Blue Note Records 85th Anniversary Celebration starring The Blue Note Quintet

featuring Gerald Clayton, Joel Ross, Immanuel Wilkins, Kendrick Scott, and Matt Brewer
Thursday, February 22, 7:30 p.m.

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We didn’t have to think very hard about whether the Fine Arts Center should present this program. You shouldn’t have to think very hard about whether to attend. The correct answer is the same for you as it was for us: “Uh, yeah!”

Our decision was driven in no small part by the deep connection of the Fine Arts Center and UMass Amherst to jazz. When an iconic and influential entity like Blue Note Records celebrates an anniversary, we want in. 

But there’s also this little detail: The combo Blue Note has assembled to play their traveling birthday party features five absolutely stellar current-day exponents of America’s greatest music form. There’s no way we’d miss an opportunity to host this quintet. We can’t wait to see what happens when they hit our stage. And we know you’re going to want to be here to see it, too.

Led by pianist Gerald Clayton, a six-time Grammy nominee, the band features vibraphonist Joel Ross, saxophonist Immanuel Wilkins, drummer Kendrick Scott, and bassist Matt Brewer. We don’t have enough time or space to list the artists these guys have performed with, because it’s pretty much everyone. We will tell you that their recorded output as leaders and sidemen has been remarkable. (Maybe spend some time with some recent releases like Clayton’s Bells On Sand, Ross’s The Parable of the Poet, and Wilkins’ the 7th Hand.)

What else do you need to know? We’ll see you at the show.