> Visions: The Stevie Wonder Songbook (LIMITED SEATS AVAILABLE)

> Rebecca Martin feat. Grenadier, Cardenas & Goldings

> Dave Douglas Quintet Plus

> George Cables Trio

> Nicholas Payton with the Taylor Eigsti Trio

> Joshua Redman Trio

> SJW All-Star Jam Session

> Taylor Eigsti feat. Becca Stevens

Limited seats available!
Visions: The Stevie Wonder Songbook
Derick Hughes, vocals; Joe Gilman, piano; Bennett Paster, keyboards; Jorge Roeder, bass; Ndugu Chancler and Austin Harris, drums; plus special guests

Thursday, July 29, 7:30 & 9:00 PM | Campbell Recital Hall
Tickets: $24 general | $14 students

Stevie Wonder is indubitably one of America's greatest popular composers. He has written hundreds of songs, including more than 30 top-ten hits. He has earned countless honors, including more Grammy awards than any other male recording artist. He's even President Obama's favorite musician. His songs are more than radio-friendly pop confections; they have the kind of rich harmonies and narrative forms that jazz improvisers love to play.

Stanford Jazz Workshop pianists Joe Gilman and Bennett Paster have both been deeply influenced by Stevie Wonder's music, and each has a different perspective on these classic tunes. Gilman's unique acoustic jazz trio arrangements put a contemporary twist on many of Stevie's most beloved tunes with complex grooves and spontaneous interplay, as heard on his albums View So Tender: Wonder Revisited Volumes 1 and 2. Paster draws upon his mastery of diverse musical styles, including modern jazz, rhythm and blues, and funk, to create compelling contexts for his adventurous improvisations. Come and celebrate the legacy of one of America's most beloved songwriters with these two phenomenal pianists and a spectacular cast of Stanford Jazz artists.

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Rebecca Martin
featuring Larry Grenadier, Steve Cardenas & Larry Goldings
Rebecca Martin, vocals; Steve Cardenas, guitar; Larry Goldings, piano; Larry Grenadier, bass

Saturday, July 31, 8 pm | Campbell Recital Hall
Tickets: $32 general | $18 students

Rebecca Martin, the leader of Stanford Jazz's first-ever songwriting program, "is a fresh jazz singer set loose in folk-pop, or vice versa; you never quite know which... and both sides of the equation come out well" (New York Times). Duke Ellington, who rejected categorization of all kinds, famously said that there are only two kinds of music: "good music, and the other kind." Although it's difficult to place it neatly in a single genre - it's been referred to as jazz, pop, folk, rock, and just about every other label- singer/songwriter Rebecca Martin's music is good, in the Ellingtonian sense of the word.

Beginning her recording career with the group Once Blue, Martin was quickly drawn to writing her own songs. Audiences immediately responded; her first solo release, People Behave Like Ballads, was a New York Times Critic's Pick, while her 2009 album The Growing Season won an Independent Music award for best Folk/Singer-Songwriter album. Her voice and songwriting have been compared to Joni Mitchell, but jazz lovers will hear echoes of Billie Holliday's intimate, honest style, along with a trace of Anita O'Day's playfulness. Whether you love the sophistication and spontaneity of jazz, the earthy honesty of folk music, or the catchiness of pop - or if, like Duke Ellington, you simply appreciate good music made with skill and sincerity - "let Martin's astute, erudite perspectives on the human condition wash over you, and you'll know you're in the company of emerging genius" (JazzTimes).

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Dave Douglas Quintet Plus
Dave Douglas, trumpet; Joshua Redman, saxophone; Steve Cardenas, guitar; Larry Goldings, piano; Larry Grenadier, bass; Clarence Penn, drums

Sunday, August 1, 8 PM | Dinkelspiel Auditorium
Tickets: $32 general | $18 students | TAKE 5!

The only constant in Dave Douglas's music is excellence. The New York-based trumpeter and composer has led an amazing variety of projects since he made his bandleading debut in the early 1990's. Director of the Banff International Workshop in Jazz and Creative Music and the co-founder and director of the Festival of New Trumpet Music in New York, his music exemplifies the state of modern jazz today, mixing influences and ideas from a broad range of musical genres and cultures and bringing it all to life with the spark of improvisation. Yet even Douglas's most forward-looking music is rooted in his deep appreciation of what has come before. He has recorded tributes to underappreciated jazz originators Booker Little and Mary Lou Williams. His "Brass Ecstasy" project pays homage to Lester Bowie as well as the parade bands where Louis Armstrong and King Oliver sowed the seeds of modern jazz improvisation.

His remarkable musical innovations have earned Douglas overwhelming acclaim from critics and audiences alike. His accolades include numerous DownBeat magazine critics' polls, including a trifecta in 2001 (best trumpet player, best composer, and album of the year for Soul on Soul); a Guggenheim Fellowship; and two Grammy nominations. Never content to rest on his laurels, Dave Douglas reminds us that "rebellion against the tyrannies of specialization and predictability...can motivate a musician to exhilarating heights" (San Francisco Chronicle).

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Nicholas Payton
with the Taylor Eigsti Trio
Nicholas Payton, trumpet; Taylor Eigsti, piano; Reuben Rogers, bass; Eric Harland, drums

Tuesday, August 3, 8 pm | Dinkelspiel Auditorium
Tickets: $32 general | $18 students

Trumpeter Nicholas Payton created a sensation in the jazz world when he first earned national recognition at the forefront of the straight-ahead jazz resurgence of the early 1990's. Barely into his twenties when he made his first recording as a leader, Payton was celebrated for his warm trumpet tone and his style, which encompassed "the clarion tones and bluesy growls of Louis Armstrong and the fluidity and fire of modern masters" (SF Chronicle). Since then, he has revealed undiscovered sides of his musical personality and talent in a wide variety of acclaimed projects, including a tribute to Louis Armstrong, a program of compositions by Herbie Hancock, a Grammy-winning duet album with jazz trumpet pioneer Doc Cheatham, an album of funky electronic fusion, and many more.

Payton's 2008 album Into the Blue focuses on musical fundamentals, with tremendous results. Powerful melodies, danceable tempos, and uncluttered elegance characterize the album's ten selections, which showcase Payton's lyrical improvisations, gorgeous tone, and superb writing with a "rewardingly informal vibe" (New York Times).

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Joshua Redman Trio
Joshua Redman, saxophone; Reuben Rogers, bass; Eric Harland, drums

Wednesday, August 4, 8 PM | Dinkelspiel Auditorium
Tickets: $36 general | $22 students | TAKE 5!

Almost 20 years ago, saxophonist Joshua Redman stepped into the jazz spotlight, and he's been going from strength to strength ever since. The son of the revered tenorman Dewey Redman, Joshua played in the Berkeley High School Jazz Ensemble (and attended Stanford Jazz Workshop) but initially planned to be a lawyer. However, in 1991, he won first place in the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition, heralding his future as one of the most commercially successful and technically formidable saxophonists of his generation. Redman's tone is warm, rich, and distinctive, and his improvisations dart nimbly from the horn's lowest register into the stratosphere and back. He has amassed multiple Grammy nominations and sold hundreds of thousands of CD's; he was also the Artistic Director of the SFJAZZ Spring Season from 2000-2007 and Director of the SFJAZZ Collective from 2004 to 2007. Redman's 2009 album, Compass, has been lauded as the "crowning achievement of his career" (All About Jazz) and a "dazzling album of considerable artistry" (BBC Music UK). Joshua Redman has repeatedly proved himself to be "one of the most formidable tenor players of his generation" (San Francisco Chronicle).

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SJW All-Star Jam Session
Joshua Redman, Andrew Speight, saxophone; Dave Douglas, Nicholas Payton, trumpet; Josh Roseman, trombone; Dena DeRose, Madeline Eastman, vocals; Steve Cardenas, guitar; George Cables, Taylor Eigsti, Stefan Karlsson, piano; Reuben Rogers, bass; Eric Harland, Clarence Penn, drums and more

Friday, August 6, 8 PM | Dinkelspiel Auditorium
Tickets: $36 general | $22 students | TAKE 5!

When the gig ends, a jazz musician's day is just beginning. As the nightclub patrons pay their bar tabs and head home to bed, musicians begin to congregate at after-hours jam sessions, where they play with and for their peers. At these informal gatherings, which few non-musicians are privileged to attend, groups of artists who don't normally play together create new sounds and try out new ideas, and the music is always spontaneous and fresh. Performing for an audience of fellow musicians forces the players to stay creative and play their best.

Each year, Stanford Jazz Workshop assembles an all-star faculty of outstanding musicians at every stage in their careers. Always a highlight of the Stanford Jazz Festival, our annual Faculty All-Star Jam brings the spontaneity of a late-night jam session to the stage and provides a once-in-a lifetime opportunity to see some of the music's most revered masters share the stage with up-and-coming young stars in an informal, unpredictable setting. And you don't even need to stay up all night to hear it!

Photo Credit: Scott Chernis.
This performance supported in part by Dent Hand.

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Taylor Eigsti Group
featuring Becca Stevens
Becca Stevens, vocals; Taylor Eigsti, piano; Harish Raghavan, bass; Eric Harland, drums

Saturday, August 7, 8 PM | Dinkelspiel Auditorium
Tickets: $36 general | $22 students | TAKE 5!

For New York-based pianist Taylor Eigsti, the Stanford Jazz Workshop is an annual homecoming (he grew up in nearby Menlo Park, and has taught at the Workshop for a decade) and a chance to present his latest musical offerings to some of his longest-standing and most devoted fans. Taylor's career gathers momentum with each passing year as he performs internationally with his own groups and a who's-who of renowned jazz artists. All About Jazz praised his 2008 recording Let It Come to You as "a monster of an album," and All Music Guide raves, "Eigsti just keeps getting more compelling and interesting." With his strongly rhythmic playing and endless melodic inventiveness, it's easy to see why Taylor is in such high demand.

Taylor's new release Daylight at Midnight (Concord Jazz) explores a set of tunes that, while not exactly jazz standards, will no doubt be familiar to some members of the Stanford Jazz audience. Songs by contemporary artists like Elliot Smith, Coldplay, and Nick Drake provide the starting point for Taylor's improvisational excursions, just as the compositions of Cole Porter and George Gershwin have for generations of jazz musicians. Taylor and his band, featuring vocalist Becca Stevens, inject new life, subtlety, and emotional depth into these modern songs. Some of the melodies come from the world of pop, but these young musicians' spontaneity and creativity will convince even die-hard traditionalists that jazz in the 21st Century is thriving.

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Thanks To Our Sponsors
Through cash sponsorships and in-kind donations, our 2010 Festival sponsors help to make the Stanford Jazz Festival and Workshop possible. SJW gratefully acknowledges the following sponsors for their generosity: See’s Candies, Presenting Sponsor of the 2010 Stanford Jazz Festival; Department of Music at Stanford University; KCSM FM 91.1; Palo Alto Weekly; Rosewood Sand Hill Hotel; Stanford Park Hotel; Avid; Vin, Vino, Wine; Gordon Biersch Brewing Company; CoHo; Western Jazz Presenters Network; Stanford Blood Center; Gallien Krueger; Yamaha Drums, Bank of the West Classic.

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