Event

Richard Sears Quartet featuring Tootie Heath

Brooklyn based, Bay Area raised, Richard Sears returns to the Sound Room with a quartet featuring the legendary drummer, Albert "Tootie" Heath. Tootie is among the last living "hard-bop" drummers, making his recording debut in 1958 on Coltrane's Atlantic release, "Coltrane". He is one of the most prolific drummers of his generation, having performed and recorded with Thelonious Monk, Lester Young, Nina Simone, and countless others.

In 2013, the Los Angeles Jazz Society awarded Richard Sears a commission to compose a suite of music to honor and feature Tootie. The "Altadena" suite premiered at the Angel City Jazz Festival that same year, with Richard's Sextet. In 2016, Richard released "Altadena" on Ropeadope Records to critical acclaim. "Altadena" receiving 4 stars in Downbeat Magazine, and was named "one of the best released of 2016" by AllAboutJazz. Chris Barton of the Los Angeles Times wrote:

This album is full of zig-zagging, free-flowing invention over five movements and a taut 35 minutes. The Philadelphia-born Heath is an underappreciated gem, and his rich musical track record only gains further esteem with intricate compositions by Sears.

The program for this concert will include a mixture of jazz standards and new compositions by Sears. For more information, continue to http://richardsearsmusic.com