Marquis Hill at the Loft
It’s been 10 years since Marquis Hill won the 204 edition of the prestigious Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition and the Chicago-bred trumpeter, composer and band leader has rarely looked back.
He was 27 when he aced the Monk competition by playing and transcending two weathered standards, “If I Were a Bell” and “Polka Dots and Moonbeams.” Hill wowed the judges — which included Quincy Jones, Roy Hargrove, Arturo Sandoval and Randy Brecker — with his heady combination of virtuosity and nuance, improvisational ingenuity and pinpoint dynamic control. He had four albums to his credit at the time.
The past decade has seen Hill make an additional 11 albums that showcase his love of jazz, hip-hop, funk, Afrobeat, neo-soul, spoken word, and more. All of these styles can be heard on his expansive new album, “Composers Collective: Beyond the Jukebox.”
It features 18 selections that range in length from just 27 seconds (the luminous a cappella number “Step on Step”) to 6 minutes and 36 seconds (the album-opening “A Star is Born” and “Joseph Beat,” which boast a lattice-like arrangement, terrific solos by Hill and vibraphonist Joel Ross, and some recorded words of wisdom from the late sax icon Wayne Shorter, one of Hill’s prime inspirations as a composer and transcendent musical force).
The album mixes original compositions by Hill with pieces written by Ross, guitarist Jeff Parker, drummer Makaya McCraven, bassist Junius Paul, keyboardist Mike King and others. The emphasis is on crisp ensemble work and sensitive interplay, not spotlight-stealing showboating.
The four musicians in Hill’s touring band — Ross, King, Paul and McCraven — are all featured on “Beyond the Jukebox,” which suggests the music on the album will be a starting point, not the destination, at their San Diego concert.
8 p.m. next Wednesday, Oct. 2. The Loft @ UC San Diego, 3151 Matthews Lane, La Jolla. $35. artpower.ucsd.edu
Kittel & Company
Led by former Turtle Island String Quartet violinist Jeremy Kittle, this genre-leaping trio boasts two equally gifted instrumentalists in mandolinist Josh Pinkham and Canadian guitarist Quinn Bachand.
Together, they mx elements of classical, bluegrass, swing, Celtic and more to create an inviting blend that simultaneously sounds fresh and steeped in tradition.
For music fans who closely read album liner notes Kittel’s name should ring a bell. He’s done string arrangements for everyone from Renee Fleming, My Morning Jacket and the Yo-Yo Ma-led Silk Road Ensemble to Laura Viers, Fleet Foxes and Aoife O’Donovan (who performs Oct. 4 at Epstein Family Amphitheatre with the La Jolla Symphony and San Diego Children’s Chorus).
7 p.m. Friday. UC San Diego’s Park & Market, 1100 Market St., downtown. $25-$35. (858) 534-1010; parkandmarket.ucsd.edu/events/
Kacey Musgraves, with Nickel Creek and Father John Misty
Talk about an inspired triumvirate of Grammy-winning artists!
Much as Kacey Musgraves has deftly transcended her country-music roots for a broader aural canvas, so, too, has the San Diego-bred Nickel Creek soared well beyond its bluegrass foundation to create a stunning stylistic synthesis. Father John Misty is no less adept at avoiding pigeonholing.
Co-led by mandolin master Chris Thiele and siblings Sara and Sean Watkins on, respectively, violin and guitar, Nickel Creek stands out in any musical setting. The three were all in grade school when the group made its public debut at Carlsbad’s That Pizza Place in 1989.
In 2007, the trio became the first band to perform on back-to-back weekends at the Coachella Festival and the Stagecoach Festival in Indio, where the group handily won over the audience at both events. Nickel Creek’s latest album, last year’s “Celebrants,” is the most ambitious and accomplished of its career.
7:30 p.m. Tuesday. Pechanga Arena San Diego, 3500 Sports Arena Blvd., Midway District. $76.63-$307. pechangasd.com
Adam Nussbaum with the SDSU Jazz Ensembles and faculty members Brian Levy, Gilbert Castellanos, Anthony Smith and Luca Alemanno
A drummer’s drummer, Adam Nussbaum counts everyone from James Moody, Gil Evans, Sonny Rollins and John Scofield to Lee Konitz, Miroslav Vitous, John Abercrombie and Morgana King among his many past collaborators.
In 2018, Nussbaum made his first album as a band leader, “The Lead Belly Project.” It’s a superb, all-instrumental tribute to American folk-blues pioneer Huddie “Lead Belly” Ledbetter, whose songbook includes such classics as “Midnight Special,” “Rock Island Line,” “Good Night, Irene” and “Black Betty.”
Nussbaum’s San Diego performances are few and far between. But they leave an indelible impression, as anyone who saw his galvanizing 1989 here with saxophonist Michael Brecker back in 1989 can attest.
His return next week will be as welcome as it is overdue. Nussbaum will be the guest artist Tuesday night with several student jazz ensembles at SDSU, where he will also do a set with such notable SDSU jazz instructors as trumpeter Gilbert Castellanos, vibraphonist and pianist Anthony Smith, bassist Luca Alemanno and saxophonist Brian Levy, who is the university’s director of jazz studies and an energizing force.
7 p.m. Tuesday.Oct 1 Smith Recital Hall, 5500 Campanile Drive, SDSU. $10-$15. sdsupsfa.universitytickets.com/w/event.aspx?id=1525