Jazz musician in the groove for Brubeck

By Tony Sauro, Record Staff Writer

Christian Tamburr has performed with Dave Brubeck, toured with Julio Iglesias, played regular gigs - since he was 20 - in Las Vegas showrooms and helped craft music for Cirque du Soleil. He's even done duets with Michael Jordan.

It's the kind of musical laboratory that can't be replicated in a classroom.

So, Tamburr's experience and perspective should be right in the groove this week at the Brubeck Institute in Stockton.

"I learned on the road," said Tamburr, 31, a composer and multi-instrumentalist who's built a multi-dimensional career since he left college after two years. "Having had the opportunity, I know more than I ever really thought about. Guys told me more and shared more knowledge that was unobtainable.

"It's not brain surgery. But when you get artistic-minded, it's a whole change of gears." Business and music "definitely must go hand in hand. I try to be inspirational. I try to give advice on some of the music-business aspects not taught generally in school."

Tamburr, who now lives in Morgan Hill, doesn't suggest they follow his career course.

He does hope to convey the importance of that "hand-in-hand" mix Wednesday when he and his jazz quartet share knowledge and riffs with 18 high school students during the Brubeck Institute Summer Jazz Colony at University of the Pacific.

Mastering musical skills - and pursuing a college eduction - is the major subject this week. However, managing those talents can be an even bigger challenge for young jazz musicians who'll be learning, practicing, jamming and performing today through Friday.

As usual, the students - chosen through audition from nine states - will get plenty of practical input from 12 instructors, most of them professional players. They include Pacific associate professor Patrick Langham, American River College's Joe Gilman and Glenn Zaleski, a former member of the Brubeck Institute Jazz Quintet.

The students and mentors jam each day at 7 p.m., playing a final concert on Friday. The Christian Tamburr Quartet performs twice Wednesday. Tamburr (vibraphone), Dan Zemelman (piano), Doug Miller (bass) and Greg Wyser-Pratte (drums) will be augmented by Dominick Farinacci, 28, a trumpet player from New York. All the sessions are free.

"It's one of my favorite things to do," said Tamburr, who specializes in vibraphone and led master classes at Stanford University's Jazz Camp in July. "I really love it as a way to reach out to kids who are keeping this music alive.

"Jazz is an approach to music that has such importance for our heritage and our culture. It's important that it lives on in students who really get an appreciation for how it began, how it evolved and how it continues to evolve."

Tamburr has done plenty of that.

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