Brubeck Fest to Celebrate State Department Tours

  I  

Celebrating the 50th anniversary of the 1958 Dave Brubeck Quartet’s State Department tour, the 2008 Brubeck Festival will increase the number of events and expand the fest to another location. The Festival will feature performances of jazz, contemporary concert music, lectures and academic symposia.

Events include concerts featuring saxophonist Bob Mintzer with the Brubeck Institute Jazz Quintet and the Open World Jazz Octet, Deepak Ram Quartet and will conclude April 13 with the Dave Brubeck Quartet and the Ramsey Lewis Trio performing in Washington, D.C.

This year’s festival takes place in Stockton, Calif., from March 31–April 5, and in Washington, D.C., from April 8–13. In Stockton, the events will be on or near the campus of the University of the Pacific.

The State Department tours were designed to advance the interests and values of the United States through cultural diplomacy. The State Department sent many jazz musicians to all areas of the world; the DBQ traveled to Poland, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, India, Iran, Iraq and Turkey.

More info: brubeckfestival.com



  • Cassandra_Wilson_%40_2026_Mark_Sheldon-2_copy_2.jpg

    Wilson’s ability to connect to audiences helped her to win two Grammy awards and multiple other accolades. She was named an NEA Jazz Master in 2022.

  • GB_Headshot_copy.jpg

    Bertoncini was a specialist and advocate for the nylon-string acoustic guitar, turning down high-profile opportunities that were unsuited to the sound and techniques that he used with that instrument.

  • DB26_Joshua_Redman_Courtesy_Joshua_Redman.jpg

    A solo concert by saxophonist Joshua Redman will close the first night of the Hyde Park Jazz Festival on Sept. 26.

  • Coltrane_John_by_Joe_Alper_copy.jpeg

    “It was just that suddenly … I could hear it,” Ravi Coltrane said of an epiphany he experienced during his late teens regarding his father’s music. “And it was almost like a calling, like something saying, ‘Hey, man, come on. It’s time to get serious.’ And the first time you really tune in and dial in and focus like that, it can be very life-changing.”

  • Thurman_copy.jpeg

    Camille Thurman took to the stage alongside bassist Kenny Davis and drummer Tommy Campbell for a rendition of Johnny Mercer’s “I’m An Old Cowhand” that recalled Rollins’ epochal 1957 trio outing Way Out West.