Enjoy all 12 episodes of Evolution of a Groove: the Monterey Commissions. This new web series will take the viewer behind the scenes and into the archives of jazz history and the creative process. Don’t miss a single performance with the full 12-episode package!
Episode 1 - John Clayton, 2017 Commission: Stories of a Groove
Join Monterey Jazz Festival Artistic Director Tim Jackson as he reflects with bassist, conductor, and composer John Clayton on his 2017 Monterey Jazz Festival commission piece “Stories of a Groove: Conception, Evolution, Celebration.” The piece features the Gerald Clayton Trio as a soloing unit within the 19-piece Clayton-Hamilton Big Band. “A major work was born on the Lyons stage that evening, a 40-minute MJF-commissioned world premiere by John Clayton…Stories of a Groove…You didn’t have to read any specific political details into the piece in order to sense the passion in its marching party grooves or marvel how its complex, diverse structure held together.” —Classical Voice North America
Episode 2 - Maria Schneider, 2008 Commission: Willow Lake
Maria Schneider premiered her second Monterey Jazz Festival commission in 2008. “Willow Lake,” performed by the Maria Schneider Orchestra, evokes the big sky mystery of her native Minnesota. “The Maria Schneider Big Band… really is a jazz orchestra, playing original music that is lush and lyrical, luminous and densely layered, but with room for soloists to stretch out” - Minnesota Post.
Join MJF Artistic Director Tim Jackson as he remembers “Willow Lake” with "one of the premiere composers of our time in the jazz realm or even any realm."
