Winter Concert Series at Athenaeum to Feature Renowned Bassist, Guitarist, Pianists

Jazz returns to the Athenaeum for the La Jolla music and arts library’s annual series of winter concerts, beginning Jan. 21.

The series, featuring both Athenaeum favorites and debuts by acclaimed artists, opens with the Linda May Han Oh Quintet. Oh’s past Athenaeum appearances have been with her own quartet (2017), her husband Fabian Almazan’s trio (2019) and the Dave Douglas-Joe Lovano Soundprints band (2014). The bassist received the 2023 Herb Alpert Award in the Arts.

All performances start at 7:30 p.m. The other shows (most are on Sundays, except the concluding concert of the series) all feature local debuts:

• Jan. 28 – the Gilad Hekselman Trio, led by the New York-based jazz guitarist. In 2017, Hekselman placed first in the Rising Star guitarist category in DownBeat magazine.
• Feb. 4 – the James Francies Trio. Purest Form, the pianist-keyboardist’s second Blue Note release, follows Flight from 2018.
• Feb. 28 – the Benjamin Lackner Quartet. The Berlin-based pianist, once a student in California, has performed at numerous jazz festivals including North Sea, Montreux and Monterey.

The shows take place in the Joan & Irwin Jacobs Music Room at the Athenaeum, 1008 Wall St. General admission to the series of four concerts costs $172, while individual concerts cost $45.