Category Archives: Music

Sad Daddy returns to South on Main tonight!

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som sadTonight at 10pm, Sad Daddy returns to the South on Main stage! Doors open at 4:00 PM. Wristbands can be purchased for $10 after doors open. Call ahead to South on Main to make your reservations and ensure a table: (501) 244-9660.

Sad Daddy began as the meeting of three musical minds—Brian Martin (guitar), Melissa Carper (bass), and Joe Sundell (banjo). The dynamic songwriting of the original three members carried the group’s 2010 self-titled release and won them a loyal following in and around the great state of Arkansas. However, with Carper and Sundell residing in Austin, TX and Martin far away in Ozark country, the group’s opportunities for collaboration and performance were few and far between.

Now, with the original members all back in Arkansas, as well as with the addition of standout fiddler Rebecca Patek, Sad Daddy is embarking on the next chapter of their musical journey, which includes a follow up album in the works and a full schedule of tour dates. While Sad Daddy’s musicianship and stagecraft are worthy of mention, the songwriting of Martin, Carper, and Sundell remains the cornerstone of the group’s allure and allows them to connect with a wide range of audiences.

Tonight at 7, Oxford American’s Local Live at South on Main features Off the Cuff

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llsom offthecuffTonight at 7:30 PM, the Oxford American magazine presents this week’s Local Live concert at South on Main, featuring Off The Cuff!

As always, Local Live is free and open to the public. To guarantee a table/seat for this popular series, call ahead at (501) 244-9660.

Off the Cuff is a Jazz/Neo-Soul band comprised of passionate musicians from Arkansas. Originally founded in 2013, they have performed across the Central Arkansas area throughout the past few years. The band plays covers of everything from Roy Hargrove to Jill Scott and prides themselves on the composition of original music.

Off the Cuff debuted their first EP on July 25th, and are continuing to compose in preparation for a second album release. The band is comprised of vocalist Keke Collier, trumpeter Jose Holloway, keyboardist Camryn Stillman, drummer Darius Blanton, bassist Kaleb Ritchie, and saxophonist Rafael Powell. Their music is organic and interactive; audiences will be taken on a musical journey and will have fun along the way.

Twice Sax wraps up 2015 Jazz in the Park tonight at 6pm in Riverfront Park

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twicesaxThis fall sessions of Jazz in the Park end tonight with Twice Sax. 

The concert will take place from 6pm to 8pm in the History Pavilion in Riverfront Park.  In case of rain, it will be in the River Market pavilions.

Instrumental jazz/funk/blues project Twicesax came together in 2009 when sax-playing brothers-in-law Dave Williams II and Brandon Dorris solidified a group of musicians who had been regulars at a local jam.

The group performs a mix of originals and artfully arranged covers. Each musician plays professionally in many other bands and draws from their own influences of jazz, rock, bluegrass, funk and blues, creating a lively and complex sound that listeners have called “music that gets into your head, gets into your bones and moves you.”

Members include:

  • Dave Williams on sax
  • Brandon Dorris on sax and flute
  • Jason McHughes on drums
  • Matthew Stone on guitar and mandolin
  • Daniel Schoultz on bass

jazzinparkThe concert series is brought to you by the Little Rock Convention & Visitors Bureau.  Lost Forty Brewing beers, select wines, soft drinks & water are available for sale. Proceeds benefit Art Porter Music Education, Inc. So please, NO Coolers. Picnic blankets and chairs are welcome. As are children and pets (please leash your pets)

Art Porter Music Education, Inc. (APME) continues its mission of keeping the musical legacies of local jazz statesman Art Porter, Sr. and his son, renowned saxophonist Art Porter, Jr. alive with community enrichment opportunities, volunteerism, and the awarding of scholarships. Through music, APME works to enhance education by helping students improve reading, language and mathematical skills. The partnership with the River Market to support Jazz in the Park, a free, family-friendly event featuring jazz in downtown Little Rock, is a natural fit for both organizations.

 

Tonight at 7 – AR Symphony River Rhapsodies series starts with Jon Kimura Parker

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ASO lowres-jkp-321The Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, Philip Mann, Music Director and Conductor, presents the opening concert of the 2015-2016 River Rhapsodies Chamber Music Series: Artist of Distinction: Jon Kimura Parker on September 29, 2015 at 7:00 PM.

ASO musicians including the Rockefeller Quartet are joined by the 2015-2016 Richard Sheppard Arnold Artist of Distinction, pianist Jon Kimura Parker, for music from Borodin, Hirtz, and Beethoven in the beautiful Great Hall of the Clinton Presidential Center. A cash bar is open at 6 PM and at intermission, and patrons are invited to carry drinks into the hall. Media sponsor for the River Rhapsodies Chamber Music Series is KUAR/KLRE.

Tickets are $23; active duty military and student tickets are $10 are can be purchased online at www.ArkansasSymphony.org; at the Clinton Presidential Center box office beginning 60 minutes prior to a concert; or by phone at 501-666-1761, ext. 100.

Artists

Jon Kimura Parker, piano

Rockefeller Quartet:

  • Katherine Williamson, violin
  • Trisha McGovern, violin
  • Katherine Reynolds, viola
  • Aaron Ludwig, cello

Leanna Booze, oboe

Kelly Johnson, clarinet

Susan Bell León, bassoon

David Renfro, horn

Program

BORODIN                            String Quartet No. 2 in D Major

HIRTZ                                    Wizard of Oz Fantasy

BEETHOVEN                       Quintet for Piano and Winds, Op. 16

Program Notes:

Mr. Parker on Hirtz’s Fantasy, from http://www.jonkimuraparker.com:

My friend and colleague, the composer William Hirtz, can work pianistic miracles out of harmony, rhythm and texture. Several years ago he showed me a piano duet Fantasy that he had composed using several of Harold Arlen’s iconic themes from the “Wizard of Oz” soundtrack. It was joyous, technically raucous, and seemingly featured dozens of notes all at once. I jokingly commented that I if he could arrange this Fantasy for one piano two hands, I would happily play it. I thought nothing more about it.

Fast forward several months: one day my fax machine started up and several insanely dotted pages spewed forth. I recognized the music – it was indeed the Fantasy arranged for two hands – but couldn’t imagine how it might be played. I called Bill and complained, “Hey, didn’t you know that when you rearrange a four hand work for two hands, that you’re supposed to leave out some of the notes!!”

Here is the Wizard of Oz music in all its glory. It’s one of the most difficult works I’ve played, period. If you’re a pianist and would like to order a copy of either the two handed or (more reasonably playable) four handed version, feel free to contact William Hirtz directly at w.hirtz@att.net.

About Arkansas Symphony Orchestra

The Arkansas Symphony Orchestra celebrates its 50th season in 2015-2016, under the leadership of Music Director Philip Mann. ASO is the resident orchestra of Robinson Center Music Hall, and performs more than sixty concerts each year for more than 165,000 people through its Stella Boyle Smith Masterworks Series, ACXIOM Pops LIVE! Series, River Rhapsodies Chamber Music Series, and numerous concerts performed around the state of Arkansas, in addition to serving central Arkansas through numerous community outreach programs and bringing live symphonic music education to over 26,000 school children and over 200 schools.

For more information about the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra call 501-666-1761 or visit www.ArkansasSymphony.org

Happy 50th Birthday to the National Endowment for the Arts & National Endowment for the Humanities

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NEANEH50On September 29, 1965, President Lyndon Baines Johnson signed into law the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965 at a White House Rose Garden ceremony, attended by scholars, artists, educators, political leaders, and other luminaries.

The law created the National Endowment for the Humanities as an independent federal agency, the first grand public investment in American culture. It identified the need for a national cultural agency that would preserve America’s rich history and cultural heritage, and encourage and support scholarship and innovation in history, archeology, philosophy, literature, and other humanities disciplines.

On this occasion, President Johnson said: “Art is a nation’s most precious heritage. For it is in our works of art that we reveal ourselves, and to others, the inner vision which guides us as a nation. And where there is no vision, the people perish.”

This new law was the fruit of two presidents, several senators and representatives, and four previous pieces of legislation. Separate bills had been introduced, in previous years, into the House by Representative Frank Thompson (D-NJ), and into the Senate by Senators Hubert Humphrey (D-MN) and Jacob Javits (R-NY). Senator Claiborne Pell (D-RI) had overseen hearings on some of this preliminary legislation, beginning in October 1963, before the death of President John F. Kennedy.

Over the years, the NEA and NEH have awarded millions of dollars to Little Rock based institutions, organizations and individuals through direct appropriations.  They have also impacted Little Rock cultural life through funding of the Mid-America Arts Alliance, Arkansas Arts Council, Department of Arkansas Heritage, Arkansas Department of Parks & Tourism, and U.S. Conference of Mayors among others. These groups have either re-granted the dollars to Little Rock entities or undertaken projects which have directly impacted and improved life in Little Rock.

 

Recital featuring restored 1927 Steinway at Central High this afternoon

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Photo courtesy of LRCH Tiger Foundation

The LRCH Tiger Foundation and Little Rock Central High School are hosting a recital this afternoon at 2pm to celebrate the successful completion of the renovation of the 1927 Steinway & Sons grand piano.

It will take place in the Roosevelt Thompson Auditorium at the school. The concert is free and open to the public and all are welcome.

The recital will showcase the variety of music that has been played on the Model A III Steinway over the past 88 years.  The piano was purchased for the school when it opened in September 1927.  Over the years, it had fallen into disrepair and been improperly maintained.  Due to the efforts of the Tiger Foundation (led by project chair Julie Keller), LRCHS Principal Nancy Rousseau and choral director Scott Whitfield, money was raised to restore the piano.

The $38,000 restoration project was undertaken by Mike Anderson of Anderson’s Piano Clinic who assembled a team of experts from Arkansas and Texas.

The Tiger Foundation is led by a 21-member board of dedicated volunteers, many of whom are Central alumni, who are passionate about the continued growth and success of Little Rock Central High School.

Grieg’s Piano Concerto marks start of 2015-16 Masterworks Season for Arkansas Symphony Orchestra

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ASO NewThe Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, Philip Mann, Music Director and Conductor, presents the first concert of the Stella Boyle Smith Masterworks Series: Grieg’s Piano Concerto, 7:30 PM Saturday, September 26 and 3:00 PM Sunday, September 27, 2015.

 Featuring Jon Kimura Parker on piano, the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra will take the stage with Mendelssohn’s concert overture, Fingal’s Cave, Grieg’s Piano Concerto in A minor and Borodin’s Symphony No. 2 in B minor.  The Masterworks Series is sponsored by the Stella Boyle Smith Trust. The concert is sponsored by Metal Recycling Corporation.

Concert Conversations – All concert ticket holders are invited to a pre-concert lecture an hour before each Masterworks concert. These talks feature insights from the Maestro and guest artists, and feature musical examples to enrich the concert experience.

Shuttle service is available – The ASO provides shuttle service from Second Presbyterian Church in Pleasant Valley to the Maumelle Performing Arts Center and back after the concert. For more information and to purchase fare, please visit www.ArkansasSymphony.org/shuttle.

Tickets are $19, $35, $49, and $58; active duty military and student tickets are $10 and can be purchased online at www.ArkansasSymphony.org; at the Maumelle Performing Arts Center box office beginning 90 minutes prior to a concert; or by phone at 501-666-1761, ext. 100. All Arkansas students grades K-12 are admitted to Sunday’s matinee free of charge with the purchase of an adult ticket using the Entergy Kids’ Ticket, downloadable at the ASO website.

 

Artists

Philip Mann, conductor

Jon Kimura Parker, piano

Program

  • Mendelssohn – The Hebrides, Op. 26 “Fingal’s Cave”  
  • Grieg – Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 16
  • Borodin – Symphony No. 2 in B minor

Program Notes:

Grieg’s legendary Concerto boasts one of the most familiar openings in the entire concerto repertoire, owing much to its simplicity. Grieg composed the work while sharing a house with pianist Edmund Neupert, who advised him on the solo part and to whom the piece was eventually dedicated in gratitude. Fingal’s Cave evokes the majesty and mystery of the sea. Mendelssohn composed the work after touring the Hebrides, including the flooded grotto known as Fingal’s Cave. The piece influenced later compositions on similar subjects, such as Wagner’s opera, The Flying Dutchman, and Debussy’s symphonic work, La Mer.

About Arkansas Symphony Orchestra

The Arkansas Symphony Orchestra celebrates its 50th season in 2015-2016, under the leadership of Music Director Philip Mann. ASO is the resident orchestra of Robinson Center Music Hall, and performs more than sixty concerts each year for more than 165,000 people through its Stella Boyle Smith Masterworks Series, ACXIOM Pops LIVE! Series, River Rhapsodies Chamber Music Series, and numerous concerts performed around the state of Arkansas, in addition to serving central Arkansas through numerous community outreach programs and bringing live symphonic music education to over 26,000 school children and over 200 schools.