Our Alone Together series is a celebration of spontaneous creation, presenting exclusive and unrehearsed duo performances captured live in the intimacy of the SFJAZZ Center. Whether they’re longtime collaborators or meeting on stage for the first time, these world class artists are improvisors of the highest level, creating powerful musical dialogues in the moment.

“For this “home team” episode, trumpeter Mike Rodriguez and bassist Matt Brewer from the SFJAZZ Collective deliver a dynamic and lyrical exploration of jazz great Benny Golson’s timeless standard “Stablemates.” Composed by the saxophonist in 1955, “Stablemates” was first recorded by Miles Davis for his 1956 Prestige Records release “Miles” — the debut release by Davis’s “First Great Quintet” with John Coltrane, Red Garland, Paul Chambers, and Philly Joe Jones. Now a bedrock part of the standards songbook, “Stablemates” has been recorded by a lengthy list of masters including Dizzy Gillespie, Jackie McLean, and of course, Benny Golson.

A GRAMMY-winning trumpeter and composer hailing from Queens, New York, Mike Rodriguez has worked alongside a stunning list of greats including Joe Lovano, Quincy Jones, Wynton Marsalis, and Chico O’Farrill, and has had lengthy associations with Charlie Haden’s Liberation Music Orchestra, Gonzalo Rubalcaba, and Chick Corea, with whom he won a GRAMMY as part of his Spanish Heart Band. He has been a member of the SFJAZZ Collective since 2022.

Matt Brewer was born in Oklahoma City and grew up in Albuquerque, NM, surrounded by a family of musicians and artists. Following studies at Interlochen Arts Academy and the Juilliard School, he's travelled the world playing in the bands of Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Greg Osby, Steve Coleman, Dave Binney, Gerald Clayton, Ben Wendel, Aaron Parks, and Vijay Iyer, among many others. He’s an active bandleader and joined the Collective in 2018.

Personnel:
Mike Rodriguez: trumpet
Matt Brewer: bass