“The Rising Stars”
Stefon Harris & Blackout
Miguel Zenón Quartet
Thursday, October 26 • 7:30pm
$56
$36
$30
$25
Catch the instrumental wizardry of two “#1 Rising
Stars” from the 2006 DownBeat Critics Poll in this
remarkable double bill.
Program Notes
Tonight’s double bill features two of the most formidable
young talents on the jazz scene: vibraphonist Stefon Harris and
alto saxophonist Miguel Zenón. Both named “#1 Rising
Stars” in the 2006 DownBeat Critics Poll on their
respective instruments, Harris and Zenón justify the praise
with distinctive voices that reckon with jazz history while invigorating
the sounds of the present day.
In his band Blackout, Stefon Harris
has found a core of sympathetic musicians capable of deep grooves
that draw from ‘70s funk-jazz,
while sustaining the shimmering delicacy of Harris’ ballads.
Harris’ recent DownBeat coup is the tip of the
iceberg for his closet full of accolades, which include a five-year
run (2000-2004) as “Best Mallet Player” from the
Jazz Journalists Association. A review of a recent Canadian show
summed up Harris and Blackout’s music as “unadulterated
jazz that found the sweet spot between challenging and accessible,
grooving hard and swinging harder” (Ottawa Citizen).
Zenón
has made a name for himself as both as a bandleader and as a
member of larger jazz groups like the Either/Orchestra and our
own SFJAZZ Collective. For his most recent quartet album, Jíbaro (a
term used to describe people of mixed origin in the Caribbean),
Zenón drew on his Puerto Rican heritage and improvisational
prowess to create a gumbo of sounds infused with a decidedly
tropical lilt.
Personnel:
Stefon Harris & Blackout
- Stefon Harris, marimba and vibraphone
- Marc Cary, keys, piano
- Casey Benjamin, alto saxophone
- Terreon Gully, drums
- TBA, bass
Miguel Zenón Quartet
- Miguel Zenón, alto saxophone and flute
- Luis Perdomo, piano
- Hans Glawischnig, bass
- Henry Cole, drums
