Jazz History at the Community Music Center

Marcus Shelby on the poster for his forthcoming visit to the Community Music Center

According to my archives, I have not written about a performance at the Community Music Center (CMC) since it hosted a performance for Ensemble for These Times in collaboration with the San Francisco International Arts Festival in May of last year. However, this summer there will be a Shenson Faculty Concert Series of free concerts. In a little over a week, bassist Marcus Shelby will host one of these events, leading a jazz trio whose other members are pianist Greg Jacobs and Jemal Ramirez on drums.

The full title of the program will be A Tribute to John Lewis and the Modern Jazz Quartet with Marcus Shelby. The Modern Jazz Quartet was formed by pianist Lewis, Milt Jackson on vibraphone, bassist Percy Heath, and Kenny Clarke on drums. Lewis, Jackson, and Clarke were all members of the rhythm section of Dizzy Gillespie's big band from 1946 to 1948; and their “spin-off” opened a door to new approaches to jazz. As might be expected, the quartet has a Wikipedia page, which provides an informative perspective on their approach to what became known as “modern jazz:”

Under Lewis's direction, they carved their own niche by specializing in elegant, restrained music that used sophisticated counterpoint inspired by Baroque music, yet nonetheless retained a strong blues feel. Noted for their elegant presentation, they were one of the first small jazz combos to perform in concert halls rather than nightclubs. They were initially active into the 1970s until Jackson quit in 1974 due to frustration with their finances and touring schedule, but re-formed in 1981.

To be fair, I should confess that my own encounters with this group have been only on the radio, rather than through the accumulation of recordings! Nevertheless, they made a significant impression on jazz listeners during the second half of the last century; and I suspect that many of the readers of this site have at least one, if not more, of the recordings they released between 1952 and 1997. Nevertheless, Shelby has not surfaced on this site since February of 2024, when he was performing at Bird & Beckett Books & Records with the Standard Issue quartet led by trumpeter Darren Johnson.

The performance will take place at the CMC Concert Hall in the Mission at 544 Capp Street. The performance will begin at 7 p.m. on Thursday, June 25. That said, one cannot argue with a free concert; and a Web page has been created by Eventbrite for making reservations! Further information is available by calling 415-399-9544. CMC is located in the Mission at 2781 544 Capp Street.