NEWS RELEASE

6/3/03

CONTACT: John Sanford, News Service: (650) 736-2151, jsanford@stanford.edu

COMMENT: Carma Berglund, associate director, Stanford Jazz Workshop and Festival: (650) 736-0324, cb@stanfordjazz.org

Jazz Fest line-up includes Branford Marsalis, Poncho Sanchez

The Stanford Jazz Workshop organizes a jazz festival to coincide with its camp and residency programs, and this summer's lineup is particularly noteworthy.

Saxophonists Branford Marsalis and Phil Woods; conguero and Latin jazz legend Poncho Sanchez; pianists Geri Allen, Harold Mabern and Dena DeRose; drummers Jeff "Tain" Watts and Tootie Heath; and guitar giants Mundell Lowe and Jack Wilkins are just a few of the names headlining the festival, which kicks off June 28 with the Peninsula-based jazz duo Tuck & Patti.

The festival runs through Aug. 9 and includes roughly 30 concerts and free events for children and families. In addition, a free series of noontime concerts is scheduled to take place outside Tresidder Union on Wednesdays and Fridays, July 23 through Aug. 1, and then every day Aug. 4-8. Occasional after-hour jam sessions in the Coffee House are scheduled July 20 through Aug. 2 and then every night Aug. 3-9. (The jam sessions, which are also free and open to the public, usually begin a little before 10 p.m. and run until about midnight.)

This summer, the workshop is offering several new educational programs, including a class for listeners titled "Speaking Jazz with Sonny Buxton: My 26 Weeks with Duke Ellington and Other Jazz Stories" at 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays, June 24 through July 29. Buxton, a local jazz impresario, is the host of Mid-Day Jazz on KCSM (Jazz 91) radio, founder of the popular (but now defunct) San Francisco club Jazz at Pearl's, and a former drummer with the Billy Strayhorn Trio. The course is part of the Summer Evening Program, which also offers classes on beginning jazz skills; jazz combos; Latin jazz ensemble styles; piano or guitar trio playing; and beginning, intermediate and advanced theory (ages 14 and up).

The workshop also will introduce the Jazz Weekend Intensive this season Aug. 7-10. The mini-residency is designed for adult instrumentalists but open to advanced students (under 18) by audition.

The workshop's core programs are the Jazz Camp (July 20-26 and July 27-Aug. 2), which offers weeklong sessions for students ages 12-17, and the Jazz Residency (Aug. 3-9), a weeklong session for adults and advanced students.

For more information, call (650) 736-0324 or visit the web at http://stanfordjazz.org.

Following is a list of 2003 Stanford Jazz Festival concerts and events through July 12. (A full listing is available at the workshop and festival website.) Tickets are available at the Stanford Ticket Office in Tresidder Student Union (725-2787) or at www.ticketweb.com. All events are held on campus.

June 28: Early Bird Jazz. 10:30 a.m., ages 7 and under; 11:30 a.m., ages 8-12. Dinkelspiel Auditorium. Free. An introduction to instruments and jazz for children and families, with saxophonist Jim Nadel and friends.

June 28: Tuck and Patti. 8 p.m. Dinkelspiel Auditorium. $50 (includes admission to opening-night reception at 6 p.m.); $26 (concert only). Last year the Peninsula-based duo ­ guitarist Tuck Andress and vocalist Patti Cathcart ­ released their ninth album, Chocolate Moment.

June 29: Frank Morgan with the Eddie Marshall Trio. 7:30 p.m. Campbell Recital Hall. $30. After a battle with addiction that nearly derailed his career, alto saxophonist Morgan re-emerged in the mid-1980s as one of jazz's great comeback stories, his luminous tone and legato phrasing undiminished. The trio accompanying Morgan is led by Bay Area drummer Marshall.

July 5: Mimi Fox Trio. 8 p.m. Campbell Recital Hall. $22. The late guitar legend Joe Pass once remarked that Fox "can do pretty much anything she wants on the guitar." Fox is equally at home with Brazilian rhythms, lightning-fast bebop, ballads and blues.

July 6: Cal Tjader Alumni Tribute. 7:30 p.m. Dinkelspiel Auditorium. $24. In the mid-1950s, Bay Area vibraphonist and drummer Tjader pioneered a small combo approach that embraced straight-ahead jazz and Latin grooves. San Francisco drummer Vince Lateano will lead this tribute concert featuring Latin jazz legend Poncho Sanchez (percussion), Rob Fisher (bass), Roger Glenn (flute/vibraphone), David Torres (piano) and Ruben Estrada (vibraphone).

July 11: Marcos Silva Quartet. 8 p.m. Campbell Recital Hall. $22. Keyboardist Silva was born in Rio de Janeiro. His melodic jazz-fusion and original compositions are flavored with the rhythms and harmonies of his native Brazil.

July 12: Cartoon Jazz: The Music of Raymond Scott.11 a.m. Dinkelspiel Auditorium. $12; $5 for children 14 and under. Raymond Scott's melodies are the music behind the antics in Looney Tunes, Ren & Stimpy and The Simpsons. Clarinetist-saxophonist-flautist Jeff Sanford will lead this morning of genre- (and sometimes gravity-) defying music.

July 12: Soul Jazz Summit. With Red Holloway (saxophone), Plas Johnson (saxophone) and Gene Ludwig (Hammond B-3). 8 p.m. Dinkelspiel Auditorium. $26. Soul jazz emerged in the1950s and continues to recruit converts, as well as inspire combos like Medeski, Martin and Wood and Soulive. Holloway, Johnson and Ludwig combine the harmonic sophistication of modern jazz with the grooves and gritty cadences of R&B.

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By John Sanford