The theme of the 2009 Brubeck Festival, which runs March 28 through April 4, is “The Revolution Continues." In addition to the Dave Brubeck Quartet's performance of Time Out, the Friday night concert will feature a performance of Dave and Iola Brubeck's choral and orchestral work, Earth Is Our Mother. During the week, a new orchestral composition, co-written by Dave Brubeck and his son Chris Brubeck Ansel Adams: America based on photographs of Ansel Adams - will be premiered by the Stockton Symphony. These works show the wide and constantly evolving styles of music created by Dave Brubeck.
“This years festival is more than just the celebration of 50 years of one of the greatest jazz albums of all time. It's about taking a look at how that album and others in 1959 changed the concept of what jazz could be and how those revolutionary ideas have influenced music over time," said Steve Anderson, director of the Brubeck Institute. “We hope that audiences will gain an appreciation of the revolution that began in 1959 and appreciate how it continues to influence the creation of new music."
The Dave Brubeck Concert will be the first time that the album Time Out will be played live in its entirety by Brubeck and his band. The concert is in honor of the 50th anniversary of Time Out. In the album, Brubeck used non-traditional rhythms and timing signatures as well as themes borrowed from non-Western civilizations. The album is still considered by music enthusiasts and scholars as one of the most significant American works of modern music.
Brubeck still continues to write groundbreaking music. His newest piece, Ansel Adams: America, will debut during the festival in two concerts by the Stockton Symphony. The world premiere on Thursday, April 2 will be followed by an additional performance on Saturday, April 4. The Stockton Symphony will be the first of seven orchestras to play the new commission marking the anniversary of the death of Ansel Adams, noted American photographer. Through an agreement between the Ansel Adams Publishing Rights Trust and the Brubecks, each concert will feature Adams' images in the performance. The theatrical design is by Obie award-winning projection designer Jeff Sugg.
As part of the excitement around Ansel Adams: America, the Reynolds Gallery on the Stockton Campus will present In Dialogue with Ansel Adams. This exhibition runs from March 2 April 10, 2009. In Dialogue with Ansel Adams features eight original works by renowned American photographer Ansel Adams, generously loaned by his granddaughter. Nine contemporary photographers with national and international reputations will be displayed alongside the master: Nan Brown, Jack Davis, Jane Delaney, Ursula Esser, Susan Hartzell, Terry Nathan, Chris Schiller, John Smith, and Byron Wolfe have all been inspired by Adams, the American landscape, or the tradition of landscape photography. Some of the work selected for the show is a direct homage to Adams.
This year's Brubeck Festival begins on Saturday, March 28, at 1:00 pm with the annual Jazz on the Mile! concerts, co-sponsored by the Miracle Mile Association. Performers will include the Brubeck Institute Jazz Quintet, jazz ensembles from University of the Pacific, San Joaquin Delta College, area high schools, and professionals from the Bay Area. The concert stage will be on the Miracle Mile at the south end of Pacific Avenue. Tickets for Jazz on the Mile! will be sold at the entrance gates at the day of the event.
On March 31 there will be a concert by the brilliant new group, the Gerald Clayton Trio, featuring two former Fellows of the Brubeck Institute, Justin Brown on drums and Joe Sanders on bass. The revolution in sound continues with their new original material. The concert is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. March 31 in FSCH.
This year's festival includes a conversation and concert about several of the revolutionary jazz albums of 1959, the year cited by many music aficionados as the greatest year of jazz. Darius Brubeck, Dave and Iola Brubeck's oldest son, will speak and play with the Brubeck Institute Jazz Quintet to illustrate the revolutionary aspects of these albums. To be discussed and performed are selections from Time Out, Miles Davis' Kind of Blue, the best selling jazz album of all time, John Coltrane's Giant Steps, The Shape of Jazz to Come by Ornette Coleman, and Charles Mingus' Mingus Ah Um. That event will take place in FSCH at 7:30 pm April 1.
Founded in 1926, the Stockton Symphony is California's third-oldest orchestra and the only professional symphony orchestra in San Joaquin County. The Symphony's mission is to engage, educate, and inspire the community through a commitment to excellence in its performances and programs. For ticket purchase information, please call the Symphony box office at 209.951.0196 or visit www.stocktonsymphony.org.
The Brubeck Institute was established by the University of the Pacific in 2000 to honor its distinguished alumni, Dave and Iola Brubeck. The mission of the Institute is to build on Dave Brubeck's legacy and his lifelong dedication to music, creativity, education, and the advancement of important social issues including civil rights, environmental concerns, international relations, and social justice. Tickets for the events on the University of Pacific campus will be sold through the Pacific Box Office at 209.946.2474 beginning February 16 or at the door at the Faye Spanos Concert Hall the evening of each concert.
Schedule of events:
8:30 am 4: 30 pm Monday - Friday, March 2 to April 10 - In Dialogue with Ansel Adams, an art exhibit at the Reynold's Gallery, 1071 W. Mendocino Ave., Stockton. Call 209.946.3096 for more information.
1:00 pm, March 28 Jazz on the Mile! Featuring the Brubeck Jazz Institute Quintet, and jazz bands from Stockton, and the Bay Area. On the Miracle Mile, lower end of Pacific Avenue in Stockton. Ticket Prices to Be Determined
7:30 pm March 31 - The Gerald Clayton Trio, featuring two former BJIQ Fellows. Faye Spanos Concert Hall. $10 public, $5 seniors, Students free.
7:30 pm April 1 - Darius Brubeck and the BIJQ will discuss and perform the jazz of 1959, the year the revolution started. Faye Spanos Concert Hall. $10 public, $5 seniors, Students free.
8 pm April 2 - The Stockton Symphony will perform Ansel Adams: America, a new work by Dave and Chris Brubeck. Brahm's Requiem is also on the program. Atherton Auditorium, Delta College campus. Tickets start at $20.
7:30 pm April 3 The Dave Brubeck concert, featuring Earth Is Our Mother by Dave and Iola Brubeck and the Dave Brubeck Quartet performing Time Out. Faye Spanos Concert Hall. $30 public, $15 seniors and students. Reserved seating.
6 p.m. April 4 - The Stockton Symphony will perform Ansel Adams: America, a new piece by Dave and Chris Brubeck. Brahm's Requiem is also on the program. Atherton Auditorium, Delta College campus. Tickets start at $20.
For more information contact All About Jazz.
