Students looking for a night of jazz music needn't look farther than Jubilee Hall. Jazz pianist and scholar Dr. Keith Waters will perform and talk about the music of Miles Davis this Tuesday.
"Music appeals to everyone," Waters said. "There's no culture without music, and it's important to talk to one another about music. That's the only way to understand what really makes music magical."
Waters, a professor of music theory and jazz history at the University of Colorado at Boulder, earned a Master's degree in jazz piano at the New England Conservatory of Music and his Ph. D in Music Theory from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY. Last year, Waters published "The Studio Recordings of the Miles Davis Quintet 1965-68," which is a study of the studio recordings Davis created during the 1960s. Waters will be speaking about his book in conjunction with the jazz recital.
For those not familiar with the Grammy Award-winning jazz musician and bandleader, Miles Davis is regarded as an innovator and major developer of the 20th century American jazz sound, according to Waters.
"I've been listening to Miles Davis' music since I was a teenager," His music opened up a realm of possibilities for me, as it does for other musicians. I would say what he did for jazz in the 20th century is innovation on the level of Stravinsky, and Picasso (for art)."
For the recital, Waters will play jazz piano, with Drew Gress on bass and Tony Martucci on drums. Waters said he goes way back with these two musicians.
"It's kind of a reunion for us," Waters said. "We used to play together in the Washington, DC area."
Filling out the quartet is soprano saxophonist Dave Leibman, who played with Miles Davis throughout the 1970s. Leibman, who has won numerous awards for his jazz performances, is currently the Artist in Residence at the Manhattan School of Music. This will mark the first time Waters has performed with Leibman.
"A mutual friend put us in touch through email," Waters explained. "So we'd been in touch on and off, and I finally asked him to perform with us."
Waters stressed that the performance was not just "a bunch of guys playing Miles Davis' songs."
"We're talking about the aesthetics and the cultural politics of the 60s," he said. "It appeals not just to academics, but to performers and music lovers."
The Jazz Quartet Performance and Lecture will take place in the Auditorium of Jubilee Hall from 5 to 6:30 p.m. The recital is free to attend.
Erin Bell can be reached at erin.bell@student.shu.edu.
