Kuumbwa Jazz & Monterey Jazz Festival Present: Maria Schneider Orchestra at the Sunset Center

Maria Schneider’s music has been hailed by critics as “evocative, majestic, magical, heart-stoppingly gorgeous, imaginative, revelatory, riveting, daring, and beyond categorization.” Blurring the lines between genres, her varied commissioners stretch from Jazz at Lincoln Center, to The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, to the American Dance Festival, and include collaboration with David Bowie. She is among a small few to receive GRAMMYS in multiple genres, having received the award in jazz and classical, as well as for her work with David Bowie.

With her first recording, Evanescence (1994), Schneider began developing her personal way of writing for her 18-member collective made up of many of the finest musicians in jazz today, tailoring her compositions to the uniquely creative voices of the group. They have performed at festivals and concert halls worldwide, and she herself has received numerous commissions and guest-conducting invites, working with over 90 groups in over 30 countries.

Her latest double-album, Data Lords (2020), a Pulitzer Prize Finalist, winner of two GRAMMY Awards, named Jazz Album of the Year by the Jazz Journalists Association and NPR, and winner of France’s prestigious Grand Prix de l’Académie du Jazz, has melded her advocacy and art: Nate Chinen of NPR writes: “Now it’s finally here, in the form of a magnificent double album, Data Lords. . . it parses into thematic halves, “The Digital World” and, as an antidote, “The Natural World.” On the whole, and in the details, it amounts to the most daring work of Schneider’s career, which sets the bar imposingly high. This is music of extravagant mastery, and it comes imbued with a spirit of risk.”

Maria Schneider Website 
At the Sunset Center  
Media sponsorship by KAZU Radio