Bassist

Comprising four Americans from different cultural backgrounds, the American Patchwork Quartet are activists as well as artists, striving to counter pervasive prejudices around the issues of race and immigration, performing a repertoire of centuries-old American folk songs made new with creative arrangements, drawing connections between the nation’s contemporary culture and its immigrant roots. Led by Grammy-winning vocalist Falu Shah, Grammy-winning guitarist/vocalist Clay Ross, 3x Grammy-winning drummer Clarence Penn, and highly acclaimed and sought-after bassist Yasushi Nakamura, APQ breathes new life into the folk canon, accepting accountability for the future of a country both hospitable and hostile towards those that believe most fervently in its dreams of equality.

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American Patchwork Quartet

McCarter Theatre Center

Acclaimed pianist/composer and 2021 Guggenheim Fellow Helen Sung presents Quartet+, her latest release on Sunnyside Records. Having lived much of her life at the intersection of different worlds — classical and jazz, and as the American-born daughter of Chinese immigrants — her desire to harmonize these worlds with joy and humanity is at the heart of Quartet+, which celebrates women’s artistry and their music. Vividly blending the jazz and classical worlds, Quartet+ takes the listener on a ride through musical time and space with new original compositions by Helen as well as her arrangements of works by landmark women including Geri Allen, Mary Lou Williams, Toshiko Akiyoshi, Carla Bley, and Marian McPartland.

Helen Sung, RJAM piano

Bowes Center

A native of Baku, Azerbaijan, Amina Figarova has risen from her upbringing behind the Iron Curtain to become of the most celebrated pianists and composers on the international jazz scene.

A prodigy who began piano studies at the age of 2, she earned degree in classical piano performance before relocating to Rotterdam and devoting her passions to jazz, eventually landing at Boston’s Berklee College as part of a student exchange program. Combining her classical technique with a love for the music of Oscar Peterson and Duke Ellington, Figarova has released over a dozen exquisite sessions, beginning with her 1994 debut album, Attraction.

Amina Figarova Sextet

SFJAZZ Center

“The quartet's goal is purposeful: to unleash music's magic to help counteract pervasive prejudices around immigration and race” (Montana Public Radio).

On a mission to reclaim the immigrant soul of American folk and roots music, Hindustani vocalist Falu Shah, Ranky Tanky guitarist and co-founder Clay Ross, acclaimed Issei bassist Yasushi Nakamura, and master jazz drummer Clarence Penn showcase the dynamic diversity of contemporary culture by reimagining timeless songs from America's past that highlight the country’s immigrant roots.

The singular Cécile McLorin Salvant is a composer, singer, and visual artist. Salvant has developed a passion for storytelling and finding the connections between vaudeville, blues, folk traditions from around the world, theater, jazz, and baroque music. Salvant is an eclectic curator, unearthing rarely recorded, forgotten songs with strong narratives, interesting power dynamics, unexpected twists, and humor. Salvant won the Thelonious Monk competition in 2010. She has received Grammy Awards for Best Jazz Vocal Album for her 3 latest albums, The Window, Dreams and Daggers, and For One To Love. In 2020, Salvant received the MacArthur fellowship and the Doris Duke Artist Award. In 2020, Salvant created Yolk, a virtual cross-disciplinary performance space. It features her own hand-drawn animation, compositions, and music, in collaboration with dancers, visual artists, musicians, and actors from around the world.

Cécile McLorin Salvant

Bass Concert Hall

Last we saw Cécile McLorin Salvant, one of the great jazz singers, she held a Jackson Hall audience captive with her majestic song cycle Ogresse. It would be the last performance before the Mondavi Center shut down for a 19-month, pandemic-related pause. Now the singer returns with Ghost Song, a remarkable album born during the pandemic, on which Salvant interprets songs from Kate Bush, Gregory Porter alongside her stunning original compositions. It’s another reminder that Salvant is an artist whose voice and artistry continue to grow with every new step she takes. “People think that I sing love songs, but more and more I’m realizing that I sing about yearning and the imagination that comes from wanting something and not having it,” says Salvant.  “That’s really when we’re at our most creative.”

Cécile McLorin Salvant Quintet

Robert and Margrit Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts

One of the jazz world’s longest-running and most-iconic events, the Monterey Jazz Festival celebrates its 65th year with a must-hear once-in-a-lifetime ensemble. Featuring Tony- and Grammy Award-winning NEA Jazz Master vocalist Dee Dee Bridgewater alongside Grammy Award-winning vocalist Kurt Elling and critically acclaimed rising-star saxophonist Lakecia Benjamin, this stellar band will be directed by visionary pianist Christian Sands and anchored by his longtime rhythm section, bassist Yasushi Nakamura and drummer Clarence Penn.

Monterey Jazz Festival On Tour

Walt Disney Concert Hall

For 65 years, the Monterey Jazz Festival has played host to the greatest names in jazz. Now hear a collection of outstanding jazz stars in one performance as the Monterey Jazz Festival goes on tour.

McCallum Theatre

The illustrious Monterey Jazz Festival once again sends six of its finest jazz ambassadors to Berkeley as part of its popular touring program. Multiple-Grammy-winning vocalists Dee Dee Bridgewater, among the “best-rounded and unique jazz vocalists singing today” (All About Jazz), and Kurt Elling, “the standout male jazz vocalist of our time” (The New York Times), scat, swoon, and soar as they bring swing standards, moody ballads, bop favorites, and Latin hits to life. The hard-swinging band is led by pianist Christian Sands, with rising-star saxophonist Lakecia Benjamin (Missy Elliott, Alicia Keys), and the well-oiled rhythm section of bassist Yasushi Nakamura (Wynton Marsalis, Hank Jones) and drummer Clarence Penn (Betty Carter, Maria Schneider).

Monterey Jazz Festival on Tour

University of California, Berkeley

This special event transforms The Conrad for the spellbinding, once-in-a-generation vocalist Cécile McLorin Salvant, a multi-GRAMMY-winner and MacArthur Fellow. Salvant has a captivating passion for storytelling and weaves together jazz, blues, Baroque, and folk traditions from the world over. This evening’s concert will feature works from her new album, Ghost Song, her “most revealing and rewarding album yet” (The New York Times). You’ll leave the concert entranced, but don’t float away too soon. Stick around after the show for the best of San Diego’s culinary scene, craft cocktails, and more live music.

Yasushi Nakamura

Bassist

Events

Feb 9, 2024

American Patchwork Quartet · McCarter Theatre Center

Oct 19, 2023

Helen Sung, RJAM piano · San Francisco Conservatory of Music

Sep 24, 2023

Amina Figarova Sextet · San Francisco Jazz

Sep 23, 2023

American Patchwork Quartet · San Francisco Jazz

Mar 11, 2023

Cécile McLorin Salvant · Texas Performing Arts

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