"GREAT MOMENTS IN JAZZ" CONCERTS

The mists of time are steadily encroaching on an era of musical accomplishment that is now known as the "Golden Age of Jazz". The "Golden Age" may be subject to personal opinion and somewhat fluid in its time-frame, but the music genius that provided the raison d'etre of that period is well-identified, if not all that well-known or available to many music enthusiasts in the twenty-first century.

Singular accomplishments have been achieved in the world of jazz and blues performance - some by design, some by accident - in recordings and concerts that rise to the level of "Great Moments in Jazz". The KOOL FM Barrie Jazz And Blues Festival is identifying and presenting such "moments" in concerts at The Centre Stage in Heritage Park this year. Based on the already successful "Giants Of Jazz" concerts - as part of the Yamaha Piano Concerts and Recitals Series - the "Great Moments" intends to recreate, through performance and discussion, a timeless concert or recording and illuminate the circumstances that surrounded the event. Of equal interest is the impact the "moment" had on subsequent generations of musicians and music aficionados, and why the event took on mythic proportions.

On February 21, 1963, a concert at Carnegie Hall - in New York City - would come to be regarded as one of the best jazz concerts ever recorded. "Arguably Dave Brubeck's greatest concert" .... a "truly majestic record that should be in every serious collection" ....."one of the all time great live jazz performances" ..... are just some of the accolades bestowed upon Dave Brubeck - piano; Paul Desmond - alto sax; Eugene Wright - bass; Joe Morello - drums ....
The Dave Brubeck Quartet.
A few years earlier, one of the most popular jazz ensembles ever took the world of music lovers on a melodic-rhythmic roller-coaster ride that left them thrilled and revelling in new-found musical adventures. "At Carnegie Hall" captures the Dave Brubeck Quartet in its mastery of its brilliant compositions, and the artists at the height of their individual musical powers. Of particular interest is the remarkable occurence that two of the greatest drum solos ever performed and recorded took place in Carnegie Hall. Gene Krupa's tour-de-force in "Sing, Sing, Sing" with Benny Goodman's orchestra in 1938 ..... and Joe Morello's extraordnary 11-minute masterpiece played in 5/4 time in "Castillian Drums (Parts 1 and 2)" 25 years later! Coincidence? ..... the fact that these were two of the greatest drummers of the twentieth century, maybe not. The retrospective on this concert will be performed by
The Bernie Senensky Quartet.

Of extraordinary consequence in 1977 was the pairing of two brilliant jazz innovators - Joe Zawinul and Jaco Pastorius - in the creation of the ground-breaking Jazz-Fusion album, "Heavy Weather". The recording did more to influence contemporary jazz than any other recording efforts at the time, and introduced the formidable talent and consummate technique on the electric bass of Jaco Pastorius. Of particular note are two pieces in which Jaco Pastorius elevates the electric bass to an ethereal realm ..... his use of pinched harmonics in the melody of "Birdland", and his command of melodic invention in the bass solo which dominates his composition, "Teen Town". The world was justifiably electrified by the album and subsequent concert performances, and the recording is a continual source of inspiration to all musicians. A retrospective on the album and the musical achievements of Jaco Pastorius will be featured in a concert presented by The Jason Raso Quartet.