Tribute to Jazz Legend Roy McCurdy Performed in Aliso Viejo

From Soka Performing Arts Center:

ALISO VIEJO, CA - The drummer and jazz legend is joined by his talented friends for A Tribute to Roy McCurdy at Soka Performing Arts Center on Friday, November 18, 2016 at 8 p.m. This is the first event in the Jazz Monsters Series for which packages can be purchased for $138. Single tickets are $35 for adults; and $29 for students, seniors and active military families. Tickets for groups of 10 or more are $28 each. Purchase tickets online at PerformingArts.Soka.edu or by calling 949-480-4ART (4278).

This event celebrates the life and music of jazz icon Roy McCurdy featuring performances by Larry Fuller on piano, Gilbert Castellanos on trumpet, Rickey Woodard and Isaiah Collier on tenor sax, Mike Gurrola on bass, vocalist Janis Mann and, the man himself, McCurdy on drums. Soka’s ongoing Jazz Monsters Series presents the most-talented new and established artists in jazz and is presented in cooperation with Bluport Jazz. Purchase a Jazz Monsters Series package by November 18, 2016 to save 25% over single-event ticket prices.

McCurdy is best known for his important contributions to Cannonball Adderley’s Quintet (1965-1975), and he has been a tasteful and stimulating participant in many other sessions throughout the years. Early in his career, he worked with Chuck and Gap Mangione in the Jazz Brothers (1960-1961), and ultimately gained recognition for his playing with the Art Farmer Benny Golson Jazztet (1961-1962), Bobby Timmons, Betty Carter (1962-1963) and Sonny Rollins (1963-1964), before joining Adderley. The supportive drummer was flexible enough to evolve with Cannonball’s popular group during a decade of change. After Adderley’s death, McCurdy relocated to the Los Angeles area, where he has played and recorded with the top local musicians ever since.

McCurdy remembers playing around with his own home-built drum sets at age six, and he started formal drum lessons at eight. He was playing professionally in local clubs at 16 and attended the Eastman School of Music from ages 16 to 18. Famous trumpeter Roy Eldridge heard him at this point; he played with Eldridge at 16 and with Eddie “Cleanhead” Vinson at 17. The drummer has performed on approximately 200 recordings with artists such as Count Basie, Wes Montgomery, Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughn, Carmen McRae, Joe Williams, Herbie Hancock, Milt Jackson, Oscar Peterson and Bud Powell.

For more details and ticket information, see www.performingarts.soka.edu.

Image via Soka Performing Arts Center, credit: Gary Tinnes.