July 8th, 2023 8:30pm
Performer: Dave Rocha Jazz
Astronomy Speaker: Dr. Courtney Dressing
Dave Rocha Jazz
Dave Rocha has been performing with his jazz group for more than 20 years. He has played in a number of major cities, including New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle.
His band plays an eclectic mix of jazz standards (by Miles Davis, Wayne Shorter, John Coltrane, etc.) “pop” tunes (Cole Porter, Gershwin and Jobim) and original compositons. This covers a wide variety of styles from up-tempo bebop, “modal” tunes, swing and blues, to latin jazz, ballads and jazz waltz.
In addition to his trumpet expertise, Rocha is also an accomplished flugelhorn player. This instrument is similar to the trumpet, but has a larger bell, which gives it a darker, mellower sound.
“Dave Rocha is a modern player out of the hard-bop tradition, with a beautiful sound and tremendous facility on the horn. You can hear the influence of Clifford Brown, Lee Morgan and others in his playing, but Dave has his own voice, and it’s a nice one!” — Dan Feiszli, Jazz bassist and recording engineer
“Dave’s playing and repertoire evokes memories of the golden era of Modern Jazz, and in addition to being a nice guy he happens to be a bebopper of the finest order.” — Chris Cortez, Jazz Radio Station KCSM
“Dave Rocha is a mature and eminently musical improviser. His sumptuous tone and cafefully chosen notes embody real musical thought. His performance of ‘Dear Old Stockholm’ at Chez Hanny evoked favorable comparisons to Miles Davis’ classic recording.” — Frank Hanny, Host of Chez Hanny
“I always enjoy working with Dave Rocha in the studio, due to his musicianship, professionalism and excellent trumpet playing.” — Mike Cogan, Owner of Bay Records
“Dave is a pleasure to work with. He’s a phenomenal technician with chops to spare.” — Randy Vincent, Jazz guitarist
Visit Dave Rocha Jazz for more information.
Lecture Information
Dr. Courtney Dressing (UC Berkeley)
Exploring Planetary Systems Orbiting Other Stars
Courtney Dressing is an observational astronomer focused on detecting and characterizing planetary systems orbiting nearby stars. Her research uses telescopes on the ground (often at Lick Observatory!) and in space to search for planets, probe their atmospheres, measure their masses, and constrain their bulk compositions.
Courtney received a PhD and AM in astronomy and astrophysics from Harvard University and an A.B. in astrophysical sciences from Princeton University. She was a member of the Science & Technology Definition Team for the LUVOIR mission concept study and a member of the science panel on Exoplanets, Astrobiology and the Solar System for the Astro2020 Decadal Survey organized by the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. In recognition of her work, Courtney has been awarded the Hellman Faculty Fellowship, the Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowship, the David & Lucile Packard Fellowship, the 2020 Harvard Bok Prize, and the 2021 Newton Lacy Pierce Prize from the American Astronomical Society. She is currently the Watson and Marilyn Alberts Chair in the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI).
Ticket Information
Tickets can be purchased at Eventbrite starting May 8th, 2023 at Noon.
Join Friends of Lick Observatory (FoLO) and Get Tickets Early
If you’d like to purchase tickets as early as noon on April 27th, 2023, join our Friends of Lick Observatory (FoLO) program by March 1st, 2023. As a thank you for supporting the observatory, you’ll get special access to purchase tickets before they go on sale for the general public.
More information about tickets and pricing is available at Music of the Spheres.
Program Information
| 7:30 pm | Doors Open | Brief Telescope Visits |
| 8:30 pm | Concert, Main Hall | |
| 9:30 pm | Science Talk, Lecture Hall | Telescope Viewings |
| 10:30 pm | Science Talk (repeated), Lecture Hall | Telescope Viewings |
| 1:00 am | Doors Close |
Gift shop is open from 7:30pm-8:30pm, and reopens after the concert until 11:30pm.
More general information about the event is available at Music of the Spheres.