Jazz at Princeton University to Present Rudresh Mahanthappa's Hero Trio

Jazz at Princeton University, helmed by trailblazing saxophonist/composer Rudresh Mahanthappa, will return to live performances on Saturday, November 6 with a concert featuring Mahanthappa's internationally renowned Hero Trio performing with Princeton's Small Group I. Other concerts this season include performances by student groups led by faculty members Mahanthappa, Trineice Robinson-Martin, Matthew Parrish and Darcy James Argue. The concerts are free and open to the vaccinated public. For information, go to https://music.princeton.edu/calendar.

"Interfacing with the community via concerts by our renowned faculty and accomplished students has always been an important aspect of Jazz at Princeton," says Mahanthappa. "I'm excited that we are able to bring it back and offer audiences the joy of attending live performances for the first time since the beginning of the pandemic."

Fall performances include:

Saturday, November 6, 2021

Jazz Small Group I and Rudresh Mahanthappa's Hero Trio
8 pm, Richardson Auditorium, Alexander Hall. Free and open to the public. For tickets and information, call 609-258-9220 or log on to https://music.princeton.edu/events/jazz-small-group-i-rudresh-mahanthappa's-hero-trio-concert

One of the top ensembles in jazz, Mahanthappa's Hero Trio features the saxophone icon with bassist François Moutin and drummer Rudy Royston. Their album Hero Trio, released in 2020 at the height of the pandemic, earned wide acclaim including top spots as one of the best albums of the year in outlets and publications including NPR, Paste, DownBeat, JazzTimes, Jazziz, Chicago Tribune, Boston Globe, and Denver Post. Robert Baird of Qobuz calls the album "a near perfect mix of buoyancy and mastery, a welcome revelation." John Murph of DownBeat writes: "These tributes burst with so much interpretive ingenuity, sparkling friction and caffeinated improvisational interplay that they demand considerable replay." Jason Bivins wrote in Dusted that Hero Trio offers "a genuinely expansive, and often thrilling, ride through songs from Mahanthappa's personal pantheon....In a year of precious little joy, this is quite simply a jewel of a jazz record."

Wednesday, December 1

Jazz Small Group I led by Rudresh Mahanthappa

7:30 pm, Taplin Auditorium, Fine Hall. Free and open to the public. For information, call 609-258-9220 or log on to https://music.princeton.edu/events/jazz-small-group-i-concert

Mahanthappa leads Princeton's premiere small jazz ensemble in an energizing and beautiful evening of music.

Thursday, December 2

Jazz Vocal Collective led by Trineice Robinson-Martin
7:30 pm, Taplin Auditorium, Fine Hall. Free and open to the public. For information, call 609-258-9220 or log on to https://music.princeton.edu/events/jazz-vocal-collective-3

Jazz at Princeton University's Jazz Vocal Collective (JVC), Princeton University's elite small jazz ensemble that features solo voice, will join director Dr. Trineice Robinson-Martin and showcase their original arrangements of classic and contemporary jazz compositions.

Internationally recognized as one of the leading educators in gospel and soul voice training, Dr. Trineice Robinson-Martin specializes in vocal pedagogy and performance practices for contemporary music styles (jazz, pop, gospel, R&B, country, rock, music theater). As the creator of Soul Ingredients®, a methodology for nurturing vocal freedom and authentic musical interpretation and expression, Dr. Robinson-Martin regularly travels nationally and internationally teaching voice, lecturing and giving workshops. She also performs internationally and recently released All Or Nothing, her highly acclaimed debut album as a leader.

Saturday, December 4

Small Groups X & Z led by Matthew Parrish
7:30 pm, Taplin Auditorium, Fine Hall. Free and open to the public. For information, call 609-258-9220 or log on to https://music.princeton.edu/events/jazz-small-groups-x-z

The Princeton University Jazz Ensembles X & Z perform under the direction of master bassist Matthew Parrish. Group X evokes the small group tradition of the Art Blakey groups of the 50's and 60's where improvisation and inspiring interaction are key. The group performs as a septet with several featured trio performances. Group Z is new this year, created in response to the expanding number of excellent student musicians participating in Princeton's jazz program.

Matthew Parrish is a sought-after performer, arranger, composer, producer, and instructor. Matthew's warmth in his playing and loyalty to delivering heartfelt, passionate works is apparent in every note, every tune, and every interaction with his fellow musicians. Born in central California, Matthew has performed and recorded with top names in jazz including Regina Carter, Wynton Marsalis, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Paquito D'Rivera, Clark Terry, Etta Jones, Orrin Evans, Clark Terry, Dr. Jonnie Smith, Savion Glover, Bill Charlap, Houston Person, and many others. He has recorded over sixty works, including his debut CD Circles (2000) and his most recent recordings with Karine Aguiar.

Monday, December 6

Small Group A led by Rudresh Mahanthappa
7:30 pm, Taplin Auditorium, Fine Hall. Free and open to the public. For information, call 609-258-9220 or log on tohttps://music.princeton.edu/events/jazz-small-group

Jazz at Princeton University's Small Group A, directed by Rudresh Mahanthappa, presents an evening of jazz at its most intimate in a showcase of improvisation and inspiring interaction.

Friday, December 10 - Creative Large Ensemble - Led by Darcy James Argue
8 pm, Richardson Auditorium, Alexander Hall. Free and open to the public. For tickets and information, call 609-258-9220 or log on to https://music.princeton.edu/events/jazz-creative-large-ensemble-fall-concert

Hear Jazz at Princeton University's Creative Large Ensemble led by Darcy James Argue in their first live performance since the start of the pandemic. The ensemble continues to redefine the big band in an innovative program encompassing classic and contemporary repertoire.

Vancouver-born, Brooklyn-based composer and bandleader Darcy James Argue has toured nationally and internationally with his 18-piece ensemble, Secret Society. Argue made his mark with his critically acclaimed 2009 debut Infernal Machines. 2013 saw the release of Brooklyn Babylon, which, like Infernal Machines before it, earned the group nominations for both GRAMMY and JUNO Awards. His most recent recording, Real Enemies, released in the fall of 2016, earned a third consecutive GRAMMY nomination. Secret Society maintains a busy touring schedule, with European, Canadian, and South American tours and four appearances at the Newport Jazz Festival. Argue has also toured Australia and New Zealand leading the Jazzgroove Mothership Orchestra. He has led performances of his music by the WDR Big Band, the Danish Radio Big Band, the Frankfurt Radio Big Band, the Cologne Contemporary Jazz Orchestra, the Big Band Palácio das Artes, and the West Point Jazz Knights. Argue has composed works for chamber duo and string quartet, art songs for Newspeak, and created arrangements for the Atlanta Symphony. In 2015, Argue was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in Music Composition and a Doris Duke Artist Award. He has received commissions from the Fromm Music Foundation, the Jazz Gallery, the Manhattan New Music Project, the Jerome Foundation, and BAM, as well as ensembles including the Danish Radio Big Band, the Hard Rubber Orchestra, the West Point Jazz Knights, and the Orquestra Jazz de Matosinhos. He is the recipient of grants and fellowships from the New York Foundation for the Arts, New Music USA, the Aaron Copland Fund for Music, Composers Now, the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation, the Canada Council for the Arts, and the MacDowell Colony.

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