Kind of Blue -- Jimmy Cobb's So What Band Coming to CFA Feb. 12

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The Center for the Arts at the University at Buffalo will present Kind of Blue -- Jimmy Cobb's So What Band on Saturday, Feb. 12, at 8 p.m. in the Mainstage Theatre in the Center for the Arts, UB North Campus. The concert is sponsored in part by the Jewish Community Center of Greater Buffalo.

The year 2009 marked the 50th anniversary of the original release of Miles Davis' Kind of Blue. The album stunned the jazz world by practically creating a new language of music and its influence goes far beyond jazz. Kind of Blue is universally considered to be one of the best albums of all time, of any genre. It is still the best-selling jazz album ever.

Legendary jazz drummer, Jimmy Cobb (the only surviving member from the original recording) leads a contemporary all-star band performing their interpretations of Kind of Blue's five masterpieces, plus other classics by Davis, John Coltrane, Julian "Cannonball" Adderley and original compositions inspired by this era. The musicians currently scheduled to perform with Cobb include: Vincent Herring (alto saxophone); Javon Jackson (tenor saxophone); Jeremy Pelt (trumpet); Buster Williams (bass); and Larry Willis (piano).

Cobb was the recipient of the 2009 National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Masters Award. He is the elder statesman of all of the incredible Miles Davis bands, performing with the master from 1957 until 1963 on the seminal recordings: Sketches of Spain, Someday My Prince Will Come, Live at Carnegie Hall, Live at the Blackhawk, Porgy and Bess and many other watershed Miles Davis recordings in addition to Kind of Blue.

As a part of Parson Dance's outstanding performance at the Center for the Arts in October, the group performed a piece set to music from the Kind of Blue recording. During the Parsons pre-show talk associate artistic director Elizabeth Koeppen learned that the Jimmy Cobb Band would be performing the album at the center this year and suggested that Parsons send some of its dancers to Buffalo to make an exciting cameo. The Jimmy Cobb Band was just as enthusiastic about the idea. The center has announced the inclusion of members of Parsons Dance live on stage with the Jimmy Cobb Band for the song "So What" in a one-time-only collaboration.

Tickets for Kind of Blue -- Jimmy Cobb's So What Band are $34.50 general admission and $21.50 for students (any school). Tickets are available at the Center for the Arts Box Office from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, and at all Ticketmaster locations, including ticketmaster.com. To charge tickets, call 1-800-745-3000; in Canada, call 416-870-8000. For group sales, call 716-645-6771. For more information, call 716-645-2787.