Friday, January 25, 2019
Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall;
Tickets on sale now
Segerstrom Center for the Arts presents an incredible evening of jazz featuring the
Branford Marsalis Quartet and Yuko Mabuchi Trio for one performance only on January 25, 2019, at
8:00pm.
Led by Jazz Master and Grammy® Award-winning saxophonist Branford Marsalis, the quartet was
declared by the Associated Press as “one of the most cohesive, intense small jazz ensembles on the scene
today.” Quartet members include Joey Calderazzo, piano; Eric Revis, bass; and Justin Faulkner, drums.
Opening the program is pianist Yuko Mabuchi whose trio of musicians includes Del Atkins on bass and
Bobby Breton on drums.
Growing up in the rich environment of New Orleans as the oldest son of pianist and educator Ellis Marsalis,
Branford was drawn to music along with siblings Wynton, Delfeayo and Jason. His first instrument, the
clarinet, gave way to the alto and then the tenor and soprano saxophones when the teenage Branford began
working in local bands. A growing fascination with jazz as he entered college gave him the basic tools to
obtain his first major jobs, with trumpet legend Clark Terry and alongside Wynton in Art Blakey’s legendary
Jazz Messengers. When the brothers left to form the Wynton Marsalis Quintet, the world of uncompromising
acoustic jazz was invigorated. Branford formed his own quartet in 1986 and, with a few minor interruptions in the early years, has sustained the unit as his primary means of expression.
Branford formed the Marsalis Music label in 2002, and under his direction, it has documented his own music, talented new stars such as Miguel Zenón, and un-heralded older masters including one of Branford’s
teachers, the late Alvin Batiste. Branford has also shared his knowledge as an educator, forming extended
teaching relationships at Michigan State, San Francisco State, and North Carolina Central Universities and
conducting workshops at sites throughout the United States and the world.
Yuko Mabuchi started playing classical piano at age of 4, in her hometown of Fukui, Japan. As a teenager,
she was fascinated by American, Hip-Hop and Blues. After hearing the music of Oscar Peterson and Herbie
Hancock, she fell in love with jazz and after high school, she entered the AN Music School in Kyoto to study
Branford jazz piano under Kunihiro Kameda. After graduating from the conservatory, she began performing locally as a soloist, and as a member of a local jazz trio.
In 2010, Yuko arrived in Los Angeles to study at the Music Performance Academy (MPA) in Alhambra, CA.
While studying in LA she had the opportunity to showcase her talent at some of LA’s top venues, including
the Catalina Jazz Bar, Downtown Biltmore Hotel, Pasadena Levitt Pavilion Concert Series.
Yuko recorded her first CD entitled Waves (Vista Records, 2011) which was a collection of original
compositions. Returning to Japan in 2013, she performed with her trio at the Jazz Spot J Shinjuku in Tokyo,
the Fukui Jazz Festival, Osaka/Neyagawa Jazz Convention ’14, Mokkiriya and Riverside in Kanazawa and
appeared monthly as a soloist at Keio Plaza, Tokyo.
After returning to the US to record My Life (Vista Records, 2014) her second collection of original
compositions, she has developed a reputation as a “virtuoso pianist who is extremely entertaining and
exciting to watch.” My Life features Latin Jazz great, flutist Justo Almario and Smooth Jazz saxophonist
Andre Delano. Yuko also donates her time as the accompanist for the Watts-Willowbrook Conservatory and Youth
Symphony, a music program that offers training to youngsters in LA’s inner city: www.sappa.net
In 2017 she was invited to perform as a featured soloist with ICYOLA, under the direction of Charles
Dickerson, at Disney Hall in Los Angeles. She is a sensational and captivating pianist who consistently treats
her audience to the highest quality of music performance.
Segerstrom Center for the Arts is an acclaimed arts institution as well as a beautiful multi-disciplinary
cultural campus. It is committed to supporting artistic excellence, offering unsurpassed experiences and to
engaging the entire community in new and exciting ways through the unique power of live performance and a
diverse array of inspiring arts-based education and community engagement programs.
In addition to Segerstrom Center for the Arts as a presenting and producing institution, it also identifies the
the beautiful 14-acre campus that embraces the Center’s own facilities as well as two independently acclaimed
organizations: Tony Award®-winning South Coast Repertory and a site designated as the future home of
the Orange County Museum of Art.
Online – SCFTA.org
Phone – (714) 556-2787
Open 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. daily
Group Sales – (714) 755-0236
Open 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Monday – Friday
Information provided is accurate at the time of printing but is subject to change. Segerstrom Center for the
Arts is a public, non-profit organization. “Segerstrom Center for the Arts” is a registered trademark.
