell Recital Hall
Tickets: $20 general | $10 students
Renowned for his sensitive playing, drummer Albert “Tootie” Heath made his recording debut on John Coltrane’s first album as a leader. In a career spanning Europe and both coasts of the US, Tootie Heath has performed and recorded with many titans of jazz, including Dexter Gordon, Herbie Hancock, Kenny Drew, Cedar Walton, and Yusef Lateef. Youngest of the Heath Brothers, Tootie Heath and his brothers Percy and Jimmy have recorded nine albums of world-class jazz as a popular family unit, and Tootie replaced the late Connie Kay as the drummer of the Modern Jazz Quartet during its final years. The drum master returns to the Stanford Jazz Festival, with a stellar group of local talents.
Wendy McCain: The Great American Songbook
Thursday, July 21 | 7:30 pm | Campbell Recital Hall
Tickets: $16 general | $8 students
Making a striking emotional connection with her music, vocalist Wendy McCain draws audiences into her songs and creates instant fans. A veteran performer on radio, at festivals, and in clubs—once opening for jazz legend Dizzy Gillespie—Wendy McCain teaches voice privately and is a longtime faculty member of the Stanford Jazz Workshop. Bassist Seward McCain has shared the stage with a long list of jazz greats. Backed by a stellar lineup of SJW faculty musicians, Wendy McCain will lead a celebration of the beloved romantic songs of the 1930s and 1940s that have come to be known as the great jazz standards.
Houston Person Quartet
With Houston Person, tenor saxophone; Tammy Hall, piano; Kent Bryson, drums; Jeff Chambers, bass
Saturday, July 23 | 8 pm | Campbell Recital Hall
Tickets: $30 general | $15 students
Inside Jazz: Tough Tenors! | 7 pm | Free with concert ticket
Speaker Sonny Buxton
Described as "jazz's working class hero, a true man of the people," Houston Person came to national attention with a series of soulful albums recorded for Prestige in the 1960s. Person’s fame grew still more with his successful 30-year musical partnership with vocalist Etta Jones. Numerous recording artists—including Lena Horne, Lou Rawls and Horace Silver—have also called on Person to perform on their albums. A passionate tenor saxophonist, alternately tough and tender, Person is now recognized as one of today's leading instrumentalists. Teaming with the Tammy Hall Trio, Houston Person makes his Stanford Jazz Festival debut for a night of outstanding straight-ahead jazz in the great tenor sax tradition.
Taylor Eigsti Group
With Taylor Eigsti, piano; John Shifflet, bass; Jason Lewis, drums
Sunday, July 24 | 7:30 pm | Dinkelspiel Auditorium
Tickets: $24 general | $12 students
Piano prodigy? Jazz musician for a new generation? Comparisons to Benny Green and Brad Mehldau? Just normal terrain for 20-year-old phenom Taylor Eigsti, an emerging talent who has been surprising professional musicians and jazz audiences for more than a decade. From opening for David Benoit at the age of eight, playing with Dave Brubeck at 12, releasing his first CD at 14, and joining the faculty of the Stanford Jazz Workshop at 15, Eigsti has been tearing up the ivories with style, enthusiasm, sensitivity, and increasingly complex musicality. Eigsti's fourth and latest recording, Resonance, has garnered four-star reviews from DownBeat, All Music Guide, Billboard, Jazz Connection, and many more.
Adam Theis Ensemble
With Adam Theis, trombone; Eric Garland, drums; Joe Cohen, saxophone and electronics
Monday, July 25 | 7:30 pm | Campbell Recital Hall
Tickets: $16 general | $8 students
The San Francisco Jazz Mafia is an assortment of young groups and players who are reinventing jazz for a new generation. Trombonist Adam Theis has established himself as one of the Jazz Mafia's official "Dons," leading the groups Realistic Orchestra (winner of SF Weekly’s “Best Jazz Band”) and Cannonball, as well as writing and arranging all the string parts for The Shotgun Wedding Hip-Hop Symphony. In just the last few years Theis has found himself on stage with Carlos Santana, Bobby McFerrin, Benny Reitveld, OK GO, Robert Walter's 20th Congress, Spearhead, Will Bernard and Motherbug, Benny Maupin, and The Disco Biscuits.
Chuck MacKinnon Group
Tuesday, July 26 | 7:30 pm | Campbell Recital Hall
Tickets: $16 general | $8 students
Trumpeter and composer Chuck MacKinnon returns to the Stanford Jazz Festival with a hot group for a set of acoustic originals. A Bay Area native, MacKinnon now resides in New York City, where he keeps busy composing and performing with his own groups and as a sideman in many jazz, rock, pop, and hip hop bands. In addition to more than 20 recording credits, MacKinnon has performed around the world with artists as diverse as the Duke Ellington Orchestra, Norah Jones, Charlie Hunter, Randy Brecker, Bruce Forman, and Joe Henderson.
Ruth Davies’ Blues Night
With Ruth Davies, bass; Danny Caron, guitar; Charles McNeal, saxophone; Chris Cain, vocals; Ndugu Chancler, drums; Bennett Paster, keyboards
Wednesday, July 27 | 7:30 pm | Campbell Recital Hall
Tickets: $16 general | $8 students
Popular demand has made Ruth Davies’ blues night an annual favorite at the Stanford Jazz Festival. Davies has mastered the blues over a career of more than 30 years, playing upright bass with such legends as Charles Brown, John Lee Hooker, and Etta Jones. An in-demand studio musician, Davies has recorded with many artists, including Bonnie Raitt, Van Morrison, Clark Terry, Vassar Clements, Toots Thielemans, Elvin Bishop, Maria Muldaur, Jackie Ryan, and Ramblin' Jack Elliott. Joined by a talented ensemble of blues pros, Davies is sure to have Campbell Hall rocking.
Yosvany Terry Group
Thursday, July 28 | 7:30 pm | Campbell Recital Hall
Tickets: $16 general | $8 students
Cuban saxophonist Yosvany Terry has been extremely prominent since arriving in New York six years ago, sparking the city's new Latin-jazz scene. Trained at Havana's prestigious Escuela Nacional de Arte, Terry has performed and recorded with numerous artists, including Dave Douglas, Steve Turre, Roy Hargrove, and Eddie Palmieri. As a leader Terry, often with his group Columna B, has lit up festival stages from Montreal to Milan. Terry returns to the Stanford Jazz Festival, joining other Stanford Jazz Workshop faculty talent for a hot Cuban jazz set.
Mulgrew Miller, Rufus Reid, Akira Tana
With Mulgrew Miller, piano; Rufus Reid, bass; Akira Tana, drums
Saturday, July 30 | 8 pm | Campbell Recital Hall
Tickets: $38 general | $19 students
Piano trios don’t get any better than this. One of the most in-demand pianists in the New York scene—with more than over 400 recording sessions to his credit—Mulgrew Miller has succeeded by focusing on careful attention to craft and by making impeccable choices in the musicians that surround him. Active as a performer and composer, Rufus Reid is one of today's premiere bass masters on the international jazz scene, and literally wrote the book (The Evolving Bassist, published by Warner Brothers) on contemporary bass performance. Recognized for his ability to spark top rhythm sections and create exceptional musical dialogue with soloists, Akira Tana has contributed his colorful interactive style to concert, club and recording work with jazz greats such as Sonny Rollins, Milt Jackson, Jim Hall, Art Farmer, The Paul Winter Consort, Lena Horne, and The Manhattan Transfer.
Slide Hampton Quintet
With Slide Hampton, trombone; Jim Rotondi, trumpet; Rufus Reid, bass; Mulgrew Miller, piano; Carl Allen, drums
Sunday, July 31 | 8 pm | Dinkelspiel Auditorium
Tickets: $30 general | $15 students
Inside Jazz: The Trombone Tradition | 7 pm | Free with concert ticket
Speaker Sonny Buxton
Few trombonists active in the past 50 years have been as respected as Locksley Wellington "Slide" Hampton. In the 1950s Hampton developed his talents as composer and arranger working with Lionel Hampton, Dizzy Gillespie, and Maynard Ferguson. His acclaimed Slide Hampton Octet—which included Booker Little, Freddie Hubbard and George Coleman—toured extensively, particularly in Europe, and recorded on several labels, including Atlantic and Columbia. After traveling with Woody Herman to Europe in 1968, Hampton settled overseas where he stayed very active for nearly a decade. Winner of a 2005 Grammy® for instrumental arrangement for the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra’s recording The Way, Music of Slide Hampton, Hampton returns to the Stanford Jazz Festival to perform with a talented ensemble.
STANFORD JAZZ FESTIVAL AUGUST EVENTS
Madeline Eastman and Dena DeRose
With Madeline Eastman, vocals; Dena DeRose, piano & vocals; John Wiitala, bass; Vince Lateano, drums; and Randy Porter, piano
Monday, August 1 | 8 pm | Dinkelspiel Auditorium
Tickets: $24 general | $12 students
A double bill featuring a full set by each artist
Acclaimed jazz diva Madeline Eastman is renowned for her graceful phrasing, soulful elegance, sharp wit, and bold performances. A thrilling live performer, Eastman swings, scats, teases a ballad, and takes risks. She can make a pop classic like Carole King's "Up On A Roof" a jazz song all her own. Madeline Eastman had established herself as a singular talent, capable of reshaping the art on her own terms in the new millennium. Dena DeRose charms audiences with her facile technique, jaunty grace, cool intelligence, and imaginative approach to improvisation. Drawing comparisons to Shirley Horn, Dena DeRose is an accomplished triple threat, able to sing, play piano, and compose/arrange with equal finesse.
Eric Alexander/Bruce Forman Quintet
With Eric Alexander, saxophone; Bruce Forman, guitar; Harold Mabern, piano; Michael Zisman, bass; and Carl Allen, drums
Tuesday, August 2 | 8 pm | Dinkelspiel Auditorium
Tickets: $24 general | $12 students
Talented young tenor saxophonist Eric Alexander meets jazz guitar great Bruce Forman for this exceptional night of straight-ahead jazz. Boasting a warm, finely burnished tone and a robust melodic and harmonic imagination, Eric Alexander brings a seasoned veteran's proficiency and poise to his performances. Featured on the soundtrack of Clint Eastwood’s Oscar®-winning film Million Dollar Baby, Bruce Forman is the consummate jazz guitarist known for bop-style phrasing and inventive harmonization.
Charles McPherson Group
With Charles McPherson, saxophone; Rufus Reid, bass; Carl Allen, drums; and Rob Schneiderman, piano
Wednesday, August 3 | 8 pm | Dinkelspiel Auditorium
Tickets: $24 general | $12 students
Charles McPherson came of age playing alongside Charles Mingus for 12 years. He went on to perform and record with many jazz luminaries, and was the featured alto saxophonist on the soundtrack of Bird, the 1988 film biography of the great saxman Charlie Parker. McPherson remains a strong, viable force on the jazz scene today, combining passionate feeling with intricate patterns of improvisation. Through four decades of jazz, McPherson has not merely remained true to his bop origins, but has expanded upon them.
Stanford Jazz Workshop All Star Jam Session
With Jim Rotondi, trumpet; Andrew Speight, saxophone; Bruce Forman, guitar; Harold Mabern, piano; Rufus Reid, bass; Carl Allen, drums; and many others.
Friday, August 5 | 8 pm | Dinkelspiel Auditorium
Tickets: $32 general | $16 students
Inside Jazz: The Jam Session! | 7 pm | Free with concert ticket
Speaker Sonny Buxton
The annual defining event of the Stanford Jazz Festival experience is the All Star Jam Session. The tradition of "jamming"—musicians crowded on a stage casually contesting one another in friendly extended improvisational sessions—is one of the hallmarks of jazz. And rarely will such a combination of competition and camaraderie equal the diverse, multigenerational star power crowded onto the stage for Stanford Jazz Workshop’s faculty jam. A memorable night of jazz fireworks await.
Toshiko Akiyoshi/Lew Tabackin Quartet
With Toshiko Akiyoshi, piano; Lew Tabackin, saxophone; Eddie Marshall, drums; John Wiitala, bass
Saturday, August 6 | 8 pm | Campbell Recital Hall
Tickets: $32 general | $16 students
Toshiko Akiyoshi is a true musical pioneer, esteemed as an unparalleled pianist, composer, and leader of the Toshiko Akiyoshi Jazz Orchestra. Discovered by pianist Oscar Peterson in 1952 during a tour of Japan, Akiyoshi came to the US shortly afterwards, where she has distinguished herself as a composer and big band leader. Her big band arrangements are remarkable for combining elements of traditional Japanese music into the bop tradition. Joined by her husband and long-time collaborator Lew Tabackin, Akiyoshi makes her debut at the Stanford Jazz Festival with an intimate quartet performance of her music, including the premiere of a new work.
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2005 Stanford Jazz Festival
Information: 650.736.0324 or www.stanfordjazz.org
Tickets: 650.725.ARTS (2787) or www.ticketweb.com
Organization: The Stanford Jazz Workshop, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization.
Press contact: Paul Dorn, 650.736.0324, ext. 305 • E-mail: pdorn@stanfordjazz.org
High-resolution images available on request
Headliners Include Slide Hampton, Toshiko Akiyoshi, Mulgrew Miller, Don Friedman, David "Fathead" Newman, Curtis Fuller, Houston Person
STANFORD, CA—The 2005 Stanford Jazz Festival begins June 25 and continues through August 6, featuring more than 100 artists performing more than 30 mainstage concerts. Presented by See's Candies and the Stanford Jazz Workshop (SJW), the annual festival is renowned for presenting a healthy dose of straight-ahead jazz, flavored with innovative modern stylings, traditional, blues, salsa, Brazilian, and other cross cultural approaches to improvised music.
Top performances for the 2005 Stanford Jazz Festival include sets by master trombonists Slide Hampton and Curtis Fuller; talented pianist Mulgrew Miller in a trio with Rufus Reid and Akira Tana; saxman Charles McPherson, featured performer on the film Bird; famed big band arranger Toshiko Akiyoshi presenting the premiere of a new composition for quartet; saxophone master and former Etta Jones sideman Houston Person; a jazz tribute to the late Ray Charles featuring his long-time saxophonist David "Fathead" Newman; a rare Bay Area appearance by pianist Don Friedman; the debut concert performance pairing Hawaiian slack-key guitarist Keola Beamer with pianist Geoffrey Keezer. This year the Stanford Jazz Festival introduces "Inside Jazz," a series of talks by prominent jazz artists and educators presented before selected concerts, providing context and insight into the art form.
Over the 30-plus years of the Stanford Jazz Festival, audiences have enjoyed the special intensity and energy of the performances, due to the relationship between the concert stage and classroom. The annual Stanford Jazz Festival coincides with the Stanford Jazz Workshop's acclaimed educational summer programs, which include a Jazz Camp for students aged 12-17; Jazz Evening Summer for students 12-adult; and Jazz Residency and Weekend Intensive programs for adults. Most of the Stanford Jazz Festival performers are also faculty for SJW's educational programs. From veteran statesmen to emerging talents and local standouts, these artists work closely together—collaborating, teaching, interacting, jamming—while inspiring and being inspired by our enthusiastic students aged 12 to 80. This intensive interaction fuels the energetic performances at the Stanford Jazz Festival.
Founded in 1972, the Stanford Jazz Workshop (SJW) has attracted jazz artists and fans to the campus of Stanford University each summer for its educational programs. As SJW’s programs grew, involving prominent artists such as Dizzy Gillespie and Stan Getz, the organization began presenting public concerts to encourage community appreciation and awareness of jazz. These early concerts served as the beginning of the Stanford Jazz Festival. Today the festival attracts 15,000 music fans and is ranked by many critics and music fans as one of the top jazz festivals on the West Coast.
For more information on the 2005 Stanford Jazz Festival schedule or the Stanford Jazz Workshop’s educational programs visit: www.stanfordjazz.org or call: 650.736.0324. Tickets to Stanford Jazz Festival events range from $10 - $38 general admission (depending on concert) with a half-price discount for students with valid ID and children under the age of 18. Box office: 650.725.ARTS (2787) or www.ticketweb.com
Stanford Jazz Workshop & Festival
2005 Calendar of Upcoming Concert Events
June 25 – August 6, 2005 | Stanford University
Festival passes $425 includes admission to all shows.
Trio: Purchase tickets to three – five performances and get a 10% discount.
Sextet: Purchase tickets to six or more performances and get a 15% discount.
Artists, dates and venues subject to change.
Information: 650.736.0324 or www.stanfordjazz.org
Tickets: 650.725.ARTS (2787) or www.ticketweb.com
STANFORD JAZZ FESTIVAL JUNE EVENTS
A Jazz Tribute to Ray Charles
Featuring David “Fathead” Newman
With Tammy Hall, piano; Akira Tana, drums; Kim Nalley, vocals; Bruce Forman, guitar; Michael Zisman, bass
Saturday, June 25 | 8 pm | Dinkelspiel Auditorium
Tickets: $30 general | $15 students
Inside Jazz: The Rhythm and Blues Connection | 7 pm | Free with concert ticket
Speaker Sonny Buxton
The extraordinary musical genius of the late Ray Charles has attracted music fans for 50 years and inspired the 2004 Oscar-winning film of his life, Ray. One of Charles’ closest colleagues was saxophone legend David “Fathead” Newman, a 12-year member of the Ray Charles Band. A fixture on the New York music scene, Newman has performed and recorded with countless artists, including Aretha Franklin, Lee Morgan, Cedar Walton, and Herbie Mann. On the heels of his latest High Note release, I Remember Brother Ray, David “Fathead” Newman makes his Stanford Jazz Festival debut to join an all-star lineup of local artists for a jazz celebration of the music of the great Ray Charles.
Musical Introductions: Hawaiian Music
With Keola Beamer, slack key guitar; Geoffrey Keezer, piano; Moanalani Beamer, hula dance/vocals
Sunday, June 26 | 3 pm | Dinkelspiel Auditorium
Tickets: $10 general | $5 students
Hawai'i's premier slack key guitarist Keola Beamer, hula dancer Moanalani Beamer, and acclaimed jazz pianist Geoff Keezer present a soothing, melodic trip through the island’s musical traditions. No previous knowledge of Hawaiian music is needed, as the artists will introduce the styles, meaning and context of the music as they perform. Recommended for families and children aged 8 or older.
Keola Beamer/Geoffrey Keezer: Nahenahe Jazz
With Keola Beamer, slack key guitar; Geoffrey Keezer, piano; Moanalani Beamer, hula dance/vocals
Sunday, June 26 | 7:30 pm | Dinkelspiel Auditorium
Tickets: $28 general | $14 students
Hawai'i's premier slack key guitarist Keola Beamer recently collaborated with jazz pianist Geoffrey Keezer for several tracks on Falling Up (Max Jazz Records). Beamer makes his Stanford Jazz Festival debut with Keezer to present their jazz take on “Nahenahe"—the heart and soul of relaxed island harmony. A descendent of one of Hawai'i's most illustrious musical lineages, Keola Beamer traces his roots to the island’s royalty of the 15th century, and is best known for his classic composition “Honolulu City Lights.” Pianist Geoffrey Keezer has matured in the presence of giants, first joining Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers at 18, then serving a lengthy apprenticeship with master bassist Ray Brown. Always in high demand, Keezer’s recent gigs have included work with Christian McBride, Diana Krall, Joshua Redman, and Chick Corea.
STANFORD JAZZ FESTIVAL JULY EVENTS
Wesla Whitfield and the Mike Greensill Trio
With Wesla Whitfield, vocals; Mike Greensill, piano; Vince Lateano, drums; John Wiitala, bass
Friday, July 1 | 8 pm | Campbell Recital Hall
Tickets: $28 general | $14 students
Inside Jazz: It's All in the Arrangement | 7 pm | Free with concert ticket
Speaker Mike Greensill
A longtime favorite at San Francisco's Plush Room, Wesla Whitfield is a popular chanteuse blessed with a full and remarkable voice. Whitfield seizes the great American songbook and makes it her own, refreshing the standards with her suave technique, subtle wit, expressive nuance, and thoughtful arrangements (by her husband and pianist Mike Greensill.) Whitfield makes her Stanford Jazz Festival debut to perform cherished standards, including selections from her latest High Note release, In My Life.
Early Bird Jazz
With Jim Nadel and Friends
Saturday, July 2 | 10 am & 11:15 am | Dinkelspiel Auditorium
Free Admission
An annual event designed as an entertaining introduction to the wonderful world of jazz, Early Bird Jazz features saxophonist and Stanford Jazz Workshop founder Jim Nadel with a friendly group of musicians, providing an enjoyable tour through basic jazz concepts and instruments. Fun for youngsters and grownups too!
Jovino Santos Neto Quarteto
With Jovino Santos Neto, piano; Harvey Wainapel, saxophone; Peter Barshay, bass; Paul Van Wageningen, drums
Saturday, July 2 | 8 pm | Campbell Recital Hall
Tickets: $24 general | $12 students
A dynamic musician who skillfully melds classical, jazz, and indigenous Brazilian music, pianist Jovino Santos Neto honed his craft during a 15-year stint with Brazilian master Hermeto Pascoal. Born in Rio de Janeiro and now based in Seattle, Neto is constantly expanding his world music vocabulary, having worked with artists as diverse as Sergio Mendes, Flora Purim, Miles Davis, and Swiss cellist David Pezzoti. In the past decade Neto has developed and performed his original compositions, drawing on primal Brazilian grooves woven with contemporary jazz harmonies.
Descarga 2: Salsa Meets Jazz
With Wayne Wallace, trombone; Murray Low, piano; Steve Senft-Herrera, bass; Babatunde Lea, drums; Louie Romero, timbales; Michael Spiro, congas; Charles McNeal, saxophone; John Worley, trumpet.
Friday, July 8 | 8 pm | Campbell Recital Hall
Tickets: $24 general | $12 students
A sensation at the 2004 Stanford Jazz Festival, Descarga: Salsa Meets Jazz returns in 2005, with an exceptional ensemble of jazz and Latin stars who will introduce listeners to the tradition, rhythms, and songs of Salsa. For years, New York’s Village Gate hosted a Monday night "Descarga," a jam session where famous jazz soloists dropped in to perform with great Latin rhythm masters. Trombone master Wayne Wallace, a major force in both Latin (Irakere, Pete Escovedo, Tito Puente) and straight-ahead jazz (McCoy Tyner, Bobby Hutcherson, Sonny Rollins), leads a Descarga featuring many of the Bay Area’s internationally known Latin artists and jazz talents.
Don Friedman Trio
With Don Friedman, piano; Akira Tana, drums; Michael Zisman, bass
Saturday, July 9 | 8 pm | Campbell Recital Hall
Tickets: $28 general | $14 students
Inside Jazz: The Art of the Piano Trio | 7 pm | Free with concert ticket
Speaker Jim Nadel
Incorporating both the relaxed cool of the West and the intense hard bop of the East, pianist Don Friedman has a wonderfully lyrical style that he maintains at even the fastest tempos. In his long and respected career, Friedman has compiled an impressive roster of albums under his own name, several of which have earned DownBeat's coveted five-star rating. The Bay Area native leaped onto the West Coast jazz scene in the 1950s, playing with jazz giants like Dexter Gordon and Chet Baker. Following a move to New York, Friedman confirmed his artistry playing with Joe Henderson, Herbie Mann, and Clark Terry. He has continued to play, teach and record there ever since, and returns to the Bay Area after a long absence to make his debut at the Stanford Jazz Festival.
Everything You Wanted to Know About Jazz (but were afraid to ask)
With Jim Nadel and Friends
Sunday, July 10 | 3 pm | Campbell Recital Hall
Tickets: $10 general | $5 students
Jazz education pioneer and Stanford Jazz Workshop founder Jim Nadel leads an ensemble of veteran Bay Area jazz artists in an entertaining concert enhanced with commentary and conversation. This event will take the audience through a musical survey of jazz styles from Swing to Modern Jazz. Nadel and his friends share insights into how jazz is created, the roles of specific instruments, and offers insights that help listeners hear the music from the musicians’ point of view.
Jazz and the Music of Brazil: Sandy Cressman and Homenagem Brasileira
Sandy Cressman, vocals; Celso Alberti, drums; David Belove, bass; Harvey Wainapel, saxophone; pianist to be announced
Friday, July 15 | 8 pm | Campbell Recital Hall
Tickets: $24 general | $12 students
Inside Jazz: Brazilian Jazz | 7 pm | Free with concert ticket
Speaker Harvey Wainapel
Born in New York City of American parents—but with a Brazilian heart—Sandy Cressman began her recording career with the highly acclaimed vocal trio Pastiche. Her connection with Brazilian music was first sparked at UC Berkeley in the late 1970s, and heightened 20 years later when she began performing in a duo with Brazilian master keyboardist Marcos Silva. Cressman and Silva developed an extensive repertoire, musical interplay, and following in the San Francisco Bay Area, and soon expanded their group to a quintet. Sandy Cressman and Homenagem Brasileira are now regular headliners at jazz festivals, clubs, and concert venues, presenting an energetic musical journey through the rich world of Brazilian jazz.
Curtis Fuller Quintet
With Curtis Fuller, trombone; Dick Whittington, piano; Vince Lateano, drums; Andrew Speight, saxophone; Jeff Chambers, bass
Saturday, July 16 | 8 pm | Campbell Recital Hall
Tickets: $32 general | $16 students
A leading figure with the legendary group Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers in the early-1960s, trombone master Curtis Fuller is acclaimed for his fluid sound—recalling J.J. Johnson or Kai Winding—and ambitious creative phrasing. Notable as one of the few trombone players to excel at hard bop, Fuller has worked in several fine bands and participated in numerous great sessions, performing with artists such as John Coltrane, Bud Powell, Kenny Burrell, Dizzy Gillespie, and Cedar Walton. Joining Fuller in a rare Bay Area performance will be hard-driving local saxman Andrew Speight, backed by a stellar rhythm section of Dick Whittington, Jeff Chambers, and Vince Lateano.
Jim Cullum Jazz Band
With Jim Cullum, cornet; Kenny Rupp, trombone; Ron Hockett, clarinet; Howard Elkins, banjo, guitar, vocals; Jim Turner, piano; Don Mopsick, bass; Mike Waskiewicz, drums
Sunday, July 17 | 7:30 pm | Dinkelspiel Auditorium
Tickets: $24 general | $12 students
Stars of National Public Radio’s Riverwalk: Live from the Landing, the Jim Cullum Jazz Band has a great time bringing the past into focus. A longtime favorite of Stanford Jazz Festival audiences, the San Antonio-based group reinvigorates old favorites for contemporary audiences. Leader Jim Cullum plays a cornet similar to the one used by the legendary Bix Beiderbecke, and each band member is an expert in period instruments and performance. But this isn’t a group stuck in the past—the band’s distinctive, high-test style pours joyfully out of every number. With the Jim Cullum Jazz Band, the music is alive and definitely kicking.
Joe Gilman Trio: Brubeck’s Music
With Joe Gilman, piano; Justin Brown, drums; Joe Sanders, bass
Monday, July 18 | 7:30 pm | Campbell Recital Hall
Tickets: $16 general | $8 students
Legendary pianist, composer, and bandleader Dave Brubeck has greatly expanded the rhythmic horizons of jazz during the past 50 years. Still active at 84, Brubeck recently connected with Sacramento-based pianist and educator Joe Gilman, winner of the 2004 Great American Piano Competition and a member of the Capital Jazz Project. This collaboration led to Gilman’s recordings Time Again: Brubeck Revisited, featuring bassist Joe Sanders and percussionist Justin Brown, two exceptional young talents on scholarship at the Brubeck Institute at the University of the Pacific. Brown is also a former SJW student. The Joe Gilman Trio makes its Stanford Jazz Festival debut with its rhythmic, harmonic, and swinging interpretations of the brilliant music of Dave Brubeck.
Ambrose Akinmusire Project
Tuesday, July 19 | 7:30 pm | Campbell Recital Hall
Tickets: $16 general | $8 students
A graduate of the acclaimed Berkeley High School jazz program—which has produced such jazz luminaries as Joshua Redman, Bennie Green, and Peter Apfelbaum—trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire will show off his vibrant sound in a concert featuring original compositions and a great lineup of SJW faculty members. Only in his 20s, Akinmusire is already performing with major contemporary jazz stars, including Steve Coleman, Roy Hargrove, Aaron Parks, and Vijay Iyer.
Tootie Heath Quartet
With Tootie Heath, drums; Andrew Speight, saxophone; Joe Gilman, piano; Michael Zisman, bass
Wednesday, July 20 | 7:30 pm | Campbell Recital Hall
Tickets: $20 general | $10 students
Renowned for his sensitive playing, drummer Albert “Tootie” Heath made his recording debut on John Coltrane’s first album as a leader. In a career spanning Europe and both coasts of the US, Tootie Heath has performed and recorded with many titans of jazz, including Dexter Gordon, Herbie Hancock, Kenny Drew, Cedar Walton, and Yusef Lateef. Youngest of the Heath Brothers, Tootie Heath and his brothers Percy and Jimmy have recorded nine albums of world-class jazz as a popular family unit, and Tootie replaced the late Connie Kay as the drummer of the Modern Jazz Quartet during its final years. The drum master returns to the Stanford Jazz Festival, with a stellar group of local talents.
Wendy McCain: The Great American Songbook
Thursday, July 21 | 7:30 pm | Campbell Recital Hall
Tickets: $16 general | $8 students
Making a striking emotional connection with her music, vocalist Wendy McCain draws audiences into her songs and creates instant fans. A veteran performer on radio, at festivals, and in clubs—once opening for jazz legend Dizzy Gillespie—Wendy McCain teaches voice privately and is a longtime faculty member of the Stanford Jazz Workshop. Bassist Seward McCain has shared the stage with a long list of jazz greats. Backed by a stellar lineup of SJW faculty musicians, Wendy McCain will lead a celebration of the beloved romantic songs of the 1930s and 1940s that have come to be known as the great jazz standards.
Houston Person Quartet
With Houston Person, tenor saxophone; Tammy Hall, piano; Kent Bryson, drums; Jeff Chambers, bass
Saturday, July 23 | 8 pm | Campbell Recital Hall
Tickets: $30 general | $15 students
Inside Jazz: Tough Tenors! | 7 pm | Free with concert ticket
Speaker Sonny Buxton
Described as "jazz's working class hero, a true man of the people," Houston Person came to national attention with a series of soulful albums recorded for Prestige in the 1960s. Person’s fame grew still more with his successful 30-year musical partnership with vocalist Etta Jones. Numerous recording artists—including Lena Horne, Lou Rawls and Horace Silver—have also called on Person to perform on their albums. A passionate tenor saxophonist, alternately tough and tender, Person is now recognized as one of today's leading instrumentalists. Teaming with the Tammy Hall Trio, Houston Person makes his Stanford Jazz Festival debut for a night of outstanding straight-ahead jazz in the great tenor sax tradition.
Taylor Eigsti Group
With Taylor Eigsti, piano; John Shifflet, bass; Jason Lewis, drums
Sunday, July 24 | 7:30 pm | Dinkelspiel Auditorium
Tickets: $24 general | $12 students
Piano prodigy? Jazz musician for a new generation? Comparisons to Benny Green and Brad Mehldau? Just normal terrain for 20-year-old phenom Taylor Eigsti, an emerging talent who has been surprising professional musicians and jazz audiences for more than a decade. From opening for David Benoit at the age of eight, playing with Dave Brubeck at 12, releasing his first CD at 14, and joining the faculty of the Stanford Jazz Workshop at 15, Eigsti has been tearing up the ivories with style, enthusiasm, sensitivity, and increasingly complex musicality. Eigsti's fourth and latest recording, Resonance, has garnered four-star reviews from DownBeat, All Music Guide, Billboard, Jazz Connection, and many more.
Adam Theis Ensemble
With Adam Theis, trombone; Eric Garland, drums; Joe Cohen, saxophone and electronics
Monday, July 25 | 7:30 pm | Campbell Recital Hall
Tickets: $16 general | $8 students
The San Francisco Jazz Mafia is an assortment of young groups and players who are reinventing jazz for a new generation. Trombonist Adam Theis has established himself as one of the Jazz Mafia's official "Dons," leading the groups Realistic Orchestra (winner of SF Weekly’s “Best Jazz Band”) and Cannonball, as well as writing and arranging all the string parts for The Shotgun Wedding Hip-Hop Symphony. In just the last few years Theis has found himself on stage with Carlos Santana, Bobby McFerrin, Benny Reitveld, OK GO, Robert Walter's 20th Congress, Spearhead, Will Bernard and Motherbug, Benny Maupin, and The Disco Biscuits.
Chuck MacKinnon Group
Tuesday, July 26 | 7:30 pm | Campbell Recital Hall
Tickets: $16 general | $8 students
Trumpeter and composer Chuck MacKinnon returns to the Stanford Jazz Festival with a hot group for a set of acoustic originals. A Bay Area native, MacKinnon now resides in New York City, where he keeps busy composing and performing with his own groups and as a sideman in many jazz, rock, pop, and hip hop bands. In addition to more than 20 recording credits, MacKinnon has performed around the world with artists as diverse as the Duke Ellington Orchestra, Norah Jones, Charlie Hunter, Randy Brecker, Bruce Forman, and Joe Henderson.
Ruth Davies’ Blues Night
With Ruth Davies, bass; Danny Caron, guitar; Charles McNeal, saxophone; Chris Cain, vocals; Ndugu Chancler, drums; Bennett Paster, keyboards
Wednesday, July 27 | 7:30 pm | Campbell Recital Hall
Tickets: $16 general | $8 students
Popular demand has made Ruth Davies’ blues night an annual favorite at the Stanford Jazz Festival. Davies has mastered the blues over a career of more than 30 years, playing upright bass with such legends as Charles Brown, John Lee Hooker, and Etta Jones. An in-demand studio musician, Davies has recorded with many artists, including Bonnie Raitt, Van Morrison, Clark Terry, Vassar Clements, Toots Thielemans, Elvin Bishop, Maria Muldaur, Jackie Ryan, and Ramblin' Jack Elliott. Joined by a talented ensemble of blues pros, Davies is sure to have Campbell Hall rocking.
Yosvany Terry Group
Thursday, July 28 | 7:30 pm | Campbell Recital Hall
Tickets: $16 general | $8 students
Cuban saxophonist Yosvany Terry has been extremely prominent since arriving in New York six years ago, sparking the city's new Latin-jazz scene. Trained at Havana's prestigious Escuela Nacional de Arte, Terry has performed and recorded with numerous artists, including Dave Douglas, Steve Turre, Roy Hargrove, and Eddie Palmieri. As a leader Terry, often with his group Columna B, has lit up festival stages from Montreal to Milan. Terry returns to the Stanford Jazz Festival, joining other Stanford Jazz Workshop faculty talent for a hot Cuban jazz set.
Mulgrew Miller, Rufus Reid, Akira Tana
With Mulgrew Miller, piano; Rufus Reid, bass; Akira Tana, drums
Saturday, July 30 | 8 pm | Campbell Recital Hall
Tickets: $38 general | $19 students
Piano trios don’t get any better than this. One of the most in-demand pianists in the New York scene—with more than over 400 recording sessions to his credit—Mulgrew Miller has succeeded by focusing on careful attention to craft and by making impeccable choices in the musicians that surround him. Active as a performer and composer, Rufus Reid is one of today's premiere bass masters on the international jazz scene, and literally wrote the book (The Evolving Bassist, published by Warner Brothers) on contemporary bass performance. Recognized for his ability to spark top rhythm sections and create exceptional musical dialogue with soloists, Akira Tana has contributed his colorful interactive style to concert, club and recording work with jazz greats such as Sonny Rollins, Milt Jackson, Jim Hall, Art Farmer, The Paul Winter Consort, Lena Horne, and The Manhattan Transfer.
Slide Hampton Quintet
With Slide Hampton, trombone; Jim Rotondi, trumpet; Rufus Reid, bass; Mulgrew Miller, piano; Carl Allen, drums
Sunday, July 31 | 8 pm | Dinkelspiel Auditorium
Tickets: $30 general | $15 students
Inside Jazz: The Trombone Tradition | 7 pm | Free with concert ticket
Speaker Sonny Buxton
Few trombonists active in the past 50 years have been as respected as Locksley Wellington "Slide" Hampton. In the 1950s Hampton developed his talents as composer and arranger working with Lionel Hampton, Dizzy Gillespie, and Maynard Ferguson. His acclaimed Slide Hampton Octet—which included Booker Little, Freddie Hubbard and George Coleman—toured extensively, particularly in Europe, and recorded on several labels, including Atlantic and Columbia. After traveling with Woody Herman to Europe in 1968, Hampton settled overseas where he stayed very active for nearly a decade. Winner of a 2005 Grammy® for instrumental arrangement for the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra’s recording The Way, Music of Slide Hampton, Hampton returns to the Stanford Jazz Festival to perform with a talented ensemble.
STANFORD JAZZ FESTIVAL AUGUST EVENTS
Madeline Eastman and Dena DeRose
With Madeline Eastman, vocals; Dena DeRose, piano & vocals; John Wiitala, bass; Vince Lateano, drums; and Randy Porter, piano
Monday, August 1 | 8 pm | Dinkelspiel Auditorium
Tickets: $24 general | $12 students
A double bill featuring a full set by each artist
Acclaimed jazz diva Madeline Eastman is renowned for her graceful phrasing, soulful elegance, sharp wit, and bold performances. A thrilling live performer, Eastman swings, scats, teases a ballad, and takes risks. She can make a pop classic like Carole King's "Up On A Roof" a jazz song all her own. Madeline Eastman had established herself as a singular talent, capable of reshaping the art on her own terms in the new millennium. Dena DeRose charms audiences with her facile technique, jaunty grace, cool intelligence, and imaginative approach to improvisation. Drawing comparisons to Shirley Horn, Dena DeRose is an accomplished triple threat, able to sing, play piano, and compose/arrange with equal finesse.
Eric Alexander/Bruce Forman Quintet
With Eric Alexander, saxophone; Bruce Forman, guitar; Harold Mabern, piano; Michael Zisman, bass; and Carl Allen, drums
Tuesday, August 2 | 8 pm | Dinkelspiel Auditorium
Tickets: $24 general | $12 students
Talented young tenor saxophonist Eric Alexander meets jazz guitar great Bruce Forman for this exceptional night of straight-ahead jazz. Boasting a warm, finely burnished tone and a robust melodic and harmonic imagination, Eric Alexander brings a seasoned veteran's proficiency and poise to his performances. Featured on the soundtrack of Clint Eastwood’s Oscar®-winning film Million Dollar Baby, Bruce Forman is the consummate jazz guitarist known for bop-style phrasing and inventive harmonization.
Charles McPherson Group
With Charles McPherson, saxophone; Rufus Reid, bass; Carl Allen, drums; and Rob Schneiderman, piano
Wednesday, August 3 | 8 pm | Dinkelspiel Auditorium
Tickets: $24 general | $12 students
Charles McPherson came of age playing alongside Charles Mingus for 12 years. He went on to perform and record with many jazz luminaries, and was the featured alto saxophonist on the soundtrack of Bird, the 1988 film biography of the great saxman Charlie Parker. McPherson remains a strong, viable force on the jazz scene today, combining passionate feeling with intricate patterns of improvisation. Through four decades of jazz, McPherson has not merely remained true to his bop origins, but has expanded upon them.
Stanford Jazz Workshop All Star Jam Session
With Jim Rotondi, trumpet; Andrew Speight, saxophone; Bruce Forman, guitar; Harold Mabern, piano; Rufus Reid, bass; Carl Allen, drums; and many others.
Friday, August 5 | 8 pm | Dinkelspiel Auditorium
Tickets: $32 general | $16 students
Inside Jazz: The Jam Session! | 7 pm | Free with concert ticket
Speaker Sonny Buxton
The annual defining event of the Stanford Jazz Festival experience is the All Star Jam Session. The tradition of "jamming"—musicians crowded on a stage casually contesting one another in friendly extended improvisational sessions—is one of the hallmarks of jazz. And rarely will such a combination of competition and camaraderie equal the diverse, multigenerational star power crowded onto the stage for Stanford Jazz Workshop’s faculty jam. A memorable night of jazz fireworks await.
Toshiko Akiyoshi/Lew Tabackin Quartet
With Toshiko Akiyoshi, piano; Lew Tabackin, saxophone; Eddie Marshall, drums; John Wiitala, bass
Saturday, August 6 | 8 pm | Campbell Recital Hall
Tickets: $32 general | $16 students
Toshiko Akiyoshi is a true musical pioneer, esteemed as an unparalleled pianist, composer, and leader of the Toshiko Akiyoshi Jazz Orchestra. Discovered by pianist Oscar Peterson in 1952 during a tour of Japan, Akiyoshi came to the US shortly afterwards, where she has distinguished herself as a composer and big band leader. Her big band arrangements are remarkable for combining elements of traditional Japanese music into the bop tradition. Joined by her husband and long-time collaborator Lew Tabackin, Akiyoshi makes her debut at the Stanford Jazz Festival with an intimate quartet performance of her music, including the premiere of a new work.
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2005 Stanford Jazz Festival
Information: 650.736.0324 or www.stanfordjazz.org
Tickets: 650.725.ARTS (2787) or www.ticketweb.com