MAR 3-6 | SFJAZZ Resident Artistic Director Ambrose Akinmusire
Mar 05 - Mar 06, 2022
Miner Auditorium
PLEASE NOTE:
This page is an archive of a past production
Please visit our calendar for all upcoming SFJAZZ shows.
Original show description below.
It’s never a random act when trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire puts together a band. His new all-star ensemble includes downtown guitar pioneer Bill Frisell and the grooving New Orleans drummer Herlin Riley, presenting the world premiere of new music written specifically for this powerful ensemble he calls “Owl Song.”
The members of this scintillating new project typically move in different circles. But Akinmusire could care less about that. He creates his own circles of sound. That’s what he is about: always reaching for some new horizon, building an organic vision that can draw on straight-ahead jazz, the avant-garde, classical chamber music, or hip-hop. Over the years, Akinmusire’s collaborators have ranged from rapper Kendrick Lamar (he is featured on To Pimp a Butterfly) to San Francisco Symphony violinist Helen Kim (for whom he recently composed a solo work). His broad expressive palette will be showcased tonight as he paints new musical pictures with his genre-defying ensemble. Expect beauty and many surprises: The sound of his trumpet is “elusive… ruby-red and urgent,” says The New York Times. “More than almost any other contemporary improviser, Mr. Akinmusire has invented a way of composing that’s unfixed from jazz’s stickiest conventions.”
The most distinctive trumpeter of our era, Oakland-reared Akinmusire plays with a dark-hued and gleaming tone. He merges straight ahead jazz with rappers and string quartets, “throwing out all the cliches to arrive at a fresh conception” (San Jose Mercury News). A Blue Note recording artist, Akinmusire pushes fearlessly forward – and is sought out by such legends as Jack DeJohnette and Kendrick Lamar.
For this world premiere, the trumpeter’s all-star ensemble includes downtown guitar pioneer Bill Frisell and the grooving New Orleans drummer Herlin Riley.
ELEVATE YOUR EXPERIENCE
A Benefit of Leaders Circle Membership
Relax and refresh before select SFJAZZ shows at the Leaders Circle Lounge. Enjoy complimentary drinks and treats pre-performance with our most dedicated and passionate Members.
The Leaders Circle Lounge on Sunday, March 6 begins at 6:15 pm, preceding the 7:00 pm performance by Ambrose Akinmusire.
Not a Leaders Circle member?Join today or upgrade your support today.
RSVP to [email protected] or call 415.283.0306.
For a jazz trumpet player, you couldn't be more on top of the world than Ambrose Akinmusire.
NPR
For a jazz trumpet player, you couldn't be more on top of the world than Ambrose Akinmusire.
NPR
Personnel
Ambrose Akinmusire trumpet
Bill Frisell guitar
Herlin Riley drums
A thrilling young trumpeter and astute bandleader (with a) unique spark in his playing
The New Yorker
Personnel
Ambrose Akinmusire trumpet
Bill Frisell guitar
Herlin Riley drums
A thrilling young trumpeter and astute bandleader (with a) unique spark in his playing
The New Yorker
Watch & Listen
Ambrose Akinmusire
Response (Live)
Ambrose Akinmusire
A Song To Exhale (Diver Song)
Ambrose Akinmusire
Response (Live)
Ambrose Akinmusire
A Song To Exhale (Diver Song)