Rob Thorsen

April, 2010

2010 has provided me with many opportunities to perform with my trio/quartet as well as taking part in some of the great local festivals and music in the schools programs.

In January the trio performed at the Pacific Beach Library as part of their Wednesday evening jazz series, also later that month I performed with pianist Kamau Kenyatta and his quintet at the uber-meg-huge Los Angeles NAMM show.

More recently I have done trio performances to at the La Jolla Athenaeum and the San Diego Lyceum Theater. These a excellent venues with acoustic pianos and provide an opportunity for jazz to be performed in a concert setting. With me on thee dates were pianist Joshua White and drummers Duncan Moore and Richard Sellers.

The Music in the Schools program I began 4 years ago is really gaining momentum. The group, (featuring trumpeter Gilbert Castellanos, guitarist Bob Boss, and drummer Richard Sellers) is working quite regularly at San Diego area schools. Our presentation, "Jazz, an American Artform," traces the history of jazz music from the early Dixieland though swing and bebop, Latin jazz, 1960's funk and fusion jazz and more. It's a great chance for the kids to hear and see real instruments being played and learn about the language of jazz. We are working on a partnership with KSDS Jazz 88.3 radio to help increase visibility, obtain grants, and be able to provide the presentation to lower income "Title 1" schools. It is a very exciting program and I'm proud to be part of it.

In April I am in Fairbanks, Alaska performing clinics and concerts at the University of Fairbanks in addition to a concert with Minneapolis pianist Laura Caviani at the Blue Loon in Fairbanks.

Other upcoming activity includes the UCSD jazz camp (www.jazzcamp.ucsd.edu) in June, the 3rd annual Bass Summit this summer, Jazz at the Hamlet on July11th (Rob Thorsen Trio with pianist Josh Nelson) and Idyllwild Jazz festival in September with the Josh White Quartet and others.

Be sure to click on the link above for a complete schedule of what's going on -- thanks for your support!

Rob was on KUSI in June, 2009

It has been a busy year with the release of my new CD “Lasting Impression” on the Pacific Coast Jazz label in May of 2009. The CD features a stellar cast of musicians including pianists Geoffrey Keezer and Josh Nelson, trumpeter Gilbert Castellanos, saxophonist Ben Wendel, and drummer Duncan Moore. It features 4 of my original compositions and 6 other songs that I arranged for the group- it’s currently going strong and is #24 for national airplay.

Concerts this year have included the Yuma “Concerts in the Palms” series, the San Diego Symphony’s  “Viva Las Vegas”  show, clinics and concerts in Fairbanks, Alaska, City College’s “Jazz Live”, San Diego’s Lindbergh Airport “Terminal Jazz” series as well as club performances at Tango Del Rey, Onyx Room, Manhattan Club, Dizzy’s and others.

The highlight of the year has been the CD release concert at Anthology in downtown San Diego, one of the finest music performance venues anywhere. The event took place on July 1st and packed with people and great energy. We performed all the songs from the   CD and it was a wonderful night of music. Many thanks to Mike Pritchard from Anthology, Donna Nichols at Pacific Coast Jazz and my daughter Virginia who was “marketing director” of CD sales.

In June I organized the 2nd annual “Bass summit” at Dizzys featuring Bert Tureztky, Bob Magnusson, Marshall Hawkins, Danny Weller, Mark Dresser, Jeremy Kurtz, and Rob Thorsen (!). We performed many multiple bass pieces as well as featuring each individual- Attendance was great and a fun time had by all.

I am also increasingly busy in educational projects including the UCSD jazz camp and Young Audiences, a non-profit music in the schools program. With bandmates Gilbert Castellanos, guitarist Bob Boss and drummer Richard Sellers we present a “History of Jazz in America” that showcases the different styles of jazz thru the past 100 years including Dixieland, Be-Bop, afro-cuban/latin,  funk jazz and more. It is a wonderful experience demonstrating the music to kids who have often not been exposed to live jazz performances.

I am looking forward to the continued success of the CD and appreciate all the support I have received so far. To see a listing of upcoming shows please click here X  Hope to see you soon! 

In June Rob organized a "Bass summit" concert at Dizzy's featuring a plethora of San Diego's talented bassists. Performers included Mark Dresser, Marshall Hawkins, Kristin Korb, Bob Magnusson, Bert Tureztky, Danny Weller with the able assistance of pianist Joshua White and Dylan Savage on drums. They performed 5  "multiple bass'" pieces and featured each individual member as well. Thanks to an excellent article by San Diego Union Tribune music critic George Varga the event was a complete sell-out. Musicallythey found it very rewarding and they look forward to continuing this event on a yearly basis.

The "Cross Border Trio +1" had a wonderful tour of Mexico in July. This year they added pianist Joshua White to the mix providing his unique harmonic counterpoint to this already creative ensemble.  They performed in San Miguel de Allende at EL Viejo Topo Theater and Cafe, in Mexico City at Papa Beto Jazz Bistro and also in Chiapas for the closing night of the annual San Cristobal de las Casas Jazz Festival.  Flutist extraordinaire Nestor Torres joined them in San Miguel de Allende as a special guest and tore it up on "Footprints" and "In Xinjing Time".

In August the new Anthology Jazz Club hosted a birthday party for guitar legend Mundell Lowe. The featured performers included guitarists Kenny Burrell, Russell Malone, Ron Eschete, Jaime Valle, with Ramon Banda and Rob providing the rhythm section. It was an amazing evening of great music and really paid a wonderful tribute to Mundell, one of our living legends.

Rob is recording his fourth CD in December of 2008, it will feature pianists Geoffrey Keezer and Josh Nelson, trumpeter Gilbert Castellanos and more. It will include 3 or 4 of Rob's original compositions as well as arrangements of Jackie McCleans "Little Melonae", Gershwins "The Man I Love" and more. Look for it to be released in the spring of 2009.