SFJAZZ Collective Modern jazz masters celebrate the music of Stevie Wonder W e d n e S daY March 14 | 7:30 p.m.
Please join us for a Post-Performance Meet and Greet with the artists. This event is sponsored, in part, by the Lied Performance Fund. Audio description services and recorded program notes are provided through a partnership between the Lied Center and Audio-Reader Network. Please turn off or silence cellular phones and other electronic devices during performances. Food and drink are not allowed inside the hall. Cameras and recording devices are strictly prohibited in the auditorium.
SFJAZZ Collective Antonio Hart – Alto Saxophone Mark Turner – Tenor Saxophone Avishai Cohen – Trumpet Robin Eubanks – Trombone Stefon Harris – Vibraphone, Marimba Edward Simon – Piano Matt Penman – Bass Eric Harland – Drums Stevie Wonder Each year the SFJAZZ Collective honors the work of an acknowledged master by revisiting classics from that artist’s repertoire. For 2012, Stevie Wonder is the ensemble’s featured composer. The group approaches the work of Wonder, an artist outside of the jazz tradition, but one whose sophisticated songcraft and timeless melodies are more than worthy of exploration. Superstition Arranged by: Miguel Zenon
My Cherie Amour Arranged by: Edward Simon
Sir Duke Arranged by: Avishai Cohen
Race Babbling Arranged by: Robin Eubanks
Blame it on the Sun Arranged by: Mark Turner
Creepin Arranged by: Matt Penman
Look Around Arranged by: Stefon Harris
Do I Do Arranged by: Eric Harland
Original Compositions In addition to the Stevie Wonder pieces, each band member is commissioned by SFJAZZ to write a piece specifically for the ensemble. These original compositions appear with the Stevie Wonder material on a new multi-CD set, release of the SFJAZZ Collective’s eighth limitededition set, SFJAZZ Collective: Music of Stevie Wonder and New Compositions, Live in New York 2011 – Season 8. The CD is available at this performance. It is also available on iTunes and directly from sfjazz.org. Young and Playful Edward Simon
The Economy Matt Penman
Family Avishai Cohen
Orpheus Mark Turner
Life Signs Stefon Harris
Metronome Robin Eubanks Eminence Eric Harland
There will be no intermission during this performance. Subject to change.
SFJAZZ Collective
THE CONCEPT If you’re not already familiar with the eight artists who comprise the SFJAZZ Collective, you will be. As soloists, composers, and bandleaders, they represent what’s happening now in jazz. They demonstrate that jazz has truly become an international language. Hailing from New York; Venezuela; Israel; Houston, Texas; Berkeley, CA; and New Zealand, the Collective’s multi-cultural lineup mirrors the explosion of jazz talent around the globe. The jazz community only reached its current state by maintaining its traditions while simultaneously embracing innovation. This is the essence of the SFJAZZ Collective. These exceptional artists come together in the name of jazz as a constantly evolving, quintessentially modern art form. Prior to going on tour, the band engages in a multi-week residency in San Francisco where they rehearse the year’s repertoire. This includes rearrangements of work from a modern music master (this year, Stevie Wonder), plus all-new original compositions, commissioned exclusively for this ensemble by SFJAZZ. In addition, they mentor promising young musicians, including the acclaimed SFJAZZ High School All-Stars, through workshops and other outreach. The residency is a rare opportunity in the jazz world for such focused creativity, collaboration and preparation. This would not be possible without SFJAZZ institutional backing. Each of the Collective’s annual tours is documented on a live, limited-edition multiple CD set. Over the past seven years these recordings have received extensive critical acclaim, exploring the work of Ornette Coleman (2004), John Coltrane (2005), Herbie Hancock (2006), Thelonious Monk (2007), Wayne Shorter (2008), McCoy Tyner (2009) and Horace Silver (2010). HISTORY The idea for the Collective arose from discussions between SFJAZZ’s Founder and Executive Director Randall Kline and founding Collective member, saxophonist Joshua Redman. While deeply respectful of jazz’s origins and early traditions, SFJAZZ was concerned that the modern side of jazz, from roughly the mid-20th-century to the present day, was often overlooked in the public eye in comparison with the music of jazz’s so-called “Golden Age.” Both Kline and Redman were eager to showcase, in a manner that would resonate with jazz aficionados and newcomers alike, the artistic continuum from modern masters to today’s new generation of players. Much like chamber music, the music is designed for a small group of instruments to be performed in intimate settings and atmospheres including performing arts centers, concert halls and salons. Past Collective members have included the likes of Joshua Redman, Bobby Hutcherson, Dave Douglas, Nicholas Payton, Joe Lovano, Josh Roseman, Renee Rosnes, Robert Hurst, Brian Blade and other jazz stars. ABOUT SFJAZZ SFJAZZ, founded in 1983, is the largest nonprofit presenter of jazz in the western United States. SFJAZZ presents more than 100 concerts a year to more than 100,000 fans and is dedicated to advancing the art form of jazz and cultivating new jazz audiences through artistic and educational programming, including: The San Francisco Jazz Festival, SFJAZZ Spring Season, SFJAZZ Collective, SFJAZZ Summerfest, SFJAZZ Education, SFJAZZ Membership and SFJAZZ Hotplate. The organization is planning to build the SFJAZZ Center as a permanent home for SFJAZZ. This remarkable new facility, to be located in San Francisco’s vibrant Hayes Valley neighborhood, will be a 35,000 square-foot transparent free-standing structure designed by renowned architect Mark Cavagnero. With the SFJAZZ Center, jazz will take its place alongside major arts institutions such as the San Francisco Symphony, Opera and Ballet in the Civic Center performing arts district. Visit sfjazz.org to learn more about this exciting new development.
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BA N D M E M B E R B I OG R A PH I ES MARK TURNER Tenor Saxophone, Member 2010 - Present Described by JazzTimes as “an extremely thoughtful and cerebral player,” Mark Turner has been quietly building a reputation as a musician’s musician. He attended Berklee College of Music in the late ‘80s where he met musicians that would figure prominently in his later work, including Kurt Rosenwinkel and Joshua Redman. Turner has recorded five critically acclaimed albums as a leader and he has also performed or recorded with artists such as Dave Holland, Brad Mehldau, Lee Konitz, Dave Douglas and Lee Konitz. His latest project is the trio FLY with bassist Larry Grenadier and drummer Jeff Ballard. Their album, Sky And Country, appeared on ECM in early 2009. STEFON HARRIS Vibraphone and Marimba, Member 2008 - Present Stefon Harris is committed to exploring the rich potential of jazz composition and blazing new trails on the vibraphone. A graduate of the Manhattan School of Music, Harris has received numerous accolades including the Jazz Journalists Association’s “Best Mallet Player” for four years running (2000-2003) and “#1 Rising Star Vibraphonist” in the 2006 DownBeat Critics Poll. His string of Grammy-nominated albums for Blue Note includes Kindred, Black Action Figure, and The Grand Unification Theory. His latest release, 2009’s Urbanus, was Grammy nominated for “Best Contemporary Jazz Album.” EDWARD SIMON Piano, Member 2010 - Present A 2010 Guggenheim Fellow, Edward Simon was born in the coastal town of Punta Cardón, Venezuela, where he grew up in a family of musicians surrounded by the sounds and rhythms of Latin and Caribbean music. Settling in New York City in 1989, he played with numerous jazz masters, including Herbie Mann, Paquito D’Rivera, Bobby Hutcherson, Bobby Watson, Terence Blanchard and Don Byron. He has produced seven critically acclaimed albums as a leader, including two New York Times top ten jazz records of the year: Edward Simon (Kokopelli, 1994) and Simplicitas (Criss Cross, 2005). Currently, Simon leads his own trio, Ensemble Venezuela, collaborates with saxophonist David Binney in the quartet Afinidad and also appears alongside his brothers in the group Simon, Simon & Simon. MATT PENMAN Bass, Member 2005 - Present Originally from New Zealand, Matt Penman studied at Berklee College of Music before relocating to New York in 1995. In addition to releasing his own critically acclaimed albums as a leader, Catch of the Day (2007) and The Unquiet (2002), he has recorded as a sideman on some 70 other recordings and has performed with the likes of Joshua Redman, Nicholas Payton, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Gary Bartz, Kenny Werner, Nnenna Freelon, Madeleine Peyroux, Brian Blade, John Scofield and Guillermo Klein. ERIC HARLAND Drums, Member 2006 - Present A leading drummer on the national scene, Texas-born Eric Harland has performed with jazz legends like Betty Carter, Joe Henderson and McCoy Tyner and has played on more than 70 recordings with such artists as Terence Blanchard, Greg Osby, Charles Lloyd and Zakir Hussain. In DownBeat’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. He released his debut album, Voyager, Live By Night, in 2010.
SFJAZZ Collective
AVISHAI COHEN Trumpet, Member 2010 - Present Trumpeter Avishai Cohen is a leading figure on the international jazz scene and is one of the most sought-after players of his generation – “an assertive and accomplished trumpeter with a taste for modernism” according to The New York Times. Originally from Tel Aviv, Israel, Cohen began performing at age 10 and toured the world with the Young Israeli Philharmonic Orchestra. Relocating to the U.S. to attend the Berklee College of Music, he placed third in the prestigious Thelonious Monk Trumpet Competition in 1997. After developing his craft at New York’s Smalls Jazz Club, alongside contemporaries such as pianist Jason Lindner and bassist Omer Avital, Cohen has expanded his sonic palette to include African music (with Lionel Loueke), funk (with Me’shell Ndegeocello), folk/pop (with Keren Ann) and effects-laden avant-garde explorations. ROBIN EUBANKS Trombone, Member 2008 - Present A five-time “Trombonist of the Year” in the DownBeat Magazine Critics Poll, Robin Eubanks is the premier jazz trombonist of his generation. In addition to leading his own groups, EB3 and Mental Images, Eubanks has performed and composed on Grammy-winning recordings with Dave Holland and Michael Brecker. In addition, he has worked with music legends Art Blakey, McCoy Tyner, Elvin Jones and the Rolling Stones, to name a few. The native Philadelphian and an acclaimed composer is the recipient of composition grants from Chamber Music America and ASCAP. Eubanks is a sought-after educator and a tenured professor of trombone at the renowned Oberlin Conservatory. ANTONIO HART Alto Saxophone – Subbing for Original Member Miguel Zenón Holding down the alto chair for Zenón during the Collective’s spring 2012 tour is Antonio Hart. From Baltimore, MD, Hart is currently a professor of Jazz Studies at Queens College City University of New York. He received a 1997 Grammy nomination for his solo on “The Community” from his Impulse! CD, Here I Stand. Hart has released eight albums as a leader and has recorded as a guest on more than 80 recordings with artists such as McCoy Tyner, Roy Hargrove, Donald Byrd, Jimmy Heath, Cyrus Chestnut, Robin Eubanks, Slide Hampton, Dizzy Gillespie, Terence Blanchard, the Dave Holland Big Band and the Mingus Big Band. Hart says, “I am excited to be in the company of these high level musicians. I have known some of them for many years as friends, classmates, or just from their performances and recordings. I look forward to the chance to build new friendships, musical intimacy and the opportunity to push myself in some other musical directions.” “The Collective demonstrates that decades-old music needn’t lose its contemporary relevance — not, at least, in the hands of a group this encyclopedic in its knowledge of tradition, but just as versed in the foundation of jazz as a living, breathing and forward-reaching thing. As definitive of the modern mainstream as it gets.” — All About Jazz “You can propose various definitions for what this band represents, but it’s a superbrain for what serious jazz sounds like now.” — The New York Times “There hasn’t been a group to call itself “the All Stars” — at least not without irony — since the death of Louis Armstrong, but this collective deserves the title more than any other band playing today.” — Wall Street Journal “It takes a brave soul to tackle the music of Stevie Wonder. The latest incarnation of the SFJAZZ Collective happens to contain eight of them.” — San Francisco Chronicle “Something of a latter-day Jazz Messengers.” — All About Jazz “There’s a big difference between inorganic all-star bands, cobbled together to boost sales, and actual collectives—focused, well-rehearsed, consistently creative units in which everyone’s a leader.” — Time Out NY lied.ku.edu | LIVE PERFORMING ARTS
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2011-12 Friends of the Lied Update
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SFJAZZFriends 2011-12 Collective of the Lied Update