FREE ADMISSION
Date & Time: Sunday, September 29, 2019, 7:00-9:00 p.m
Location: Westerbeck Recital Hall, Pasadena City College
Information: (626) 791-7647 or terymar@earthlink.net
The Baseball Reliquary presents a very special musical event in celebration of the Jackie Robinson Centennial, A Swinging Centennial: Jackie Robinson at 100, on Sunday, September 29, 2019 from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m., at the Westerbeck Recital Hall on the campus of Pasadena City College, 1570 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, California. Admission is free of charge. Doors to the recital hall will open at 6:30 p.m. Plan to arrive early, as seating is limited (capacity 218), and is on a first come, first served basis.
The concert will feature the world premiere of Stealin’ Home, Bobby Bradford’s tribute to Jackie Robinson, commissioned by the Baseball Reliquary. A renowned jazz musician, bandleader, and composer, Bradford is also noted for his long career as an educator, teaching jazz history and improvisation for 33 years at Pasadena City College, the same school where Jackie Robinson starred in four sports from 1937-1939 (then known as Pasadena Junior College). Bradford’s jazz suite, approximately 40 minutes in length, will be performed by an ensemble featuring Bobby Bradford (trumpet/cornet), Vinny Golia (woodwinds), Chuck Manning (tenor saxophone), William Roper (tuba), Don Preston (piano), Henry Franklin (bass), and Tina Raymond (drums).
Over the years, Bobby Bradford has performed with Eric Dolphy, Charlie Haden, James Newton, David Murray, and others. He is acclaimed for his work with Ornette Coleman, and for his long association with clarinetist John Carter, a pairing that began in the late 1960s. Following Carter’s death in 1991, Bradford fronted his own ensemble known as The Mo’tet, with which he has continued to perform since. Of the Stealin’ Home commission, Bradford has said, “When Jackie Robinson made his Major League debut in 1947, I was in the seventh grade in Dallas, Texas, and like many Americans, especially black people, I was overjoyed at the coming of our champion of baseball. Now, 72 years later, I have been given the opportunity to write music in his honor, and I am deeply grateful to the Baseball Reliquary for their confidence in me. Robinson was a great black man, a man of stature and courage, a great American, and an exceptional athlete. I hope in some small way to pay tribute to his memory with music.”
Singer/songwriter Byron Motley will open the program with a collection of songs reflecting Jackie Robinson’s historic debut with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947 through the emergence of the artistry of Nat King Cole. The performance will be presented in a multi-media format utilizing video clips, slides, and interview sound bites from a forthcoming documentary about the Negro Leagues produced by Motley, adding a unique and emotional element that further connects the audience with this history and those who created it. Accompanying Motley will be Ron Pedley (piano), Kevin O’Neal (bass), and Randy Drake (drums).
Attendees are encouraged to park in Student and Visitors Parking Lot No. 5 (enter on Bonnie Ave. between Del Mar and Colorado Blvd.). Purchase $2.00 parking permit from the kiosks in the lot. The kiosks accept cash or credit card. The parking permit must be displayed on your windshield to avoid citation.
This program is supported, in part, by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors through the Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture.
