Yellowjackets to Perform at Gallo Center, 10/4

One of the most distinguished smooth jazz ensembles of the past 30 years is coming to the Gallo Center stage on Friday, October 4 at 7:30 pm. Tickets range in price from $25 to $45, and may be purchased online at GalloArts.org, by calling (209) 338-2100, or at the Gallo Center ticket office, 1000 I Street in downtown Modesto.

>From their self-titled debut album in 1981 to their 2013 release, "A Rise in the Road"-which debuted at #1 on the iTunes Jazz Chart-the smooth jazz/jazz fusion quartet has earned a worldwide following. The Yellowjackets are Russell Ferrante (keyboard), Bob Mintzer (sax), Felix Pastorius (bass) and William Kennedy (drums). Pastorius is the newest member of the group. He replaces original Yellowjackets bassist, the legendary Jimmy Haslip, who is on hiatus to focus on other projects and spend more time with his family. Pastorius is the son of another famed jazz bassist, the late Jaco Pastorius of Weather Report.

"A Rise in the Road" is a 10-track study that burnishes the group's sterling reputation for high quality tonal explorations and ensemble execution, and it's an appropriate title for a time-honored jazz ensemble that has never been fearful of facing newer musical horizons. Yellowjackets has earned 17 Grammy nominations-with two wins-and their new release is enjoying the type of critical acclaim that has followed every one of their previous 21 recordings.

The album is "surely one of their best," says Will Layman of Popmatters.com and a contributor to National Public Radio. "'A Rise in the Road' is a lift, an elevation of a band's game, a move forward."