The music group "Harriet Tubman" formed in 1998 when drummer J.T. Lewis, guitarist Brandon Ross and bassist Melvin Gibbs came together to start a band with meaning. Named after the heroic African American slave who risked her life to escape from slavery and help more than 300 others to do the same, Harriet Tubman is deeply inspired by the ideals of freedom. The trio’s music — a fusion of soul, rock, jazz, and blues — examines the depths of these genres for their own unique liberated musical expression. The band counts Jimi Hendrix, Ornette Coleman, and Parliament-Funkadelic as contributors to its musical DNA. Guitarist and singer Brandon Ross, bassist Melvin Gibbs, and drummer J.T. Lewis have collaborated with artists as diverse as Cassandra Wilson, Living Colour, Lou Reed, Herbie Hancock, Henry Threadgill, Sting, Arrested Development, the Rollins Band, David Murray and Meshell Ndegeocello. Their own sound is pure and liberated musical expression — a deep and soulful meditation on the concept of freedom.

Harriet Tubman feat. Brandon Ross, Melvin Gibbs, J.T. Lewis

Monterey County Fairgrounds

“Limitless” pianist David Virelles (DownBeat) and percussionist Dafnis Prieto—“one of the most multidimensional artists working today” (JazzTimes)—come together with an all-star ensemble in a program that celebrates the wide-ranging influence of Cuban rhythms across multiple genres of music, curated in collaboration with the singular Tania León. In his new commission, Virelles explores pulses, cycles, and tonalities inspired by the rhythmic language and counterpoint of the three ritual batá drums. Also featured is a piece by Virelles’s mentor, NEA Jazz Master Henry Threadgill, and music by composer and turntablist Val-Inc. The program opens with León’s propulsive duo for piano and percussion, A la par.

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David Virelles Nosotros Ensemble featuring Dafnis Prieto

Carnegie Hall

In a series of “gripping portraits of a vast social upheaval” (Chicago Tribune), Alicia Hall Moran and Jason Moran’s deeply personal presentation Two Wings explores the Great Migration of six million Black Americans from the rural South to northern cities, the West, and beyond.  The husband and wife duo—he a MacArthur Fellow and acclaimed jazz composer and pianist, she a celebrated classical vocalist and composer—trace their family histories through the music that accompanied these brave travelers throughout the 20th century, from Harlem Renaissance-era jazz tunes, gospel hymns, bebop standards, and Broadway show tunes, to classical and chamber music and the Morans’ own compositions. The program even passes through California, where both families put down roots and where Hall Moran was born.  Two Wings also references influential texts by Black authors, historians, and poets. The production, in its West Coast premiere, will be recreated especially for Cal Performances audiences, with a star-studded roster of performers, writers, thinkers, and special guests.

Brandon Ross

Events

Past events

Sep 28, 2024

Harriet Tubman feat. Brandon Ross, Melvin Gibbs, J.T. Lewis · Monterey Jazz Festival

May 21, 2024

David Virelles Nosotros Ensemble featuring Dafnis Prieto · Carnegie Hall

About

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