Athenaeum Jazz Spring 2023 Series

Friday, March 17 — Charles Lloyd Ocean Trio at Jacobs Qualcomm Auditorium

Saturday, March 25 — Allison Miller Boom Tic Boom at the Athenaeum

Wednesday, April 12 — We ARE Trio: Goldberg/Rogers/Harland at the Athenaeum

7:30 PM

Athenaeum Jazz is back! Due to the ongoing construction project at Scripps Research, our annual spring series will be relocated to other venues (please see details). Seating is limited so early reservations are advised! Please join us for these three special evenings featuring internationally-acclaimed jazz artists Charles Lloyd, Allison Miller, and the all-star We ARE Trio.

The series opens on Friday, March 17, with a celebration of the life and artistry of master saxophonist Charles Lloyd on the occasion of his 85th birthday, which falls two days before this event. A recipient of this nation’s highest jazz honor, the National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master fellowship, as well as France’s Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres, Lloyd is widely revered as one of the greatest living jazz artists, having played the world’s leading festivals and stages throughout a remarkable seven-decade career.

The New York Times wrote, “Lloyd has come up with a strange and beautiful distillation of the American experience, part abandoned and wild, part immensely controlled and sophisticated… His concerts and recordings are events of pristine beauty and elegance, full of intensely felt emotion and passion that touches deep inside the heart. This is not entertainment, but the powerful uncorrupted expression of beauty through music.” Carlos Santana commented, “Charles Lloyd is an international treasure.”

Now in his mid-80s, he remains at the height of his powers and is as prolific as ever. In fall 2022 Lloyd issued a critically-acclaimed set of three new recordings, a trio of trios, on Blue Note Records, each with a distinct lineup of outstanding musicians.

For this special birthday celebration concert, Lloyd is joined by his Ocean Trio, featuring two brilliant longtime Athenaeum favorites, pianist Gerald Clayton and guitarist Anthony Wilson.

This March 17 concert will take place at the beautiful Irwin M. Jacobs Qualcomm Auditorium, 5775 Morehouse Drive, San Diego, CA 92121, located at the headquarters of Qualcomm in Sorrento Mesa. The hall is easily accessible from La Jolla and from I-805 at Mira Mesa Boulevard with ample free parking immediately adjacent to the hall.

The series continues on Saturday, March 25, with a return visit by extraordinary drummer Allison Miller with a special edition of her Boom Tic Boom ensemble, featuring saxophonist Nicole Glover, pianist Shamie Royston, and bassist tba. NYC-based drummer/composer/educator Allison Miller engages her deep roots in improvisation as a vehicle to explore many musical genres. Described by critics as a Modern Jazz Icon in the Making, Miller has been named among the “Top 20 Jazz Drummers” in Downbeat Magazine.

The Los Angeles Times wrote that Miller is “a powerhouse jazz drummer and composer who knows her history.” Jazziz wrote, “Drummer-composer Allison Miller celebrates the 10th anniversary of her band Boom Tic Boom… Miller’s deft drum work and compositional adeptness and her ensemble’s raw but refined propulsive energy are front and center.” The Wall Street Journal commented, “Boom Tic Boom has a razor-sharp precision that recalls classic drummer-led ensembles of 50 years ago—the music of Art Blakey and Max Roach come to mind—but Ms. Miller’s band works from a diverse sonic palette that is unmistakably contemporary.”

For this Athenaeum date, she is joined by her fellow member in the all-woman supergroup, Artemis, Nicole Glover, described as a "precocious talent who never ceases to surprise" and a "brilliant soloist,” and by Shamie Royston, whose music Downbeat praised as “mainstream post-bop with a deep sense of poise. It swings hard and breathes easy.”

The series concludes on Wednesday, April 12, with the area debut of the collective trio, We ARE, which celebrates 25 years of creative friendship and empathic collaboration between three of the outstanding jazz artists: pianist Aaron Goldberg, bassist Reuben Rogers, and drummer Eric Harland.

Goldberg is familiar to Athenaeum audiences from his past stellar appearances as leader of his own trio. JazzTimes wrote, “For over 20 years, pianist Aaron Goldberg has set himself apart as one of the most scintillating performers in jazz.” Simultaneously swinging and embracing risk, his stylistically fluid, singular voice reveals that jazz is a tradition of innovation.

Familiar from past Athenaeum appearances with Charles Lloyd, both Rogers and Harland similarly embody a mastery of both tradition and innovation. Imbued with both groove and spirit from birth, Reuben Rogers combined the calypso and reggae rhythms of his native Virgin Islands with the gospel sounds of the church and the freedom of jazz. He has performed with Wynton Marsalis, Joshua Redman, Tomasz Stanko, Roy Hargrove, Jackie McLean, and Dianne Reeves, among many others.

Ian Harland, an addition to his work as a leader, is active as a member of Dave Holland's Prism, James Farm with Joshua Redman, and Taylor Eigsti's Trio, and has filled the drum chair in groups led by McCoy Tyner, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Julian Lage, Chris Potter, and Terence Blanchard, as well as the SFJAZZ Collective.

The concerts will be in person at the Athenaeum Music & Arts Library (except the March 17 concert, which takes place at the Irwin M. Jacobs Qualcomm Auditorium). There are no physical tickets for these events. Your name will be on an attendee list at the front door. Doors open at 7 p.m. Seating is first-come; first-served. These events will be presented in compliance with State of California and County of San Diego health regulations as applicable at the time of each concert.

Masks optional. If you have a fever, cough, or flu-like symptoms, please stay home.

Host or Publisher Athenaeum Music & Arts Library