Yellowjackets perform At Stockton

Pomona - The Stockton Performing Arts Center presents America's most loved and top-selling contemporary jazz groups, the Yellowjackets, on Friday, November 2 at 8 PM.

For 20 years, the Yellowjackets have flourished as one of the best modern jazz groups. Initially formed in 1981 to back up guitarist Robben Ford, the band has since demonstrated its mastery of a wide range of musical styles, producing heartfelt ballads and songs inflected with R&B, bebop or fusion with equal aplomb. As radio friendly as most of the Yellowjackets' work has been, the band has continued to push the creative envelope, establishing the mixture of group interplay and improvisation within strong melodic structures that, in a sense, defines their sound and separates the band from its peers.

Since the release of their first, self-titled album, the Yellowjackets have evolved through several key personnel changes, with keyboardist Russell Ferrante and electric bassist Jimmy Haslip being the only members of the original quartet to remain on board since its start. Alto saxophonist Marc Russo replaced Ford as one of the lead instrumentalists early on, and then versatile reedman Bob Mintzer's role in the Yellowjackets grew from guest soloist to full-fledged band member as Russo began to bow out. In 1985, William Kennedy had taken over the drum chair from Ricky Lawson. "Every time a new guy comes into the band, they bring their own sound into the overall concept," said Haslip. "We never put any pressure on anyone to sound like somebody else. So, each new member changed the band somewhat and added a different dimension to what we were doing."

Warner Brothers Records released The Best of Yellowjackets at the end of last year. Included among the album's dozen tracks are hits like "Matinee Idol," "The Chosen," "Top Secret," plus an inspired take of the "Theme from Il Postino" which was previously unreleased. The album encompasses the band's entire history at Warner Brothers.

In explaining the success of the Yellowjackets, Jimmy Haslip said that "when four people have a great chemistry between them, then you don't need to follow any kind of formula. All of the band's configurations have what it takes to make something special."

Tickets to the Yellowjackets on Friday, November 2 at 8 PM are $27 for orchestra seating and $22 for mezzanine seating. To order tickets, call the Stockton Performing Arts Center Box Office at (609) 652-9000. The Box Office is open Monday - Friday, 9 AM - 7 PM. Visa, MasterCard, American Express and Discover Card orders are welcome.

For patrons with special needs, the Stockton Performing Arts Center offers wheelchair accessible seating, large type programs, and listening assistive devices. Please identify any needs you may have when making a reservation.

The Stockton Performing Arts Center, the Jersey Shore's Center for the Arts, is located on the campus of The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey, on Jim Leeds Road in Pomona (Galloway Township). Just 12 miles west of Atlantic City, the Center is easily accessible from the Garden State Parkway and the Atlantic City Expressway.

Programs this season at the Stockton Performing Arts Center are made possible, in part, by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, the Honorable Donald DiFrancesco, Acting Governor.

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Author: Stockton Performing Arts Center