(photo of Ryan Keberle by John Rogers)
Led by Ryan Keberle (who shared Trombonist of the Year honors with Michael Dease in the 2024 DownBeat Critics Poll), Catharsis has been hailed by the Los Angeles Times for its “potent blend of cinematic sweep and lush, ear-grabbing melodies.” The telekinetic frontline of Keberle and trumpeter Mike Rodriguez, the unshakable rhythm of bassist Jorge Roeder and drummer Eric Doob, and the soaring guitar and vocals of Camila Meza combine into a singular sound that weaves together elements of chamber music, South American folk, and indie rock within a traditional jazz framework.
The band debuted in 2012 with Music Is Emotion, followed by Into the Zone in 2014 and Azul Infinito in 2016—the latter two released on Dave Douglas’s Greenleaf Music label. (Billboard magazine picked Azul Infinito as one of the year’s “five jazz albums you need to hear.”) In 2017 Catharsis addressed the political turmoil in the U.S. with the protest album Find the Common, Shine a Light, praised by The Nation as “unpretentiously intelligent and profoundly moving.” And in 2019 came The Hope I Hold, with lyrics and inspiration drawn from the Langston Hughes poem “Let America be America Again.”
Catharsis has thrilled audiences at the Toronto, Ottawa, Rochester, and Bergamo International Jazz Festivals, as well as premier jazz clubs from London (Pizza Express) to Paris (Le Duc des Lombards) to Cologne (Stadtgarten) to New York (Jazz Standard and Jazz at Lincoln Center) and Los Angeles (Blue Whale). Its members can also claim a wealth of experience in other settings, both as bandleaders in their own right (e.g., Camila Meza’s Nectar Orchestra) and as integral members of groups led by Charlie Haden (RIP), Maria Schneider, Gary Burton, Julian Lage, Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah, Paquito D’Rivera, Shai Maestro, Gonzalo Rubalcaba, and John Zorn.
This year, Catharsis celebrates a dozen years together with a moving new album, Music Is Connection, that expands and deepens the group's sonic palette and marks the return of Camila Meza after an absence of several years. (The lineup for the album tour also features original member Mike Rodriguez, with veteran bassist and composer Ike Sturm filling in for Jorge Roeder and drummer Jimmy McBride subbing for Eric Doob.) “I am so proud of this band,” says Keberle. ”We have cultivated a level of chemistry, trust and shared musical language that I have only experienced in a handful of other musical ensembles in my lifetime…Every time I get to perform with these exceptional musicians, I consider it to be a career highlight.”
Catharsis is a band of heart, mind, and soul whose members are determined to confront the turbulence of the world with the tonic, redemptive, cathartic power of music. Every time we’re fortunate enough to bring them to Humboldt County is a highlight for us, too!
Sponsors
Our programming couldn’t happen without the steadfast support of dozens of RJA members & sponsors, not to mention the community spirit of Arcata’s own dynamic arts agency, Playhouse Arts. Special thanks to Bug Press, the most steadfast of jazz allies, for its abiding generosity.
Additional support for this show comes from Cafe Brio, Dick Taylor Craft Chocolate, Bob and Amy Doran, George Epperson DDS, John Helie & Monica Simms, and North Coast Co-Op.
The Redwood Jazz Alliance's presentation of Ryan Keberle & Catharsis is supported through a Chamber Music America Presenter Consortium for Jazz grant in collaboration with Earshot Jazz and The 222.
A component of the Doris Duke Jazz Ensembles Project, Presenter Consortium for Jazz is funded
by the Doris Duke Foundation.
