CalArts students record 2019 Jazz CD at Capitol Studios, Photos
by: Rafael Hernandez, Courtesy of CalArts. Click here for
high resolution version.
11 different bands comprised of CalArts students will release an all-new compilation of original music recorded at the legendary Hollywood studio.
Explore the project and listen to three decades of music at the CalArts/Capitol Records archive.
Valencia, CA—The Herb Alpert School of Music at California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) presents a mid-day listening event on Monday, May 13 to celebrate the release of the school’s 30th annual Jazz CD. Recorded at the world-famous Capitol Studios in Hollywood, the 2019 sessions will feature new original compositions written and performed by students. The two-day recording sessions will take place on April 17-18, marking the historic 30th year of this unprecedented long-term collaboration between a major recording label and an institution of higher learning. The annual listening session of the new recording will take place in the Main Gallery on the CalArts campus onMay 13 at noon.
David Roitstein, Director of the Jazz Program at CalArts, has produced the annual recording since the initiative began. Of the 30-year collaboration with Capitol Records Roitstein said, "When the musicians from CalArts have the special opportunity to record at the best studio in the world with the best engineers, they can't wait to return. The quality of the experience inspires them to keep elevating their own work."
The opportunity to work with top industry professionals in the iconic Hollywood studio, where artists from Nat King Cole to Mary J. Blige have recorded, is an invaluable learning experience for CalArts students, and is unmatched by any other music program in the country.
CalArts’s Capitol Studios-produced Jazz CD is one of the signature features of the Herb Alpert School of Music at CalArts and has served as a professional springboard for graduating students. Among the hundreds of notable musicians who performed, as students, on the CD in years past are saxophonist Ravi Coltrane, jazz drummer Willie Jones, minimal acoustic group Dawn of Midi, Adam Benjamin and Nate Wood of the contemporary jazz band Kneebody, celebrated Latin pianist Otmaro Ruiz, and singer-songwriter/drummer Barbara Gruska of Belle Brigade.
What: CalArts 30th Annual Capitol CD Release
When: Monday, May 13, 2019 at 12 p.m.
Where: Main Gallery, CalArts
24700 McBean Parkway, Valencia CA 91355
Admission is free.
Co-founded by bassist, composer and bandleader Charlie Haden and pianist, composer and Program Director David Roitstein, the CalArts Jazz Programhas earned widespread acclaim for cultivating creative artists for more than three decades. Emphasizing small ensemble performance in a context of close one-on-one mentoring by expert faculty, the program enables students to develop into highly versatile performers, composers and improvisers, able to create original work informed by various jazz styles often in combination with other musical traditions and the latest innovations in contemporary musicmaking.