Doors Open at 7pm. Concert Starts at 8pm.

Ticket Pre-Sale ends at NOON. $35/door

Dr. Marshall Hawkins - double bass

Joshua White - piano

We are thrilled to bring back Dr. Marshall Hawkins, a living legend of jazz who was part of the Miles Davis Second Quintet, and the incomparable Joshua White. Last year, this rare duo, a bassist and pianist, took our audience on a breathtaking musical journey. This year promises to be unforgettable with Dr. Hawkins saying, “We aren’t just playing music, we are bringing enlightenment!”

Dr. Marshall Hawkins was fortunate to know from an early age that he was meant to be a musician. Born in 1939 in the now “infamous” Anacostia district in Washington, D.C., Marshall’s home was always full of music. His mother had a love of the classics, and Bach, Verde, and Puccini were his early companions, along with Nat Cole, Charlie Parker and Jimmy Lunceford.

In 1964, Marshall decided to pick up the bass – and the rest is history. His first professional performance was with Betty Gray, the great Blues singer and pianist. In his mid-20s, jazz vocalist Shirley Horn, chose Marshall as her bassist – her youngest ever.

In the late 60s, Marshall’s life changed when he joined the Miles Davis quintet (with Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, and Tony Williams) and toured throughout the United States. In 1971, Marshall organized the Marshall Hawkins Quintet and played in the Washington D.C. Eddie Jefferson (the innovator of “vocalese”) invited Marshall to come to California to be his bassist in the late 70’s, until he toured internationally with saxophonist Richie Cole. In the 90s, Marshall’s musical collaborators included Joe Henderson, Freddie Hubbard, Pharaoh Sanders, the Manhattan Transfer, and other Jazz greats.

In 1978, Marshall moved to Idyllwild, California, home of the internationally famous high school for the arts. He founded the award-winning Jazz program at the Idyllwild Arts Academy in 1986, serving as the head of the Jazz Department until his retirement.

In addition to teaching Jazz as an art form, Marshall has mentored hundreds of talented young people who he considers to be “his kids.” Aware of the number of talented young people who cannot afford to attend a private high school for the arts, Marshall founded the enormously successful Jazz in the Pines Festival to raise scholarship funds and served as its Music Director for over 20 years.

Marshall is deeply committed to teaching and exposing school children to the uniquely American art form of Jazz. In 2002, he organized the Seahawk Modern Jazz Orchestra (MOJO) and brings unforgettable Jazz and educational programs to elementary and secondary schools.