A Benefit Concert for the Healdsburg Jazz Festival
Date: Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2011
Time: 7pm. One show, two different sets of music
Cost: $25.00
Location: Healdsburg Center for the Arts
130 Plaza St., Healdsburg, CA 95448
Phone: 707-431-1970
The Guarneri Double Quartet is comprised of the Bay Area’s top creative musicians configuring themselves into two different groups, each with a different repertoire and sound. Each configuration will play a single set during the evening benefit concert.
The first set will be performed by a quartet comprised of Mario Guarneri on trumpet, Randy Vincent on guitar, John Witalla on bass and Akira Tana on drums, and will feature innovative interpretations of jazz classics and originals. The musicians are passionate about communicating their love of jazz to others, and through their music project the legacy of this great American art form.
During the second half of the evening the format changes to a double-trumpet quartet, as the guitar is replaced with the trumpet of Erik Jekabson. The four instrumental voices are woven together with intricate artistry, taking the audience along for an unpredictable ride. This group evolves out of the great West Coast jazz tradition of the 1950s and 60s, exemplified by Dave Brubeck, Gerry Mulligan, Chet Baker and Stan Getz.
The Guarneri Double Quartet could be called anything from jazz, with some classical and avant-garde influences, to four-part chamber music. Regardless how one chooses to categorize this unique ensemble, what happens when they play together is nothing short of magic.
Their collective mission is to create honest music from the heart, both fun to play and listen to. The level of musicianship displayed by each of these five musicians is so high that they can go in any direction in the blink of an eye, interacting and transmitting their love of music to their audiences.
Members of the Guarneri Double Quartet have performed and recorded with a wide variety of artists, including Sonny Rollins, Zoot Sims, Bobby Hutcherson, Benny Golson, Joe Henderson, The Manhattan Transfer, Billy Childs, Art Farmer, George Cables, James Moody, Lena Horne and Roger Kellaway. They will play two sets, 7 and 8:30 pm, with a refreshment break in between.
Tickets: Are available now online on this page, and at the Healdsburg Center for the Arts during business hours (daily 11am – 5pm). Advance purchase recommended due to limited seating.
The Healdsburg Center for the Arts is located half block east of the Healdsburg Plaza. It is Healdsburg’s non-profit community art center which hosts art exhibits, art classes, and supports art education in area schools.
The Healdsburg Jazz Festival, now in its 13th year, is an arts and education non-profit dedicated to preserving through education and performance the American musical art form of jazz.
This is the first concert in a three part series sponsored by the Healdsburg Center for the Arts to benefit the Healdsburg Jazz Festival. The others are as follows:
April 1 — Babatunde Lea Quartet + Special Guest
April 30 — Mansa Musa: Mali Meets Jazz