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TUES, 15 OCT 2002

Four Seasons brings drum icon to UI stage
By Chris Kornelis
A&E Editor

Jeff Hamilton is no stranger to UI. He is hardly a stranger anywhere in the music industry. As a drummer his name is spoken among the biggest names in the percussion community; his brush playing hailed as the best in the business.

Hamilton and his trio, featuring Tamir Hendelman on piano and Christoph Luty on bass, will perform Friday and Saturday night in the Administration Auditorium at 8 p.m. All seats are reserved and are $16.50. Also performing with the trio is Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival veteran Roberta Gamborini. Two-for-one coupons have been made available to students at participating retailers and in the Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival office in the SUB. Hamilton and company are being brought to UI as part of the Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival’s “Four Seasons of Jazz,” bringing jazz artists to campus throughout the entire calendar year.

In addition to his weekend of performing, Hamilton will be available for private lessons and giving clinics to students at the Lionel Hampton School of Music.

After 20-plus years of making albums, touring and appearing on TV specials, it’s hard to find a jazz artist Hamilton has not performed with. Artists he has played drums for include Ella Fitzgerald, the Count Basie Orchestra, John Pizzarelli, Lionel Hampton and, most recently, Diana Krall. Hamilton has appeared on several Krall albums, including the Grammy Award-winning, “When I Look In Your Eyes.” Hamilton comes to UI after an extensive tour overseas with Krall.

Hamilton grew up listening to his parents’ big-band records, and it was there that he was exposed to drummers such as Gene Krupa, Buddy Rich, “Philly” Joe Jones and Shelly Manne. By the age of 8, he was playing drums along with Oscar Peterson recordings. Hamilton’s big break came in 1974, when he was asked to join the New Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, and in ’75 he joined the Lionel Hampton Big Band. In 1977, Hamilton attained his childhood goal of being a member of Woody Herman and the Thundering Herd.

After performing as part of the Ray Brown Trio for a better part of a decade from the late ‘80s through the mid-‘90s, Hamilton left Ray Brown to focus on his own projects.

With his trio, Hamilton has recorded several CDs, including “It’s Hamilton Time” on Lake Street Records, and most recently, 1999’s “Hamilton House: Live at Steamers.”

Along with bassist John Clayton, Hamilton formed the Clayton/Hamilton Jazz Orchestra, which was named the artist in-residence for the Hollywood Bowl Jazz series.

Gamborini, special guest vocalist with the Jeff Hamilton Trio, is no stranger to UI. She has performed several times at the Jazz Festival in recent years. Born in Torino, Italy, Gamborini began her career as a vocalist at the age of 17, performing in jazz clubs in Northern Italy. She came to the United States with a scholarship from the New England Conservatory in 1998 and won third place at the Thelonious Monk International Vocal Competition in Washington, D.C., the same year.

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