Island bassist and jazz ambassador Bruce Phares will trip down memory lane this weekend, as he takes the stage again with one of his heroes, the legendary jazz guitar great Bruce Forman — almost 40 years after they played together for the first time.
Their concert, also featuring revered Pacific Northwest drummer Gary Hobbs, will take place at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, July 28, in the Kay White Hall of Vashon Center for the Arts.
The reunion is a long time in the making.
In the early fall of 1986, a 31-year-old Phares got the call to be house bassist for two touring world-class recording artists coming to play at Jazz Alley — Forman and the legendary pianist George Cables.
“It was one of the most intense, exciting, and terrifying weeks of up-tempo standards I’d ever endured, with the band playing at absolute maximum intensity — solo after solo, from first note to final applause — with these two giants of jazz,” Phares said. “I learned a great deal about my strengths that week, and twice as much more about my weaknesses. It was a dream come true — the closest I had come to achieving nirvana on a stage.”
A few years later, Phares took the bass chair with Cables once again in a trio concert on the main stage at Centrum Jazz, but he never got a chance to play with Forman again.
Until now.
“I’m thrilled and honored to join with these two monsters,” he said, of Forman and Hobbs. “I hope folks will take advantage of this opportunity to hear a truly world-renowned jazz master who has played with many of the most recognizable and iconic jazz legends over many decades — a bebop scholar and educator, and a wizard of the guitar.”
Forman — in addition to keeping up with an always-hectic touring schedule — has logged more than 21 recordings, working with legends including Ray Brown, Joe Henderson, Dizzy Gillespie, Barney Kessell, Bobby Hutcherson, and Roger Kellaway.
He’s also played soundtrack performances on Clint Eastwood films and is known as a raconteur, arranger, and acclaimed educator in residence at the University of South California’s studio/jazz guitar department.
His work is informed by deep immersion in American culture, reflected in multiple current and recent projects.
“Reunion,” Forman’s latest project, revisits famed “Poll Winners” sessions with his cohorts John Clayton and Jeff Hamilton, playing instruments owned by Barney Kessel, Ray Brown and Shelly Manne. Examples of his latest creative output also include a trio project, “Formanism;” a highly-rated podcast, “GuitarWank;” and “GrumpsTV,” a 50-episode YouTube variety he produced during the COVID lockdown.
“Bruce Forman’s life and musical journey provide an American saga still in full swing,” said Phares. “His Texas origins, early career in San Francisco and New York, and years on the road [have] all contributed to the highly personal vision that he demonstrates today.”
Find out more about Forman’s musicianship at bruceforman.com/bio.
Drummer Gary Hobbs has appeared on more than 60 jazz recordings and countless regional concert performances.
Hobbs played with The Stan Kenton Orchestra from 1975 through 1977. And throughout the years, he’s played with jazz masters Randy Brecker, Bud Shank, George Cables, Ken Peplowski, Pete Christlieb, Greta Matassa, Anita O’Day, Dan Siegel, Glen Moore, The New York Voices, Eddie Harris, and many more — playing famed stages including Carnegie Hall, Royal Festival Hall, Tivoli Garden, Kennedy Center, and Wolf Trap.
Like Forman, Hobbs is an active educator, serving on the faculty of the University of Oregon and traveling all over the U.S. doing clinics, concerts, and jazz camps. Find out more at garyhobbs.net.
Get tickets to the show at vashoncenterforthearts.org.
