Marcus Roberts Trio and SFJAZZ Collective Swing Verizon Hall
March 5, 2006
Marcus Robers Trio
Kimmel Center Presents brings another red-hot performance of jazz all-stars to Verizon Hall with the Marcus Roberts Trio and the SFJAZZ Collective on Friday, March 24, 2006 at 8pm. Some of the biggest names in jazz including Joshua Redman, Bobby Hutcherson, Nicholas Payton, Miguel Zenon, Roland Guerin and Jason Marsalis will swing Verizon Hall with a special blend of traditional and contemporary jazz.
This performance is the penultimate concert in Kimmel Presents' Mellon Jazz Fridays series. The closing performance in this series will be by the Dizzy Gillespie Alumni All-Star Band on Friday April 21, 2006 at 8pm.
Tickets for the Marcus Roberts Trio and San Francisco Jazz Collective are $71, $64, $59, $46, and $30, and can be purchased by calling 215-893-1999, online at www.kimmelcenter.org or at the Kimmel Center Box Office, open daily from 10am to 6pm and later on performance evenings. (Additional fees may apply) For group sales call 215-893-5883.
Marcus Roberts began teaching himself the piano shortly after he became blind at the age of five and has become one of the preeminent jazz pianists of our time. Throughout his career, he has won numerous awards and competitions from the young artist's award at the National Association of Jazz Educators annual conference in 1982 to the Helen Keller award for personal achievement in 1998. During the first 15 years of his professional career, he made more than 30 recordings, with more than a dozen as a leader. He is one of the most versatile and creative jazz artists of his generation and is best known for synthesizing the history of American piano music, showcased in his 1996 recording Portraits of Blue, which showcases the art of jazz improvisation within a traditional classical European setting.
Jason Marsalis is the youngest brother in one of America's most musical families. He spent his early years studying at the New Orleans School for the Creative Arts and later at Loyola University. He began playing regularly with Marcus Roberts in 1994 at the age of 17, and he has held the drum chair in the group since that time. Marsalis has been featured on all of Robert's group recordings since 1994, and he has been instrumental to the development of the philosophy and style of the Marcus Roberts Trio. Part of his contribution is based on his unique ability to freely manipulate rhythm, tambours and tempos, adding fresh approaches to syncopation and texture. A native of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, bassist Roland Guerin began his musical career on several stringed instruments and studied at Southern University with world-renowned clarinetist Alvin Batiste. Guerin began playing with Marcus Roberts in 1995, and from the beginning, he made the trio sound complete. He is one of the few bassists alive today who has mastered the slap bass technique. Using this instrument, he has explored across different genres to compose for pop, rock, R&B, classical, folk, and country His playing enriches any musical environment, adding wit, a strong country groove and a relaxed feeling of swing.
The SFJAZZ Collective is an all-star jazz ensemble comprised of eight of the finest performers/composers at work in jazz today. Launched in 2004 by SFJAZZ-the West Coast's largest presenter of the annual San Francisco Jazz Festival-with invaluable start-up funding from the James Irvine Foundation, the Collective has quickly become one of the most exciting and acclaimed groups on the American and international jazz scenes. As the New York Times hailed the Collective upon its debut: "A serious jazz band rises in San Francisco."
Bay Area resident Bobby Hutcherson helped modernize the vibraphone by redefining what could be done with it- sonically, technically, melodically, and emotionally. In the process, he became one of the defining voices of Blue Note's legendary '60's roster and one of the architects of modern jazz. He gradually moved into a more mainstream, post-bop style that has maintained his reputation as one of the most advanced masters of his instrument.
A native of the San Francisco Bay Area, composer and award-winning saxophonist Joshua Redman has toured or recorded with eminent musicians such as his father, the saxophonist Dewey Redman, bassists Charlie Haden and Christian McBride; pianists Chick Corea, McCoy Tyner and Brad Mehldau; guitarist Pat Metheney; and drummers Roy Haynes, Jack DeJohnette, Elvin Jones, Paul Motian, Billy Higgins and Brian Blade. He has recorded 10 albums as a leader, including the 2005 Grammy-nominated Momentum with his Elastic Band on the Nonesuch label.
New Orleans-based trumpeter, composer and Grammy-winner Nicholas Payton is one of jazz's most diverse and broad-thinking trumpeters. Over the years, he's performed and recorded with such varied artists as Ray Charles, Joe Henderson, Clark Terry, Wynton Marsalis, Jimmy Smith, Dr. John, Common, Jill Scott and Trey Anastasio. Payton has recorded seven albums as a leader and more than 80 as a sideman. His latest recording, Sonic Trance, was nominated for a 2004 Grammy for Best Contemporary Jazz Album.
A native of Puerto Rico, Miguel Zenon, got his start at the famed Esculla Libre de Musica and later studied at Boston's Berklee College of Music. Since his move to New York in 1998, he has worked with Charlie Haden, David Sanchez, the Village Vanguard Orchestra, and the Mingus Big Band, among others. Zenon came to the Collective in the wake of his second CD as a leader, Ceremonial. His most recent recording, Jibaro, was released this summer.
Native Houstonian Andre Hayward began playing trombone and tuba at age 11. After attending Texas Southern University, his first engagement and recording was with Roy Hargrove. Since then, he has performed and recorded with such noted artists as James Moody, Clark Terry, Wayne Shorter, Illinois Jacquet, Jimmy Heath, Mercer Ellington, Slide Hampton, Steve Turre and Dave Holland. Winner of the 2003 Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition, Hayward is currently a member of the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra.
Canadian native Renee Rosnes has been described as a pianist and composer with a truly unique, personal vision who improvisations are an almost visual quality. During her distinguished career, she has been the pianist of choice for such legendary artists as Joe Henderson, J.J. Johnson, Wayne Shorter, Bobby Hutcherson and James Moody, among others. She has made nine acclaimed recording on the Blue Note label. Originally from New Zealand, Matt Penman studied bass at Boston's Berklee College of Music before relocating to New York in 1995. In addition to releasing his own critically acclaimed CD as a leader, The Uniquiet (2002), he has recorded as a sideman on some 50 other discs and has performed with the likes of Kurt Rosenwinkel, Gary Bartz, Kenny Werner, Nnenna Freelon, Madeleine Peyroux, Brian Blade, Mark Turner and Guillermo Klein.
A leading drummer on the national scene, 28-year-old Texas-born Eric Harland has performed with jazz legends like Betty Carter, Joe Henderson and McCoy Tyner, and has played on more than 35 recordings with such artists as Terence Blanchard, Greg Osby, Charles Lloyd and Stefon Harris. In Down Beat's 65th Annual Readers Poll, he was included in the short list of top drummers, in the company of masters like Roy Haynes and the late Elvin Jones.
Kimmel Center Presents' 2005/2006 season is supported by: Mellon Financial Corporation, University of Pennsylvania Health System, Sovereign Bank, The American Express Company, Verizon Foundation, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the National Endowment for the Arts, and The William Penn Foundation. Special Student Matinees at the Kimmel Center are generously supported by Merck & Co., Inc. American Airlines is the Official Airline of Kimmel Center Presents. Toyota is the Official Vehicle of Kimmel Center Presents Jazz and World Pop programming. In-kind support is generously provided by Deloitte and Southern Wine and Spirit. NBC-10 is a Media Partner for Kimmel Center Presents.
KIMMEL CENTER PRESENTS
Mellon Jazz Fridays
Friday, March 24, 2006 | 8pm
Verizon Hall
Marcus Roberts Trio
Marcus Roberts, piano
Jason Marsalis, drums
Roland Guerin, bass
San Francisco Jazz Collective
Joshua Redman, saxophone
Miguel Zenon, saxophone
Nicholas Payton, trumpet
Bobby Hutcherson, vibes
Renee Rosnes, piano
Matt Penman, bass
Eric Harland, drums
Following each year's SFJAZZ Collective concert tour, SFJAZZ Records releases a deluxe, limited-edition CD set (available only through sfjazz.org) representing the Collective's full annual repertoire in concert. Currently available: 2004 Inaugural Season, 2005 Live Tour. The 2006 CD set can be pre-ordered through sfjazz.org.
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