Newswise — SEASIDE, Ca., March 28, 2019 – A special collaboration between the Monterey Jazz Festival (MJF) and California State University, Monterey Bay (CSUMB) brings the 2019 Monterey Jazz Festival Artists-in-Residence Allison Miller and Derrick Hodge to CSUMB’s World Theater on Thursday, April 4, 2019 at 8 p.m.

“This collaboration blurs the lines between musical genres while respecting the cultural and historical legacies of jazz. This performance is important because it reaches out beyond the traditional jazz listening audience to widen and diversify the jazz community throughout the world,” said MJF executive director, Colleen Bailey.

Allison Miller is a New York City based drummer, composer and teacher who was recently named a “Rising Star Drummer” and “Top 20 Jazz Drummer” by DownBeat Magazine’s acclaimed critics Poll. She is a three-time Jazz Ambassador of the U.S. State Department, conducting clinics and master classes throughout the globe at universities and camps.

Derrick Hodge is a two-time Grammy Award-winning bassist and Blue Note recording artist and a graduate of Temple University. His range of accomplishments span multiple genres and include orchestrations and arrangements for the National Symphony Orchestra, Common and Kanye West. He has also written original music for the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture and the Chicago Brass Ensemble.

The partnership between CSUMB and the Monterey Jazz Festival focuses on the creation of provocative musical collaborations and was established in 2018 with the support of Robert Danziger and Martha Drexler Lynn.