Dave Douglas performs at "In Your Ear Too" Festival

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Dave Douglas & Keystone perform in Zankel Hall on Saturday, February 18, as part of a three-day festival curated by composer John Adams. Entitled In Your Ear Too, the festival features artists from a variety of genres that include theater, jazz, contemporary chamber, and world music in Zankel Hall on February 17, 18, and 19. Additional artists appearing in this season's festival weekend include performance artist Rinde Eckert; pianist Nicolas Hodges, violinist Geoff Nuttall, and clarinetist Derek Bermel; and oud virtuosos Trio Joubran. Dave Douglas & Keystone perform selections from its 2005 Grammy-nominated album for Best Contemporary Jazz, Keystone.

The group (Dave Douglas, Trumpet, Marcus Strickland, Tenor Saxophone, Adam Benjamin, Fender Rhodes , Brad Jones, Bass , Gene Lake, Drums , DJ Olive, Turntables)
features new compositions by Mr. Douglas that were inspired by the silent film actor Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle's early works. Mr. Douglas focused on the drama and humor of Mr. Arbuckle's film and personal life, particularly the 1921 accusation of rape and murder against Mr. Arbuckle for which he was later proven innocent. Dave Douglas & Keystone perform these new compositions live with selections from Mr. Arbuckle's films--including “Fatty and Mabel Adrift, ” “Fatty's Tin-Type Tangle, ” “Fatty's New Role, ” and “Fatty and Mabel's Wash Day”--projected onto the Zankel Hall screen.

On Sunday, February 19, pianist Nicolas Hodges, violinist Geoff Nuttall, and clarinetist/composer Derek Bermel come together for a program of solo works that highlight each artist. Mr. Hodges performs Birtwistle's Ostinato with Melody and “Clock III” from Harrison's Clocks as well as Beethoven's Fantasia for Piano in G Minor, Op. 77. Mr. Nuttall's portion features Biber's Passacaglia in G Minor for Solo Violin and the world premiere of a new work for solo violin by Chris Paul Harman, which was commissioned by the Carnegie Hall Corporation. Mr. Bermel plays Stravinsky's Three Pieces for Clarinet as well as his own composition Thracian Sketches for Solo Clarinet, which is based on Bulgarian clarinet techniques. Mr. Hodges, Mr. Nuttall, and Mr. Bermel then perform Bartk's Contrasts for Violin, Clarinet, and Piano.

Three oud virtuosos from Nazareth--brothers Samir, Adnan, and Wissam--perform together as Trio Joubran on Sunday, February 19. Drawing on the traditions of Palestinian song, flamenco, and Byzantine music, the brothers also blend Western pop and Indian music into their repertoire, which is a mixture of original compositions, traditional material, and improvisation. Their first album, Randana, was released internationally in March 2005 on their label Randana-Fairplay.

Pulitzer Prize-winning composer/conductor John Adams is one of today's most acclaimed and performed American composers. In September 2003, Adams began his tenure at Carnegie Hall as holder of the Richard and Barbara Debs Composer's Chair. In this position, Adams works closely with Carnegie Hall's artistic team in developing initiatives and plans for Carnegie Hall's stages, with particular focus on Zankel Hall, which opened in September 2003 with a two-week festival that included an opening weekend of eight concerts programmed by Adams. This series of concerts has since become the critically acclaimed In Your Ear festival. In addition to his role as curator of the festival, Adams returned to Carnegie Hall in March 2005 to lead a Professional Training Workshop at The Weill Music Institute on his Chamber Symphony and to be a subject in the Making Music series, which features performance and discussion with today's leading composers.

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