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Penn State College of Arts and Architecture
Center for the Performing Arts at Penn State

Event Slides Per Node 1415

  • An orchestra conductor makes gestures with his hands as he leads a group of musicians, including an electric guitarist a variety of saxophone players.
  • A saxophone musician stands in the center and performs while surrounded by musicians who sit at their music stands and play.

Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society

7:30 pm Tuesday, October 23, 2018

Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society, one of the most celebrated ensembles in contemporary jazz, makes its second appearance at Penn State to perform works selected from its first decade of innovative big band repertoire. “It’s maximalist music of impressive complexity and immense entertainment value, in your face and then in your head,” writes a reviewer for The Village Voice.

A Newsweek writer suggests that “for a wholly original take on big band’s past, present, and future, look to Darcy James Argue.” The Canadian-born, Brooklyn-based composer and bandleader made headlines with the release of Secret Society’s Infernal Machines (2009), which along with Brooklyn Babylon (2013) and Real Enemies (2016) was nominated for a Grammy Award.

A New York Times critic praises the most recent album as “wildly discursive, twitchily allusive, a work of furious ambition … deeply in tune with our present moment.” A London Jazz News writer calls the release “a mind-blowing example of truly great, era-defining jazz composition, and a contender for album of the year.”

Secret Society tours throughout North America, Europe, and South America. The eighteen-member band has also performed four times at the Newport Jazz Festival. 

Adult $48
University Park Student $15
18 and Younger $38

Secondary Events on Each Event

Artistic Viewpoints

6:30 pm Tuesday, October 23, 2018

Eisenhower Auditorium

Artistic Viewpoints, an informal moderated discussion featuring Darcy James Argue with assistance from saxophonist Rick Hirsch, is offered one hour before the performance and is free for ticket holders. Artistic Viewpoints regularly fills to capacity, so seating is available on a first-arrival basis.