Marquis Hill


Jazz trumpet rising star Marquis Hill drops in with a set that’ll blow your mind. Think jazz meets hip-hop beats meets R&B vibes meets electrifying energy. Join us Join us at the Stanford Jazz Festival on Saturday, July 27. Tix on sale March 14.

Hard bop with hip-hop flavor

Marquis Hill






Saturday, July 27

7:30 p.m.

Dinkelspiel Auditorium

SJW Members: $54 | $44 | Child (17 and under) & Student (w/ valid student ID card) $12
Non-members: $62 | $52 | Child (17 and under) & Student (w/ valid student ID card) $20

Ticket prices include all fees; what you see is what you pay.

Programs, personnel, venues, and pricing subject to change without notice.



Personnel

Marquis Hill, trumpet

Additional personnel TBA


About Marquis Hill




“. . . a smart post-bop player . . . incorporating elements of hip-hop and  R&B.” —The New Yorker

“. . . a fluid improvisational style . . . recalls the crisp elegance of hard-bop stalwart Donald Byrd.”—DownBeat

A trumpeter and flugelhornist possessing enviable poise and a far-reaching vision, Marquis Hill is an intensely eloquent improviser who embraces a broad spectrum of Black American music. Based in New York City for the past decade, he’s a Chicago-reared master, and he absorbed the city’s independent ethic. Making his festival debut, Hill arrives at Stanford at the age of 37 having long embraced his role as a guiding force for younger players, much like he was mentored by Bobby Broom, Willie Pickens, Tito Carrillo and other Chicago greats through the Ravinia Jazz Scholars program. Winning a series of prestigious awards, culminating with the 2014 Thelonious Monk International Trumpet Competition, catapulted Hill into national prominence. Recording prolifically, mostly for his own Black Unlimited Music Group label, he’s documented his encompassing musical world, forging a highly personal synthesis of modern and contemporary jazz, hip-hop, R&B, Chicago house, and neo-soul. For Hill the various styles are essential elements of the profound African-American creative heritage he’s determined to champion. “It all comes from the same tree,” he says. “They simply blossomed from different branches.” His latest release, 2023’s Rituals + Routines, features his potent working band and special guests like vibraphonist Joel Ross and saxophonist Braxton Cook on a program that seamlessly blends jazz interplay, hip-hop-infused rhythms and socially conscious spoken-word passages. No matter what idiom he’s drawing on in the moment, his tone evokes trumpet history, touching on Miles’ canny use of silence, Woody Shaw’s intervallic leaps, and Lee Morgan’s bluesy swagger.







sight & sound





An Evening With Victor Lin: music from anime and Studio Ghibli



Totoro jazz? Only at Stanford!

An Evening With Victor Lin: music from anime and Studio Ghibli






Thursday, July 25

7:30 p.m.

Dinkelspiel Auditorium

SJW Members: $54 | Child (17 and under) & Student (w/ valid student ID card) $12

Non-members: $62 | Child (17 and under) & Student (w/ valid student ID card) $20

Ticket prices include all fees; what you see is what you pay.

Programs, personnel, venues, and pricing subject to change without notice.



Personnel

Victor Lin, piano and violin

Additional personnel TBA


About An Evening With Victor Lin: music from anime and Studio Ghibli



“Victor Lin . . . plays piano and violin . . .  with skill and imagination . . . serious chops.”—Highlights in Jazz

If you’re the type who hears a song by Joe Hisaishi in your head when you see a picture of Totoro, then you already know why music from anime by Studio Ghibli and other studios is popular around the world. The emotional impact of anime is tied inextricably with the music, and that makes these songs extremely powerful. Piano and violin virtuoso Victor Lin is putting together an ensemble of truly remarkable jazz artists to explore this beloved music, to create an exciting, heartfelt, and unforgettable performance. 







sight & sound




Sam Reider with special guest Anat Cohen: American Panoramas



Delightful Americana, expanded and supercharged

Sam Reider with special guest Anat Cohen: American Panoramas






Wednesday, July 24

7:30 p.m.

Campbell Recital Hall

SJW Members: $54 | Child (17 and under) & Student (w/ valid student ID card) $12

Non-members: $62 | Child (17 and under) & Student (w/ valid student ID card) $20

Ticket prices include all fees; what you see is what you pay.

Programs, personnel, venues, and pricing subject to change without notice.



Personnel

Sam Reider, accordion
Anat Cohen, clarinet

Additional personnel TBA


About Sam Reider with special guest Anat Cohen: American Panoramas



“[Reider’s music is] modern folk music.”—The New York Times

“[Reider’s music is] highly creative, original music.”—NPR

“Ms. Cohen on the clarinet was a revelation . . .  she took my breath away.”—The New York Times

It’s no surprise that accordionist and pianist Sam Reider was nominated for a Grammy this year: His duo project with Venezuelan artist Jorge Glem and their debut recording, Brooklyn-Cumaná, is musically so much greater than just the sum of the two performers. Every project that Sam undertakes breaks down barriers, real or imagined, creating a musical landscape where styles and traditions flow freely into one another, blending joyfully yet retaining their heart and meaning. This show will be Sam on steroids — musically speaking — as he’ll be joined by clarinetist Anat Cohen, herself one of the world’s bright lights of boundary blending, bringing her unbridled jazz virtuosity to elevate any piece she plays. 







sight & sound




Aldo López-Gavilán


Cuban pianist extraordinaire Aldo López-Gavilán brings his fiery, creative approach to jazz to the Stanford Jazz Festival, in a performance that will electrify you, on Tuesday July 23 at Stanford University. Tickets on sale April 18; April 4 if you’re an SJW member.

Electrifying Cuban creativity, style, and virtuosity

Aldo López-Gavilán






Tuesday, July 23

7:30 p.m.

Campbell Recital Hall

SJW Members: $54 | Child (17 and under) & Student (w/ valid student ID card) $12

Non-members: $62 | Child (17 and under) & Student (w/ valid student ID card) $20

Ticket prices include all fees; what you see is what you pay.

Programs, personnel, venues, and pricing subject to change without notice.



Personnel

Aldo López-Gavilán, piano

Additional personnel TBA


About Aldo López-Gavilán




“Dazzling technique and rhythmic fire. . . . ”—The Seattle Times 

“A formidable virtuoso. . . .”—The Times (London)

Cuban pianist and composer Aldo López-Gavilán is a genius with exceedingly rare talent and international success in both the classical and jazz worlds as a recitalist, concerto soloist, composer, and performer of his own electrifying jazz. Legendary Cuban pianist Chucho Valdés says that Aldo is “simply a genius, a star.” First coming to the attention of the SJW community in Los Hermanos / The Brothers, a film documenting his musical reunion with his brother, Ilmar, a virtuoso violinist, Aldo has an unbridled approach to composition and improvisation, and a seemingly limitless technique at his command. Accompanied by a band of brilliant SJW artists in this intimate setting, Aldo will showcase his awe-inspiring and achingly beautiful compositions which defy categorization, but which express the totality of his multi-cultural experience and musical vision.







sight & sound





Ella-bration: Tiffany Austin sings Ella Fitzgerald



A tribute to the First Lady of Song

Ella-bration: Tiffany Austin sings Ella Fitzgerald






Monday, July 22

7:30 p.m.

Campbell Recital Hall

SJW Members: $39 | Child (17 and under) & Student (w/ valid student ID card) $10

Non-members: $47 | Child (17 and under) & Student (w/ valid student ID card) $18

Ticket prices include all fees; what you see is what you pay.

Programs, personnel, venues, and pricing subject to change without notice.



Personnel

Tiffany Austin, vocals
Roy McCurdy, drums
Howard Wiley, saxophone
Tammy Hall, piano
Ron Belcher, bass


About Ella-bration: Tiffany Austin sings Ella Fitzgerald




“[Austin] is a vocalist to keep an ear out for.” — NPR

Join the amazing vocalist Tiffany Austin as she takes you back in time to the musically vibrant 1930s with a captivating tribute to the “Queen of Swing,” Ella Fitzgerald. Focusing on the years Ella spent at the dawn of the Swing Era with the Chick Webb Orchestra, Tiffany will let you experience the excitement of witnessing a rising star in the making. Drummer Roy McCurdy is himself part of jazz history, having recorded and toured with Sonny Rollins, Cannonball Adderley, Nancy Wilson, Art Farmer, and Benny Golson. If you love great jazz singing and wonderful songs, don’t miss this show!







sight & sound





Anat Cohen Quartetinho


Grammy-nominated clarinetist Anat Cohen leads this dynamic little quartet on a musical journey, weaving together Brazilian styles, chamber music, jazz improvisation, and captivating storytelling. Join us at the Stanford Jazz Festival on Saturday, July 20. Tix on sale March 14.

Joyous virtuosity with a world of influences

Anat Cohen Quartetinho






Saturday, July 20

7:30 p.m.

Dinkelspiel Auditorium

SJW Members: $54 | $44 | Child (17 and under) & Student (w/ valid student ID card) $12

Non-members: $62 | $52 | Child (17 and under) & Student (w/ valid student ID card) $20

Ticket prices include all fees; what you see is what you pay.

Programs, personnel, venues, and pricing subject to change without notice.



Personnel

Anat Cohen, clarinet
Vitor Gonçalves, piano and accordion
Tal Mashiach, bass
James Shipp, vibraphone 


About Anat Cohen Quartetinho




“An enthralling clarinetist. . . .”—The New Yorker

“Ms. Cohen on the clarinet was a revelation . . .  she took my breath away.”—The New York Times

Everything in Anat Cohen’s musical world is connected, though her high-flying career extends across three continents like a tripod with a foot each in New York City, Rio de Janeiro, and Tel Aviv. Possessing a rich, creamy-toned tenor sax tone and a startlingly lustrous sound on clarinet, the Israeli-born reed master has created a capacious and cosmopolitan body of work ranging across jazz idioms and hybrid styles. A festival favorite since her 2015 Dinkelspiel debut, she’s often brought her abiding passion for Brazilian music to Stanford, and this concert features the latest vehicle for extending her Brazilian jazz reach. With players gleaned from her acclaimed Tentet, Cohen’s Quartetinho features Rio-born keyboard maestro Vitor Gonçalves on piano, accordion and Fender Rhodes, Israeli bassist Tal Mashiach doubling on guitar, and James Shipp on vibes, percussion and some electronics. Cohen focuses on bass clarinet in the group, which she created “to explore more intimate, chamber jazz sounds,” she says. “We played our first show on March 7, 2020 and the next day everything shut down. It’s a group I’ve been trying to play with ever since. I love these guys. It’s a different space. Everyone contributes some original music, and everyone has an affinity for Brazilian music, but with open space for improvisation and more folkloric sounds.” With ravishing tunes by Antonio Carlos Jobim and Egberto Gismonti thrown into the mix, the Quartetinho delivers an embracing blast of beauty with every performance.







sight & sound





Adi Meyerson’s Dark Matter / Emily Kuhn Quintet



Two brilliant rising star composer/performers

Adi Meyerson’s Dark Matter / Emily Kuhn Quintet






Thursday, July 18

7:30 p.m.

Campbell Recital Hall

SJW Members: $39 | Child (17 and under) & Student (w/ valid student ID card) $10

Non-members: $47 | Child (17 and under) & Student (w/ valid student ID card) $18

Ticket prices include all fees; what you see is what you pay.

Programs, personnel, venues, and pricing subject to change without notice.



Personnel

Adi Meyerson, bass

Additional personnel TBA

Emily Kuhn, trumpet

Additional personnel TBA


About Adi Meyerson’s Dark Matter / Emily Kuhn Quintet




“Intuitive and perspicacious, [Meyerson] displays a musical maturity that belies her newcomer status.” —DownBeat“[Kuhn’s music is] the kind of lyrical, spacious jazz that draws you deep within its cocoon-like atmosphere.”—AllMusic.com

Dark Matter, bassist Adi Meyerson’s latest project, is a stripped-down, chordless acoustic quartet with bass, drums and two horns. Together they explore a musical space and time travelogue, creating tension and exhalation in silence and cacophony. Adi’s intention with Dark Matter is to offer you a place for calm reflection on our immediate moment through the melodic lyricism and more abstract sounds.

Performing music from her latest recording, Ghosts of Us, trumpet artist Emily Kuhn says her music draws inspiration from the natural world, science fiction, and the Covid-19 pandemic, meditating on themes of stillness, connection, grief, and hope. The group relies on their strong foundation of musical trust to deftly navigate influences from jazz, rock, chamber music, and Americana.

Both of these acclaimed young artists are alumni of SJW’s Mentor Fellowship program.







sight & sound





Ruth Davies’ Blues Night with Joe Louis Walker



Blues guitar fire with brimstone vocals

Ruth Davies’ Blues Night with Joe Louis Walker






Wednesday, July 17

7:30 p.m.

Dinkelspiel Auditorium

SJW Members: $54 | $44 | Child (17 and under) & Student (w/ valid student ID card) $12

Non-members: $62 | $52 | Child (17 and under) & Student (w/ valid student ID card) $20

Ticket prices include all fees; what you see is what you pay.

Programs, personnel, venues, and pricing subject to change without notice.



Personnel

Joe Louis Walker, guitar and vocals
Ruth Davies, bass

Additional personnel TBA


About Ruth Davies’ Blues Night with Joe Louis Walker




“Walker’s guitar playing is fine and fierce.” —Billboard

“Walker is a singer with a Cadillac of a voice.” —The New York Times

“Ferocious!” —Rolling Stone

Blues legend Joe Louis Walker appears for the first time at the beloved annual Ruth Davies’ Blues Night! A true powerhouse guitar virtuoso, a unique singer, and prolific songwriter, he has performed at the world’s top music festivals and earned legions of dedicated fans. He has opened for Muddy Waters and Thelonious Monk, hung out with Jimi Hendrix, Freddie King, and Mississippi Fred McDowell, and was a close friend and roommate to Mike Bloomfield. In short, Joe Louis Walker is the blues. 

Bassist Ruth Davies curates the annual Blues Night, and she backs a band of Bay Area blues and jazz royalty. Ruth is herself a blues legend, having toured and recorded with John Lee Hooker, Jimmy Witherspoon, Bonnie Raitt, Charles Brown, Taj Mahal, Elvin Bishop, and many others. 

If you love real, authentic blues, get your tickets!







sight & sound





Mikailo Kasha Trio with special guest Dayna Stephens



Generations of jazz inspire each other, and delight you

Mikailo Kasha Trio with special guest Dayna Stephens






Tuesday, July 16

7:30 p.m.

Campbell Recital Hall

SJW Members: $39 | Child (17 and under) & Student (w/ valid student ID card) $10

Non-members: $47 | Child (17 and under) & Student (w/ valid student ID card) $18

Ticket prices include all fees; what you see is what you pay.

Programs, personnel, venues, and pricing subject to change without notice.



Personnel

Mikailo Kasha, bass
Dayna Stephens, saxophone
Connor Rohrer, piano
Jon Ziegler, drums


About Mikailo Kasha Trio with special guest Dayna Stephens




“[Mikailo is] in the top 1% of bassists worldwide.” — Scotty Barnhart, Count Basie Orchestra

“[Dayna’s]  big, warm lines are full of intent.” —JazzTimes

In an over-hyped jazz scene, bassist Mikailo Kasha and his special guest, saxophonist Dayna Stephens, are refreshing outliers. With an warm, gorgeous tone, an unerring ear for the groove, and a creative approach infused with delight, Mikailo has earned the respect of jazz colleagues everywhere. His playing and personally share an ebullience that is infectious to band members and audiences alike. 

Mikailo is bringing his Miami-based trio for this show, presenting original music that pushes the traditional role of the bass. His cinematic compositional style and radiant outlook unite into triumphant melodies that aim to uplift and inspire 

Dayna Stephens has performed with some of jazz’s deepest thinkers, including Herbie Hancock, Kenny Barron, and Wayne Shorter. Revered by his contemporaries, Dayna has recorded with an array of startlingly creative peers, such as Gretchen Parlato, Erik Jekabson, Adam Shulman, Matt Slocum, and pianist Taylor Eigsti.

Tying Mikailo and Dayna together is their shared history with SJW: Each of these artists grew their love of jazz as young students here at the Stanford Jazz Workshop. This is their first collaboration at the Stanford Jazz Festival, and you’re not going to believe how exciting this music is going to be.







sight & sound





Natalie John featuring Allison Miller: the Great American Songbook Reimagined



Gorgeous vocals, trumpet, drumming, and interplay.

Natalie John featuring Allison Miller: the Great American Songbook Reimagined






Monday, July 15

7:30 p.m.

Campbell Recital Hall

SJW Members: $39 | Child (17 and under) & Student (w/ valid student ID card) $10

Non-members: $47 | Child (17 and under) & Student (w/ valid student ID card) $18

Ticket prices include all fees; what you see is what you pay.

Programs, personnel, venues, and pricing subject to change without notice.



Personnel

Natalie John, trumpet and vocals
Allison Miller, drums

Additional personnel TBA


About Natalie John featuring Allison Miller: the Great American Songbook Reimagined



“[Natalile’s] music blends together the sultry, coy emotions of jazz singers that precede her with the tension of jagged rhythms and complex, lush harmonies.”—All About Jazz

As we enter a new decade, there is no more important figure in jazz than Allison Miller.”—Paste

Natalie John doesn’t just sing and play trumpet. Her singing connects with you instantly, revealing the heart of the music to you. She uses her gorgeous trumpet tone to weave melodies and improvisations that take you on beautiful journeys. With a deep knowledge of the roots of the jazz tradition, she composes with open ears and broad strokes to create a style all her own. 

In this special Festival performance featuring drummer extraordinaire Allison Miller, Natalie brings together like-minded musicians who employ a vibrant approach to contemporary jazz as they seamlessly weave complex harmonies and rhythms with catchy backbeats and heartbreaking melodies to bring the stories of the Great American Songbook to life. 







sight & sound