On Saturday, Oct. 2, the ninth annual Angel City Jazz Festival will take place at the newly renovated Ford Theatres in Hollywood, Calif., and will feature 2016 NEA Jazz Master Pharoah Sanders and the Gurrisonic Orchestra led by drummer-composer José Gurría-Cárdenas.
Sanders, a Grammy Award-winning saxophonist, will perform in a quartet alongside pianist William Henderson, bassist Mike Gurrola and drummer Marvin “Smitty” Smith. The Gurrisonic Orchestra, which features clarinetist Don Byron, vocalist Martha Gonzalez, flutist-saxophonist Justo Almario and guitarist Tom McNally, will open the program with Street Signs: ”A Love Letter” to the Angel City, a new commission from the Los Angeles Jazz Society’s “New Note” program, “inspired by José Gurría-Cárdenas’ vision of his adoptive home as a city whose strength springs from its diversity,” according to a press release. The orchestra will also perform Ornette Coleman’s 1972 album Skies of America.
As stated in the press release, “The Angel City Jazz Festival has helped to establish L.A. as a major jazz destination, drawing attendees from around the world with eight years of concerts featuring jazz icons and rising stars such as Archie Shepp, Roscoe Mitchell, Ravi Coltrane, Anthony Braxton, Wadada Leo Smith, Marilyn Crispell, Ambrose Akinmusire, Dave Holland, Vijay Iyer, Greg Osby, Bill Frisell, Dave Douglas and many others.”
Tickets prices, which start at $35 for general admission, can be purchased at fordtheatres.org.
