Jazz at the Lobero will present an unforgettable evening of jazz on the shoulders of two giants when the McCoy Tyner Quartet appears with the rising stars of Dave Brubeck’s Brubeck Institute Jazz Quintet at 8 p.m. Tuesday, March 8 at the Lobero Theatre, 33 E. Canon Perdido St.
McCoy Tyner has solidified his status as one of the most dynamic and recognizable pianists in jazz, beginning with his days in the John Coltrane Quartet and continuing to create bold, sophisticated compositions today. Brubeck builds his legacy through his students and his institution, emphasizing jazz as a “serious art form that reflects American ideals of freedom and individual expression.”
The award-winning Brubeck Institute Jazz Quintet exemplifies these values as members of the institute’s fellowship program. This bright group regularly hosts clinics in schools as well as performing regularly in prestigious jazz festivals and clubs all over the country.
During their visit to Santa Barbara, they will lead clinics in area schools as part of the Lobero Youth and Community Programs. This diverse program of jazz will inspire audiences as they experience jazz the way it’s meant to be seen — in one of DownBeat Magazine’s Best Places to See Jazz.
McCoy Tyner Quartet
It’s not an overstatement to say that modern jazz has been shaped by the music of five-time Grammy Award winner and National Education Association Jazz Master McCoy Tyner. His blues-based piano style, replete with sophisticated chords and an explosively percussive left hand, has transcended conventional styles to become one of the most identifiable sounds in improvised music. His harmonic contributions and dramatic rhythmic devices form the vocabulary of a majority of jazz pianists.
Hailed globally as a master pianist, jazz stylist and one of the best living composers of the genre, Tyner, from his days as a groundbreaker with the classic John Coltrane Quartet to his status as a living jazz icon, has a 50-plus year history of music performance. At 17 he began a career-changing relationship with Miles Davis’ sideman saxophonist Coltrane. Tyner joined Coltrane for the classic album My Favorite Things (1960) and remained at the core of what became one of the most seminal groups in jazz history, the John Coltrane Quartet.
The band, which also included drummer Elvin Jones and bassist Jimmy Garrison, had extraordinary chemistry, fostered in part by Tyner’s almost familial relationship with Coltrane. In 1965, Tyner broke out as a composer and band leader and has since released nearly 80 albums under his name in different configurations and/or genres, including solo, trio, big band, Latin and dance.
Tyner nurtures each facet of his piano art with gusto, uncompromising integrity and boundless energy. He views music and piano as his life purpose, and performing is his passion.
Brubeck Institute Jazz Quintet
The Brubeck Institute attracts talented young jazz artists from around the country. Named for alumni Brubeck and his wife, Iola, the institute builds on the couple’s lifelong dedication to music, creativity, education and social issues. Members of the institute’s fellowship program learn from the ground up by holding clinics in schools as well as performing regularly in prestigious jazz festivals and clubs all over the country.
This award-winning quintet was named DownBeat’s best collegiate jazz group in the country in both 2007 and 2009, and has performed at the Monterey Jazz Festival, the Playboy Jazz Festival, Yoshi’s and Blues Alley, and has toured Spain. The members of the 2010-11 BIJQ are Nick Frenay on trumpet, Sam Crowe on saxophone, Alec Watson on piano, Bill Vonderhaar on bass and Colin McDaniel on drums.
In addition to playing the Lobero on March 8, the BIJQ will lead clinics at area schools. Local students attending the concert will be eligible to win a scholarship through the Lobero Youth and Community Programs. Students wishing to purchase student tickets and be entered in the Youth Jazz Scholarship Award should contact Holly Chadwin at 805.966.4946 x613.
Tickets for McCoy Tyner Quartet and the Brubeck Institute Jazz Quintet are available now at Lobero.com and at the Lobero box office at 805.963.0761. Prices are $38 and $48, with a limited number of patron tickets available at $103. All prices include facility fee. All patron tickets include priority seating, pre-performance private reception, recognition in the event program and a tax-deductible gift to the Lobero Theatre.
— Angie Bertucci represents the Lobero Theatre.