Features Ground-Breaking Performances by Grammy-winning Maria Schneider Orchestra and a new Clint Eastwood Film
With the central theme of “Creativity," the 2011 Brubeck festival will feature new works by several ground-breaking performers from March 31 through April 3, including the Maria Schneider Orchestra, the first music group to win a Grammy for an album that was sold exclusively on the Internet. The celebration will close with a screening of the new Clint Eastwood documentary film about Dave Brubeck called “Dave Brubeck: In His Own Sweet Way." All performances are in the Faye Spanos Concert Hall or the Recital Hall on the Stockton campus.
Every group on the Festival was chosen because of its originality, its innovation, and its musical appeal to audiences.
“One of the hallmarks of Dave Brubeck's life and career has been his creativity," said Steve Anderson, director of the Brubeck Institute. “He has not only created new music for over six decades, but he has moved musical art forward, never simply replicating the past, but always challenging himself, his fellow musicians, and his audiences to go forward and explore new territory. He has broken the mold many times, and he has always worked outside the box of tradition. The artists on the 2011 Festival are also moving musical art forward in a most exciting way."
Beginning at 7:30 pm on March 31, the Festival will feature Trio M, a group that performs original music by each of the performers and pushes the envelope of jazz improvisation to create new and exciting sounds. On April 1, the Capital Jazz Project, a Sacramento-based ensemble, will perform works from Joe Gilman's new highly acclaimed album called “Americanvas" where all the compositions were inspired by American paintings. Brubeck Institute alumnus and saxophonist Chad Lefkowitz-Brown, who composed two of the works and plays on the album, will be the guest artist.
Saturday, April 2 will feature a 2:30 pm presentation involving Lara Downes, pianist and artist-in-residence at the UC Davis Mondavi Center, as well as a cellist and the Brubeck Institute Jazz Quintet in a reading of portions of a new work that will be premiered the following week at the Mondavi Center. The audience will have the opportunity to interact with the artists about the creation of the new work.
At 7:30 pm the audience will have the opportunity to hear the Grammy-winning Maria Schneider Orchestra. Schneider released her album “Concert in the Garden" using only the Internet service ArtistShare. That album would win a Grammy in 2004 and was named Jazz Album of the Year by the Jazz Journalists Association. Her 2007 album “Sky Blue" also was named Jazz Album of the Year.
The 2011 Brubeck Festival closes on Sunday afternoon, April 3, with a performance by the 2011 Brubeck Institute Jazz Quintet, and a screening of “Dave Brubeck: In His Own Sweet Way." The documentary will be presented by Bruce Ricker, producer and director of the film, and Pacific professor Patti McCarthy, the film's co-producer.
Tickets for all performances will be available through the Pacific Box Office at 209.946.2867, online at go.pacific.edu/tickets, or at the door 45 minutes before each performance. For more information, visit brubeckinstitute.org.
The 2011 Brubeck Festival
Artist Lineup & Schedule
Thursday, March 31
7:30 pm Faye Spanos Concert Hall
Trio M
Trio M is a leaderless project featuring Myra Melford, Mark Dresser and Matt Wilson. The band explores compositions by each member while maintaining a commitment to spontaneous improvisation. Noted jazz commentator Scott Yanow praised the group's debut album as “consistently unpredictable, drawing upon much of jazz history of the past 40 years while creating new and fresh music."
Pianist Myra Melford is a fearless musical adventurer with 30 albums to her credit, including 19 as a leader or co-leader. In addition to leading several small groups, bassist Mark Dresser has also performed and recorded over 100 albums with some of the leading figures in contemporary music. Voted #1 Rising Star Drummer in the 2007 DownBeat Critics Poll, Matt Wilson has earned a great reputation playing with today's leading jazz musicians, while also leading his own quartet and the critically acclaimed Arts & Crafts Ensemble.
Friday, April 1
7:30 pm Faye Spanos Concert Hall
Capital Jazz Project with guest artist Chad Lefkowitz-Brown, saxophone
The Capital Jazz Project was formed in 1997 by Sacramento area musicians to stimulate the public's interest in jazz through performance and educational presentations. Concert themes are created around the work of legendary jazz musicians including Wayne Shorter, Charles Mingus, Thelonious Monk, Horace Silver, Duke Ellington, Dave Brubeck, John Coltrane, and many others, as well as original music composed by CJP members. This performance will feature works from Joe Gilman's new highly acclaimed album, “Americanvas," original works inspired by contemporary American paintings.
Saturday, April 2
2:30 pm Recital Hall
Long Time Coming
“Long Time Coming" positions pianist Lara Downes' performance of a new solo piano arrangement of Duke Ellington's iconic work “New World A Comin'" alongside an original work by composer David Sanford. He has created this new work for Downes as a modern-day response to Ellington's score, composed as an anthem of hope during WWII and first heard at Carnegie Hall in 1943. Featuring Lara Downes on piano, the Brubeck Institute Jazz Quintet, the poetry of former US Poet Laureate Rita Dove, “Long Time Coming" combines music, spoken word and film in a poignant reflection on Ellington's enduring legacy, the power of hope in troubled times, and the dramatic impact of American music on our nations' history.
This event will feature a conversation with Lara Downes about the concept of the work and the creative process that has brought it into being. Only portions of the work will be performed at this time, but the entire work will be premiered the following week at the Mondavi Center in Davis, California.
Saturday, April 2
7:30 pm Faye Spanos Concert Hall
Maria Schneider Orchestra
Maria Schneider's music has been hailed by critics as “evocative, majestic, magical, heart-stoppingly gorgeous, and beyond categorization." She and her orchestra became widely known starting in 1994 when they released their first recording, 'Evanescence.' With that recording, Schneider began to develop her personal way of writing for her 17-member collective, tailoring her compositions to distinctly highlight the unique voices of the group. Since then, the Maria Schneider Orchestra has performed at festivals and concert halls worldwide. She has received numerous commissions and guest conducting invitations, working with over 85 groups from over 30 countries spanning Europe, South America, Australia, Asia and North America. Schneider and her orchestra have a distinguished recording career with nine Grammy nominations and two Grammy awards. She also holds numerous awards from the Jazz Journalists Association and from DownBeat magazine.
Sunday, April 3
2:30 pm Faye Spanos Concert Hall
2011 Brubeck Institute Jazz Quintet
The DownBeat magazine award-winning Brubeck Institute Jazz Quintet will open the afternoon with a performance of works by Dave Brubeck and originals by members of the group.
In His Own Sweet Way
The afternoon and the 2011 Brubeck Festival will conclude with a showing of the new documentary film by Clint Eastwood about Dave Brubeck, entitled “In His Own Sweet Way." Appearing to talk about the film will be the film producer and director Bruce Ricker, and the film's co-producer and Pacific faculty member, Patti McCarthy.
With the central theme of “Creativity," the 2011 Brubeck festival will feature new works by several ground-breaking performers from March 31 through April 3, including the Maria Schneider Orchestra, the first music group to win a Grammy for an album that was sold exclusively on the Internet. The celebration will close with a screening of the new Clint Eastwood documentary film about Dave Brubeck called “Dave Brubeck: In His Own Sweet Way." All performances are in the Faye Spanos Concert Hall or the Recital Hall on the Stockton campus.
Every group on the Festival was chosen because of its originality, its innovation, and its musical appeal to audiences.
“One of the hallmarks of Dave Brubeck's life and career has been his creativity," said Steve Anderson, director of the Brubeck Institute. “He has not only created new music for over six decades, but he has moved musical art forward, never simply replicating the past, but always challenging himself, his fellow musicians, and his audiences to go forward and explore new territory. He has broken the mold many times, and he has always worked outside the box of tradition. The artists on the 2011 Festival are also moving musical art forward in a most exciting way."
Beginning at 7:30 pm on March 31, the Festival will feature Trio M, a group that performs original music by each of the performers and pushes the envelope of jazz improvisation to create new and exciting sounds. On April 1, the Capital Jazz Project, a Sacramento-based ensemble, will perform works from Joe Gilman's new highly acclaimed album called “Americanvas" where all the compositions were inspired by American paintings. Brubeck Institute alumnus and saxophonist Chad Lefkowitz-Brown, who composed two of the works and plays on the album, will be the guest artist.
Saturday, April 2 will feature a 2:30 pm presentation involving Lara Downes, pianist and artist-in-residence at the UC Davis Mondavi Center, as well as a cellist and the Brubeck Institute Jazz Quintet in a reading of portions of a new work that will be premiered the following week at the Mondavi Center. The audience will have the opportunity to interact with the artists about the creation of the new work.
At 7:30 pm the audience will have the opportunity to hear the Grammy-winning Maria Schneider Orchestra. Schneider released her album “Concert in the Garden" using only the Internet service ArtistShare. That album would win a Grammy in 2004 and was named Jazz Album of the Year by the Jazz Journalists Association. Her 2007 album “Sky Blue" also was named Jazz Album of the Year.
The 2011 Brubeck Festival closes on Sunday afternoon, April 3, with a performance by the 2011 Brubeck Institute Jazz Quintet, and a screening of “Dave Brubeck: In His Own Sweet Way." The documentary will be presented by Bruce Ricker, producer and director of the film, and Pacific professor Patti McCarthy, the film's co-producer.
Tickets for all performances will be available through the Pacific Box Office at 209.946.2867, online at go.pacific.edu/tickets, or at the door 45 minutes before each performance. For more information, visit brubeckinstitute.org.
The 2011 Brubeck Festival
Artist Lineup & Schedule
Thursday, March 31
7:30 pm Faye Spanos Concert Hall
Trio M
Trio M is a leaderless project featuring Myra Melford, Mark Dresser and Matt Wilson. The band explores compositions by each member while maintaining a commitment to spontaneous improvisation. Noted jazz commentator Scott Yanow praised the group's debut album as “consistently unpredictable, drawing upon much of jazz history of the past 40 years while creating new and fresh music."
Pianist Myra Melford is a fearless musical adventurer with 30 albums to her credit, including 19 as a leader or co-leader. In addition to leading several small groups, bassist Mark Dresser has also performed and recorded over 100 albums with some of the leading figures in contemporary music. Voted #1 Rising Star Drummer in the 2007 DownBeat Critics Poll, Matt Wilson has earned a great reputation playing with today's leading jazz musicians, while also leading his own quartet and the critically acclaimed Arts & Crafts Ensemble.
Friday, April 1
7:30 pm Faye Spanos Concert Hall
Capital Jazz Project with guest artist Chad Lefkowitz-Brown, saxophone
The Capital Jazz Project was formed in 1997 by Sacramento area musicians to stimulate the public's interest in jazz through performance and educational presentations. Concert themes are created around the work of legendary jazz musicians including Wayne Shorter, Charles Mingus, Thelonious Monk, Horace Silver, Duke Ellington, Dave Brubeck, John Coltrane, and many others, as well as original music composed by CJP members. This performance will feature works from Joe Gilman's new highly acclaimed album, “Americanvas," original works inspired by contemporary American paintings.
Saturday, April 2
2:30 pm Recital Hall
Long Time Coming
“Long Time Coming" positions pianist Lara Downes' performance of a new solo piano arrangement of Duke Ellington's iconic work “New World A Comin'" alongside an original work by composer David Sanford. He has created this new work for Downes as a modern-day response to Ellington's score, composed as an anthem of hope during WWII and first heard at Carnegie Hall in 1943. Featuring Lara Downes on piano, the Brubeck Institute Jazz Quintet, the poetry of former US Poet Laureate Rita Dove, “Long Time Coming" combines music, spoken word and film in a poignant reflection on Ellington's enduring legacy, the power of hope in troubled times, and the dramatic impact of American music on our nations' history.
This event will feature a conversation with Lara Downes about the concept of the work and the creative process that has brought it into being. Only portions of the work will be performed at this time, but the entire work will be premiered the following week at the Mondavi Center in Davis, California.
Saturday, April 2
7:30 pm Faye Spanos Concert Hall
Maria Schneider Orchestra
Maria Schneider's music has been hailed by critics as “evocative, majestic, magical, heart-stoppingly gorgeous, and beyond categorization." She and her orchestra became widely known starting in 1994 when they released their first recording, 'Evanescence.' With that recording, Schneider began to develop her personal way of writing for her 17-member collective, tailoring her compositions to distinctly highlight the unique voices of the group. Since then, the Maria Schneider Orchestra has performed at festivals and concert halls worldwide. She has received numerous commissions and guest conducting invitations, working with over 85 groups from over 30 countries spanning Europe, South America, Australia, Asia and North America. Schneider and her orchestra have a distinguished recording career with nine Grammy nominations and two Grammy awards. She also holds numerous awards from the Jazz Journalists Association and from DownBeat magazine.
Sunday, April 3
2:30 pm Faye Spanos Concert Hall
2011 Brubeck Institute Jazz Quintet
The DownBeat magazine award-winning Brubeck Institute Jazz Quintet will open the afternoon with a performance of works by Dave Brubeck and originals by members of the group.
In His Own Sweet Way
The afternoon and the 2011 Brubeck Festival will conclude with a showing of the new documentary film by Clint Eastwood about Dave Brubeck, entitled “In His Own Sweet Way." Appearing to talk about the film will be the film producer and director Bruce Ricker, and the film's co-producer and Pacific faculty member, Patti McCarthy.
