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"Stellar jazz in La Jolla"
- George Varga, San Diego Union-Tribune, March 2010

KSDS Jazz 88.3 FM is a proud supporter of Athenaeum Jazz.

Jazz at the Athenaeum

Pilc/Moutin/Henig Trio

January 20, brings an Athenaeum debut by the acclaimed jazz vocalist Gretchen Parlato, with Taylor Eigsti on piano, Alan Hampton on bass and guitar, and Mark Giuliana on drums. Winner of the 2004 Thelonious Monk International jazz vocal competition, Parlato has drawn ecstatic praise from press and audiences worldwide. AllAboutJazz wrote, “It's safe to say that singer Gretchen Parlato has her admirers. The Boston Globe praised her as "the most original jazz singer in a generation," and pianist Herbie Hancock has described her connection to music as "almost magical." Saxophonist Wayne Shorter has likened her art to that of Frank Sinatra. The growing chorus of admirers is not without good reason; Parlato possesses a voice of ethereal beauty which seduces instantly. Her delivery holds something of the vulnerable intimacy of Billie Holiday and trumpeter Miles Davis. Respectful of tradition, yet equally inspired by her contemporaries, Parlato is expanding the standards repertoire and pushing the expectations of what a jazz vocalist can do.” JazzTimes wrote, “She can sound like morning rain, twilight fog, crashing waves or swirling snowflakes. But tranquil or stormy, dreamy or restive, eider-soft or hard as sleet, Gretchen Parlato remains the freshest and purest of contemporary vocalists.”

Thursday, January 26, 7:30pm – Jonathan Kreisberg Quartet

$21 member/$26 nonmember

The series continues on February 26 with another Athenaeum debut by the NYC-based Jonathan Kreisberg Quartet, featuring Kreisberg on guitar, Will Vinson on saxophone, Joe Martin on bass, and Mark Ferber on drums. Earlier this fall Kreisberg “wowed” the crowd at the KSDS Ocean Beach Jazz Festival with his stunning and varied performance with Hammond B-3 organ master Dr. Lonnie Smith. In addition to Smith, Kreisberg’s extensive performing and recording credits include work with artists such as Lee Konitz, Joe Locke, Joel Frahm, Greg Tardy, Lenny White, Roy Nathanson, Jane Monheit, and Yosvany Terry. A native New Yorker, Kreisberg studied guitar at the acclaimed University of Miami jazz program. Since returning to New York in 1997, his has established a stellar career as a leader with five acclaimed CD releases, including his latest “The South of Everywhere,” which features longtime bandmates Vinson and Ferber. AllAboutJazz celebrated Kreisberg as “one of New York's undiscovered treasures...armed with ridiculous chops and a singing, straightahead tone.” JazzTimes praised Kreisberg for his “extraordinarily clean articulation, remarkable sax-like fluency, harmonic daring and rhythmically assured burn."

Thursday, February 2, 7:30pm – Trio M

$21 member/$26 nonmember

The series concludes on February 2 with the return of Trio M, a collective band co-led by pianist Myra Melford, bassist Mark Dresser, and drummer Matt Wilson. Trio M made its world premiere appearance at the Athenaeum in January 2006 and since has gone on to tour major festivals and jazz venues internationally and to record two acclaimed CDs. All three performers are among today’s leading artists on New Music end of the jazz spectrum. Myra Melford recasts the blues and boogie-woogie of her Chicago hometown, folds in elements of the music of Eastern Europe and India, and blends them with percussive avant-garde stylings. JazzTimes praised “the exquisitely deployed harmonies in her playing and arrangements.” Mark Dresser, Professor of Music at UCSD, has performed and recorded with many of the leading artists in contemporary music and jazz. The New York Times called him, “One of the great instrumental forces in recent American jazz outside of the mainstream.” Matt Wilson has pursued a prismatic career as a drummer, composer and bandleader. The New York Times called him “easily one of the best drummers of his generation.” He has appeared with jazz luminaries such as Lee Konitz, Charlie Haden, Bill Mays, Buster Williams, and Denny Zeitlin.

Kurt Rosenwinkel Standards Trio

Kurt Rosenwinkel Standards Trio
Friday, February 24, 2012, 8:00 PM
Athenaeum Music & Arts Library School of the Arts Studio, 4441 Park Blvd., San Diego, CA 92116
$21 member/$26 nonmember




The Athenaeum's jazz program returns to the San Diego studio of the Athenaeum School of the Arts (4441 Park Boulevard) for a San Diego debut performance by acclaimed NYC-based guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel and his Standards trio, featuring Eric Revis on bass and Justin Faulkner on drums. The trio features exciting original treatments of jazz standards as well as Rosenwinkel’s own compositions. Celebrated for his astonishing technique and original sound and style, Rosenwinkel’s credits include work with artists such as Gary Burton, Paul Motian, Brad Mehldau, Joshua Redman, Brian Blade, and Mark Turner. The New York Times commented, “Since his emergence early in the 1990's, Kurt Rosenwinkel has evolved into one of the leading guitarists in modern jazz and one of the most clearly gifted musicians of his generation...Rosenwinkel favors a luminous tone, an ultramodern harmonic language and an elevated sort of lyricism, all reasons for his stature as one of the young gurus on his instrument.” AllAboutJazz called him “a player and, equally importantly, a composer of compositions that approach the heady cerebralism of saxophonist Wayne Shorter while, at the same time, retaining an underlying energy and resonance.” Jazziz commented, “Rosenwinkel is one of the brightest lights among the post-Metheny generation...an adventurous, searching artist whose playing is marked by kinetic melodicism, darkly delicate lyricism, and cascading, horn-like lines, Rosenwinkel has established an instantly recognizable voice on the guitar.”

Wednesday, October 12, 2011, 8 p.m. - New Gary Burton Quartet
Monday, October 24, 2011, 8 p.m. - Oregon
Saturday, November 26, 2011, 8 p.m-Mike Wofford/Holly Hofmann Quintet Feat. Terell Stafford

The Neurosciences Institute, 10640 John Jay Hopkins Dr., San Diego, CA 92121
Call 858.454.5872 to reserve

Wednesday, October 12, 2011, 8 p.m. - New Gary Burton Quartet

$27 member/$32 nonmember

The fall series begins on Wednesday, October 12, with the New Gary Burton Quartet, featuring Athenaeum debuts by vibraphone legend Gary Burton and rising star guitarist Julian Lage, along with top-flight bassist Scott Colley and master drummer Peter Erskine. One of the premiere vibraphonists in the history of jazz, Gary Burton’s stellar career stretches back to the mid-1960s, when he first toured nationally in the bands of George Shearing and Stan Getz. He soon was leading his own ensembles and in 1968 was named the youngest-ever Jazz Artist of the Year by DownBeat magazine. Burton’s subsequent recordings have earned him multiple Grammy awards and have featured collaborations with artists such as Pat Matheny, and most notably, Chick Corea, with whom he has shared four Grammys. In addition to his influential career as a performer, Burton is responsible for training generations of jazz artists through his 33 years as an educator at Boston’s Berklee College of Music. It was at Berklee that Burton mentored young guitar phenomenon Julian Lage, whom he featured in his “Generations” bands from 2003-2006. Hailed by All About Jazz as “a giant in the making,” the 23 year-old Lage has already garnered his own Grammy nomination and has collaborated with artists such as Mark O’Connor, Bela Fleck, and Chris Thile.

Gary Burton

Monday, October 24, 2011, 8 p.m. - Oregon

$27 member/$32 nonmember

The series continues on Monday, October 24, with a return visit by the groundbreaking jazz quartet, Oregon, which this year is celebrating its 40th year as an ensemble. Comprised of Ralph Towner on guitars, piano, and keyboards; Paul McCandless on woodwinds; Glen Moore on bass; and Mark Walker on drums and percussion; the group's last San Diego appearance was on the Neurosciences jazz series in spring 2008. Oregon has been remarkably influential over its four decades of performance, having been one of the first groups to explore a mixture of jazz, world and classical music. Jazziz commented, "Oregon remains an example of a group so completely musical and original that they leave no easy comparisons ... Their influence on American and international music has proven nothing less than monumental." Oregon's music features soaring melodies and the rich textures drawn from the band's unusual instrumentation, including Towner's mastery of the acoustic guitar and McCandless' virtuosic employment of reed instruments such as oboe and English horn. JazzTimes wrote, "Building upon European classical disciplines and American jazz traditions - and transcending both as well as many musics from the rest of the planet - their sound is characterized by an optimistic, forward-thinking strength. Oregon's continually growing style is never out of fashion ... "

Saturday, November 26, 2011, 8 p.m.-Mike Wofford/Holly Hofmann Quintet Feat. Terell Stafford

$27 member/$32 nonmember

The series concludes on Saturday, November 26, with a special CD release event by the Mike Wofford/Holly Hofmann Quintet featuring Terell Stafford on trumpet, Rob Thorsen on bass, and Richard Sellers on drums. Recognized by DownBeat as "one of the outstanding pianists of our time," Mike Wofford's first performances date to the 1960s with the legendary Lighthouse All-Stars and the bands of Shelly Manne, Teddy Edwards, Chet Baker, Bud Shank and Shorty Rogers. From the 70s to the 90s, Wofford toured with artists such as Lee Konitz, Benny Carter, and Zoot Sims, and as pianist and music director for both Sarah Vaughan and Ella Fitzgerald. His wife and co-leader in this quintet, Holly Hofmann, is one of the Athenaeum's favorite performers. JazzTimes commented, "[Hofmann] possesses one of the most exquisite flute tones in jazz." They are joined by one of today's leading jazz trumpeters, the extraordinary Terell Stafford. Of this new project, Mike Wofford writes, "Holly's and my first co-led quintet CD, Turn Signal, will be released by Capri Records in January 2012, but we will be performing the music and signing CDs for our Athenaeum audience a month in advance. The feel and approach of this recording is dedicated to some of the greats of jazz I've long admired, among them Horace Silver, Richard Twardzik and Oliver Nelson."