Hammer Sunset Series Celebrates a Jazz Great With Aaron Lington Sextet Tribute to Art Blakey

Hammer Theatre Center continues its Sunset Summer series with the Aaron Lington Sextet Tribute to Art Blakey, a thrilling evening of music in which Grammy Award-winning baritone saxophonist Aaron Joseph Lington celebrates a jazz great. The Mercury News hailed Lington's playing as "revelatory," while the International Trumpet Guild praised him for showing "a true command of his instrument with a very studied and soulful essence." For this stellar rooftop performance on the Hammer Terrace, Lington will be joined by Rolling Stones trombonist Michael Davis, leading jazz drummer Gary Novak, accomplished trumpeter John Worley, extraordinary pianist Larry Dunlap, and skilled bassist Andrew Higgins.

Together, this group will honor the music of Blakey, which spanned six of the best decades of jazz music and incubated the careers of many musicians - from trumpeters Wallace Roney and Terrence Blanchard to pianists Mulgrew Miller and Donald Brown, bassists Peter Washington and Lonnie Plaxico, and many others. Aaron Lington Sextet Tribute to Art Blakey will be presented 8:00pm, Thursday, August 11on the terrace of Hammer Theatre Center, 101 Paseo De San Antonio, San Jose. For tickets ($35-$45) or more information, the public may visit hammertheatre.com or call (408) 924-8501.

Aaron Lington's performing and compositional credits include collaborations with the San Francisco Symphony, Maynard Ferguson, the BBC Radio Orchestra, the Count Basie Orchestra, Doc Severinsen, Bo Diddley, Randy Brecker, Joe Lovano, Jamie Davis, Tommy Igoe, and the Pacific Mambo Orchestra, among others. In 2011, he was named "Jazz Educator of the Year" by the California Music Educators Association. Lington currently holds a position as professor at San Jose State University, where he serves as the Coordinator of Jazz Studies. He is also the Director of the San Jose Jazz High School All Stars. Davis is the current trombonist with the Rolling Stones, while Novak has collaborated with numerous artists - from George Benson to Chick Corea, Alanis Morissette, David Crosby, and more.

Owned by the City of San Jose and operated by San Jose State University, the Hammer Theatre Center is a state-of-the-art performance venue located in the heart of downtown San Jose at 101 Paseo De San Antonio, between 2nd and 3rd Streets. The theatre has presented an array of offerings including outstanding professional productions, community-based works, SJSU shows, and concerts, as well as dance, music, talks, film screenings-even live aerial performances with dancers suspended outside, scaling the sides of the iconic blue building. From jazz performances to mariachi extravaganzas, National Geographic Live! speaker series to National Theatre Live film screenings, Cinequest film festival presentations, ballet and modern dance shows, kid-friendly performances, live art and more, the Hammer's mission is to serve the community through artistic and educational programming that express the unique characteristics and diverse cultures of Silicon Valley.

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