Executive & Artistic Director

Thor Steingraber

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Kurt Elling

Celebrates Weather Report

With Special Guest Peter Erskine

Featuring Yellowjackets

Sat Feb 15 | 8pm

Run Time: about 1 hour and 50 minutes including a 20-minute intermission

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Program | Program Note

An Interview With Kurt Elling

Musicians | Kurt Elling

Peter Erskine | Weather Report | Joey Calderazzo

Yellowjackets | Russell Ferrante | Will Kennedy | Bob Mintzer | Dane Alderson

DownBeat Magazine: The Rapid Rise of The Soraya

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About The Soraya

Our Supporters | The Soraya Team

Kurt Elling

Two-time Grammy Award-winner Kurt Elling is renowned for his signature, rich sound and an inventive and individualized body of work. With a one-of-a kind brand of contemporary beat lyricism and vocalese writing ingenuity, the Chicago-based musician has extended the parameters of vocal jazz and enlarged its vocabulary. The New York Times called Elling “the standout male jazz vocalist of our time.” The Guardian (U.K.) pronounced him “a kind of Sinatra with superpowers.”

Over a 30-year career of touring and recording, Elling has won three Prix du Jazz Vocal (France), two German Echo Awards, two Dutch Edison Awards, and has been nominated for a Grammy Award 17 times. He has had a 14-year run atop the DownBeat Critics and Readers polls, and he has won 15 Jazz Journalists Association Jazz Awards for “Male Vocalist of the Year.”

Elling’s work with other leading figures in the jazz world has included important collaborations with Branford Marsalis, Danilo Pérez, Fred Hersch, Charlie Hunter and Stefon Harris. He has also performed as a featured soloist with many of the world’s leading large ensembles, including the New York Philharmonic, BBC Concert Orchestra, Count Basie Orchestra, WDR Big Band and Orchestra, Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra, and Vanguard Jazz Orchestra. In addition to his work as a lyricist and composer for his own ensembles, Elling has co-created multidisciplinary performances for Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre and the city of Chicago. Jazz at Lincoln Center saw the world premiere of The Big Blind, an entirely new jazz musical Elling co-wrote with collaborator Phil Galdston (“Save the Best for Last”). National Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky declared, “In Kurt Elling’s art, the voice of jazz gives new spiritual presence to the ancient, sweet and powerful bond between poetry and music.”

Elling has toured the world in a variety of contexts, including UNESCO-sponsored International Jazz Day performances in Havana, St. Petersburg, Russia, Melbourne, Australia, and Washington D.C. He has twice performed at the White House, including a performance in collaboration with the late Marvin Hamlisch and the National Symphony Orchestra for President Barack Obama’s first State Dinner. Elling has served as artist-in-residence at the Monterey and Singapore jazz festivals.

As a music industry leader, Elling spent six years serving as a trustee and two years as vice chairman of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences.

Peter Erskine

Peter Erskine has played drums since the age of 4 and is known for his versatility and love of working in different musical contexts. He appears on hundreds of albums and film scores, has won two Grammy Awards and was awarded an honorary doctorate from the Berklee College of Music. Fifty albums have been released under his own name or as co-leader.

Erskine has played with the Stan Kenton and Maynard Ferguson big bands, Weather Report, Steps Ahead, Joni Mitchell, Steely Dan, Diana Krall, Kenny Wheeler, Mary Chapin Carpenter, The Brecker Brothers, the Yellowjackets, Pat Metheny, Gary Burton, John Scofield, among others. He has also appeared as a soloist with the Beethoven Orchester Bonn, plus the London, Los Angeles, Chicago, BBC Symphony, Bochum, Tokyo Metropolitan, Yomiuri Nippon, Oslo and Berlin Philharmonic orchestras. He premiered Mark-Anthony Turnage’s “Erskine — Concerto for Drum Set and Orchestra” with Beethoven Orchester Bonn and performed it at the Hollywood Bowl with the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

Voted Best Jazz Drummer of the Year 10 times by the readers of Modern Drummer magazine, Erskine was inducted into its Hall of Fame in 2017.

Erskine graduated from the Interlochen Arts Academy and studied at Indiana University under George Gaber. Erskine is professor emeritus of practice and former director of drumset studies at USC, and he conducts master classes worldwide, while his latest endeavors include several innovative play-along apps for iOS.

Erskine is also an author with several books to his credit, including No Beethoven, an autobiography and chronicle of the band Weather Report, plus his latest title, Jazz Drumming Perspectives.

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Weather Report

Weather Report was an American jazz fusion band active from 1970 to 1986. The band was founded in 1970 by Austrian keyboardist Joe Zawinul, American saxophonist Wayne Shorter, Czech bassist Miroslav Vitouš, American drummer Alphonse Mouzon as well as American percussionists Don Alias and Barbara Burton. The band was initially co-led by Zawinul and Shorter, but Zawinul eventually became the primary composer and creative director of the group. Other prominent members throughout the band’s history included bassists Jaco Pastorius, Alphonso Johnson and Victor Bailey, drummers Chester Thompson and Peter Erskine, and percussionists Airto Moreira and Alex Acuña. A quintet of Zawinul and Shorter with a bassist, a drummer, and a percussionist was the standard formation for Weather Report.

The band started as a free-improvising group with avant-garde and experimental electronic leanings (pioneered by Zawinul); when Vitouš left Weather Report, Zawinul increasingly steered the band toward a funky, edgy sound incorporating elements of R&B and native music from around the world. Zawinul used the latest developments in synthesizer technology, and he took advantage of a large variety of sounds and tone colors to make the band stand out. During the first half of their career, Weather Report was seen as one of the defining acts in modern jazz, winning DownBeat’s best album award five times in a row.

Alongside bands such as Mahavishnu Orchestra, Return to Forever, and Herbie Hancock’s Headhunters (all with members inspired by and partially responsible for the fusion-era work of Miles Davis), Weather Report is widely considered one of the defining bands of the jazz fusion genre.

Joey Calderazzo

Joey Calderazzo is a pianist, composer, improviser, and band member and leader. He has recorded 13 albums as a leader. Calderazzo has traveled the road from child prodigy to in-demand session musician to elite member of the finest ensembles in jazz. He has accompanied music geniuses, from Michael Brecker and Branford Marsalis to Jack DeJohnette and Dave Holland.

Yellowjackets

Throughout their storied history of more than 40 years, the Yellowjackets have recorded 27 albums, received two Grammy Awards (and 16 Grammy nominations), performed countless sold-out tours, and enjoyed worldwide critical acclaim and commercial success.

The Yellowjackets formed in the late 1970s as the backup band for guitarist Robben Ford. They recorded their first album together in 1980. Shortly after that recording, however, Ford decided to part ways and go in a different musical direction. As a result, the modern-day Yellowjackets were formed: a trio with Russell Ferrante, Jimmy Haslip, and Ricky Lawson. Since then, and with the addition of Bob Mintzer, the Yellowjackets have gained and maintained prominence as one of jazz’s most influential and loved groups.

Over the years, the band has undergone numerous lineup changes. Never failing to rise to the inevitable challenges of adjustment, the Yellowjackets — Ferrante, Mintzer, and Will Kennedy — have maintained a high quality of musicianship.

The most recent addition to the band, Australian bass player Dane Alderson adds his exceptional rhythmic sensibility and natural disposition toward groove. Alderson brings a new energy to the band and a youthful approach to the music.

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Russell Ferrante

Born in San Jose, California, in 1952, Russell Ferrante began studying piano at the age of 9. His early musical experiences revolved around the church where his father was the choir director. Ferrante’s interest in jazz and improvisation was kindled in high school, and shortly thereafter he began performing with various R&B and jazz groups in the San Francisco Bay Area. The Bay Area was an exciting place to be in the early ’70s with musicians freely combining musical styles.

This exposure to seemingly every kind of music helped prepare Ferrante for his professional career, which began in 1973. It was then that he met guitarist Robben Ford, and they toured the U.S. and Europe as part of legendary blues singer Jimmy Witherspoon’s band. “Much to my parent’s displeasure, my gig with Jimmy Witherspoon necessitated my dropping out of college,” says Ferrante. “I like to say though that navigating the musical and nonmusical hazards of the road with Spoon was an education I could never have gotten in college.”

In 1975, Ferrante moved to San Francisco where he continued to be active on the vibrant local music scene and landed his first teaching job at the Community Music Center in the Mission District.

In 1977, Ferrante moved to Los Angeles to continue working with Ford. Within a short time, Ferrante was recording and touring with a variety of musicians including Ford, Joe Farrell, Tom Scott, and Joni Mitchell. During this period, Ferrante, Ford, and Jimmy Haslip co-founded their jazz group, Yellowjackets. The pianist also continued working as a freelance writer, arranger, and producer for numerous recordings including those by Sadao Watanabe, Bobby McFerrin, Michael Franks, Al Jarreau, and many others.

Ferrante continues his decades-long association with the Yellowjackets, performing and conducting clinics at colleges and private music schools throughout the United States, Japan, and Europe. The prestigious Berklee College of Music offers a course analyzing Yellowjackets music as well as a Yellowjackets’ performance ensemble.

Will Kennedy

If you have met Will Kennedy, or if you have seen him perform, you know that inspiration and Kennedy are inseparable, if not synonymous. His musicality and finesse are legendary among the who’s who of music, the drumming world, and beyond.

Kennedy has participated in numerous musical opportunities throughout his career, including award-winning television talk shows, movie soundtracks, and recording sessions, as well as being a part of the house band for Grammy telecasts. He has also performed with a wide range of artists including Herbie Hancock, Chaka Khan, Snarky Puppy, Bobby McFerrin, Esperanza Spalding, George Benson, and Lee Ritenour.

Giving back to young, up-and-coming musicians is a high priority for Kennedy. He has conducted drum clinics worldwide and has contributed educational online videos. Kennedy is assistant professor of practice in the Popular Music, Jazz Studies program at the USC Thornton School of Music.

Throughout his school years, Kennedy played percussion and began private lessons with teacher and motivator Bill Nawrocki. Kennedy also studied music in junior college under professor Bill Bell, who was not only a mentor to Kennedy but also became a second father. Bell invited Kennedy to perform with him around the San Francisco Bay Area. Kennedy quickly became a fixture in the Bay Area scene and was introduced to legendary steel pan virtuoso Andy Narell, who Kennedy later recorded and toured with throughout Europe at age 19. More time in the studio helped the young musician recognize his fascination for composing, which lead him to Pure Delite Music, a publishing company with longtime partners Claytoven Richardson and Larry Batiste. Pure Delite Music went on to contribute songs to various R&B artists.

In 1988, Kennedy auditioned for Yellowjackets. “I was a longtime fan of the group and knew this was something I just had to do,” he says. Kennedy continues to push the music boundaries, and he desires to learn, grow, inspire, and be inspired.

Kennedy endorses some of the finest equipment manufacturers including Pearl Drums, D’Addario, Evans Drumheads, ProMark Sticks, and Zildjian Cymbals.

Bob Mintzer

Bob Mintzer is a saxophonist, woodwind specialist, composer/arranger, and educator. Born Jan. 27, 1953, in New Rochelle, New York, he formed a connection to music at a very early age, primarily through playing piano by ear, and later moving on to guitar, clarinet, drums, and eventually saxophone. Mintzer played clarinet and later saxophone in school band programs while playing guitar and keys in garage bands through high school.

The turning point which solidified Mintzer’s connection to music as a lifelong endeavor came in 1969, when he received a scholarship to attend the Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan. He saw firsthand the commitment involved in becoming a full-time musician. At Interlochen, Mintzer met Peter Erskine, who became a colleague — 50-plus years and counting.

Mintzer attended the Hartt School for music from 1970 to 1972, and the Manhattan School of Music from 1972 to 1974. He was a clarinet major at both institutions while teaching himself jazz and getting together with musicians outside of school. Hartford had a small band of musicians playing jazz every night, which provided an opportunity for Mintzer to play regularly. In New York City, the loft scene was in full swing, and he developed many connections in those nightly loft sessions that sometimes lasted until 6 a.m.

In 1974, upon finishing his year at MSM, Mintzer joined the Tito Puente Orchestra and simultaneously did some touring with Eumir Deodato. In 1975, Mintzer joined the Buddy Rich band and toured steadily with the band for more than two years. The ability to play every night, travel the world, and begin to write arrangements was a golden opportunity.

By 1978, Mintzer was playing with several small jazz groups (Stone Alliance, Teruo Nakamura, Joe Chambers, Mike Mainieri, and a short encounter with Art Blakey), and he was asked to join the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra. Mintzer played with Jones and Lewis for six months, and later with Lewis, as Jones had moved to Europe. In 1980, Bob arranged a project for the Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra to be recorded live playing music by Herbie Hancock at the Montreal Jazz Festival.

In 1981 and 1982, Mintzer was a member of the Jaco Pastorius Word of Mouth band, playing tenor sax, bass clarinet, and doing some arranging/composing for both the big and small band components. In 1983, he started his big band, which consisted of many of the finest musicians in NYC (Michael and Randy Brecker, Marvin Stamm, Lou Soloff, Barry Rogers, Dave Taylor, Don Grolnick, Will Lee, Roger Rosenberg, and Erskine). The band performed regularly at Seventh Avenue South, a club owned by the Brecker Brothers, and occasionally at the Village Vanguard. Around this time, Mintzer made contact with Tom Jung, who had one of the first compact disc labels, Digital Music Productions. This began a 23-year relationship where Mintzer recorded 12 big band CDs and one small band CD. During that time, he garnered four Grammy nominations and one Grammy Award for Homage to Count Basie.

During the ’80s, Mintzer did session work in NYC, playing on numerous recordings as well as jingles and television music. He also joined the faculty at the Manhattan School of Music and spent 22 years there.

In 1990, Mintzer joined the Yellowjackets in Los Angeles to record Greenhouse for GRP Records. This encounter started a 30-plus year relationship that continues to this day.

In 2008, Mintzer moved from Hastings-on-Hudson, New York, to Los Angeles. He accepted the Barbara and Buzz McCoy endowed chair in jazz position at the USC Thornton School of Music. Mintzer and his wife, Carla, eventually settled in a former home of Arnold Schoenberg in the Hollywood hills.

Since 2016, Mintzer has been the chief conductor of the WDR Big Band in Cologne, Germany. He plays Eastman saxophones.

Dane Alderson

In 2001, at the age of 18, backed by James Muller and Scott Lambie, Dane Alderson achieved third place at the National Australian Jazz Bass Awards, held at the Wangaratta Festival of Jazz & Blues, where he also performed with the critically acclaimed jazz fusion band K, featuring Andrew Fisenden, Grant Windsor and Graeme Blevins. In 2002, Alderson won the James Morrison Scholarship and completed his Bachelor of Music in jazz performance at the West Australian Academy of Performing Arts, where he studied with some of Australia’s finest musicians including Graeme Lyall, Ray Walker, Chris Tarr and Paul Pooley. He was also a member of the West Australian Youth Jazz Orchestra Composers Ensemble for two years, under the direction of Lyall.

Alderson performs regularly throughout Europe and Australia with James Morrison’s group, On the Edge. He was also featured on Morrison’s album, On the Edge, which was recorded live at the Sydney Opera House. Alderson was one of the founding members of the award-winning and internationally acclaimed Perth group Void, which consists of Tom O’Halloran on keys, Troy Roberts on sax, and Fisenden on drums. The band has toured throughout the United States and Europe and released the self-titled studio album Void in 2006. In August 2010, Alderson was the solo support act for one of the most innovative and highly respected electric bassists of our time, Victor Wooten, during his Masterclass tour of Australia. Alderson has also toured extensively throughout Asia with the Melbourne-based fusion group Logic, featuring Ben Vanderwal on drums, Glenn Cannon on guitar, and Tim Wilson on sax.

With various bands and ensembles, Alderson has performed at many festivals: the Hong Kong Jazz Festival, Jarasum Jazz Festival, Java Jazz Festival, Beishan Jazz Festival, Melbourne International festival, Burghausen Jazz Festival, Aalener Jazzfest, Perth International Arts Festival, Beijing Jazz Festival, Fremantle International Jazz Festival, Joy of Jazz Festival Johannesburg, and many more.

Alderson performs regularly with the West Australian Symphony Orchestra, Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, and BBC Concert Orchestra. He also performs with highly acclaimed musicians, such as Stanley Jordan, Jamie Oehlers, Joe Chindamo, Matthew Jodrell, Tim Jago, Paul Bollenback, John D’earth, Carter Beauford, Butch Taylor, Robert Jospé, Randy Johnson, Kate Ceberano, Emma Pask, Jeremy Gregory, Dave Samuels, Michael Manring, Simon Stockhausen, Muller, Vanderwal, and Wooten.

As of April 2015, Alderson has been touring, performing and recording with the internationally renowned and Grammy Award-winning jazz fusion band the Yellowjackets. Alderson plays New York Bass Works Instruments, Aguilar Amplification, D’Addario Bass Strings.