Category Archives: Music

Tonight’s Jazz in the Park is Acoustix with Rod P

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jazzinparkThis September, on Wednesday nights from 6 pm – 8 pm., Jazz in the Park continues its partnership with Art Porter Music Education, Inc. in the Riverfront Park.
Tonight features Acoustix with Rod P.
The concert will take place in the History Pavilion in Riverfront Park.  In case of rain, it will be in the River Market pavilions.
The 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 7:30 at South on Main – FREE Oxford American Local Live concert with Steve Suter and Friends

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llsom suterTonight at 7:30 PM is this week’s installment of the Oxford American Local Live concert series. The music tonight is provided by Steve Suter and Friends.

Presented by the Oxford American magazine, Local Live showcases the best of local and regional music talent and is always free and open to the public. Call ahead to South on Main to make your reservations and ensure a table: (501) 244-9660.

Steve Suter and Friends will bring with them a beautiful night of jazz, standards, and some surprises! Presented by Steve Suter, formerly with the Gatemouth Brown Big Band, Bonerama, and the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra. Rompin’ New Orleans-style trombone will be joined by Chris Parker and his beautifully sophisticated Arkansas piano. Friends will stop by as the night progresses…

 

Steven Michael Suter is a native of New Orleans and currently resides in Hot Springs. He is a graduate of Loyola University of New Orleans (B.M.), and Northwestern University of Chicago (M.M.). Joining him for this performance, among others, is Little Rock pianist Chris Parker.

Having played with such diverse and varied groups such as the Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown Big Band, the New Orleans Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Maxim Shostakovich, Bonerama, the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, the Millar Brass Ensemble, and the Al Belletto Big Jazz Band, it is quite evident that Suter’s expertise crosses all musical genres.

Suter has also played with Pete Fountain, Natalie Cole, Rita Moreno, Bobby Vinton, Bob Hope, Ray Charles, the Temptations, the O’Jays, Gladys Knight, Johnny Mathis, Don Rickles, and Mel Torme to name a few.

He has recorded with Bonerama, Jill Scott, Solomon Burke, Al Martino, Barry Manilow, Al Belletto, Gatemouth Brown, The New Orleans Nightcrawlers, and the Millar Brass Ensemble. He’s has made television appearances on MSNBC with the “Mississippi Rising” telethon for Katrina victims, and on NBC withExtreme Makeover: Home Edition. He played in the house band for HBO’s Comic Relief in ’06, was featured at the ’07 Sugar Bowl, and performed on Late Night with David Letterman with Bonerama and Damien Kulash.

He was a member of Bonerama when the group received awards from Offbeat magazine and the Big Easy Awards, both of New Orleans, for outstanding performance. Suter received special recognition by NAJE for jazz education in 2000, and in 2006 Steven was named one of New Orleans Magazine‘s “Jazz All-Stars.”

In addition to a busy schedule of performing, teaching, and writing music, Steven is currently the Programs and Services Counsel for The Muses Creative Artistry Project, a nonprofit corporation dedicated to preservation of classical art and music through performance and education.

Several centuries of music featured in ASO River Rhapsodies 2015-16 series

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ASO_2-colorLater this month, the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra’s Landers FIAT River Rhapsodies Series will start.  All concerts in this series take place at the Clinton Presidential Center Great Hall and start at 7pm.

 

Artist of Disinction: Jon Kimura Parker
September 29, 2015
Borodin – String Quartet No. 2 in D Major
Hirtz – Wizard of Oz Fantasy
Beethoven – Quintet for Piano and Winds, Op. 16

Anniversary of a Violin
October 27
Mozart – Sonata for Violin and Piano
Shostakovich – String Quartet No. 11 in F Minor, Op. 122

Merry Pranks
November 17
Strauss – Till Eulenspiegel – einmal anders
Vaughn Williams – Quintet in D Major
Beethoven – Septet in E-flat Major, Op. 20

Mozart & Mendelssohn
February 2
Dohnányi – Sextet in C Major, Op. 37
Mozart – String Quartet in A Major, K. 169
Mendelssohn – Piano Trio No. 2 in C minor, Op. 66

Mendelssohn’s String Symphony No. 10
March 1
Prokofiev – Sonata for Two Violins in C Major, Op. 56
Beethoven – String Quartet in C minor, Op. 18 No. 4
Bach – Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 in G
Mendelssohn – String Symphony No. 10 in B minor

Brahms and Dvořák
April 12
Brahms – Piano Trio in C minor, Op. 101
Bartok – String Quartet No. 4
Dvořák- String Quartet No. 14 in A-flat Major, Op. 105

2015-16 ASO Pops includes Cirque, Broadway, Movies and Holiday Favorites

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aso_2-colorThe Arkansas Symphony Orchestra returns to the Connor Performing Arts Center on the Pulaski Academy campus for the 2015-2016 season.  There is still time to order your tickets.

Things get started on October 24 & 25 with “Cirque Musical.” Debuting this summer at the Hollywood Bowl, this evening will feature contortionists, balances and jugglers providing a visual feast for the eyes while the ASO will play classical and contemporary music.

From December 18 to 20, it will be “Holiday Pops with the ASO.” This long-running tradition will feature Christmas carols and other holiday songs

February 13 & 14 will be “Broadway Rocks!” Featuring Broadway stars Christiane Noll, Carpathia Jenkins and Rob Evans, this evening will feature songs from such Broadway shows as Rent, Wicked, Mamma Mia, The Lion King, The Wiz and The Phantom of the Opera.  A lot of people throw around the term “Broadway stars” but these three deserve it.  If they are in a show, they steal it!

The Pops season will conclude with “The Movie Music of John Williams” on May 7&8.  The ASO will play selections from some of Williams’ mist famous movies. He has win 5 Oscars, 6 Emmys, 25 Golden Globes and 22 Grammys.

Runaway Planet at Ron Robinson Theater tonight at 7 with Arkansas Sounds

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arksounds runaway_planetTonight at 7pm, the Arkansas Sounds Music Series features Runaway Planet.

Traditional string band Runaway Planet performs hard-driving bluegrass, three-part harmonies, complex arrangements, and original songs. Runaway Planet is an Arkansas four-piece bluegrass group that has performed nearly 15 years. The band’s original music features traditional bluegrass instrumentation with modern lyrics, three-part harmonies, and highly skilled playing showing their rock, folk, and jazz influences.

The concert will take place at the CALS Ron Robinson Theater, 100 River Market Avenue.  General Admission: $10.  Refreshments will be available for purchase.

Founded in 2001, Little Rock bluegrass band Runaway Planet evolved out of a long-time friendship between members and a mutual love for traditional string-band music. Their music is a mix of hard-driving bluegrass, three-part harmonies, complex arrangements and original songs.  The musicians are Greg Alexander, guitar and vocals; Steve Brauer, banjo, guitar, vocals; Matthew Stone, mandolin, dobro; Michael Proveaux, bass, vocals.

Drawing from traditional influences like Bill Monroe, Flatt & Scruggs and the Stanley Brothers, they are also inspired by more progressive bluegrass bands like The Country Gentlemen, The Seldom Scene and New Grass Revival.

Arkansas Sounds is a project of the Butler Center for Arkansas Studies, a department of the Central Arkansas Library System. Focused on Arkansas music and musicians both past and present, Arkansas Sounds presents concerts, workshops, and other events to showcase Arkansas’s musical culture.

Music and Food on tap at Main Street Food Truck Friday kickoff today

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Foodtruck FridaysMain Street Food Truck Fridays Kickoff

Friday, September 4 from 10:45 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.

Main Street Creative Corridor on The Plaza at Main & Capitol

 

Participating:  Bryant’s BBQ, Hot Rod Wieners, Jackie’s Mobile Café, Kona Ice and The Southern Gourmasian, and Michael Shaw with live music 11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

Menus:

  1. Bryant’s BBQ- Smoked Brisket/Pork/Beef Sandwich Combos with Fresh Cut Fries, Jerk Chicken and Spanish Rice, Fresh Gulf Shrimp and Catfish Baskets and Homemade BBQ Nachos, Loaded Fries and Coleslaw
  2. Hot Rod Wieners- Gourmet All Beef Hot Dog on Boulevard Bun:  Mudslinger- chili, cheddar, onions;  Italian Stallion- meaty marinara, provolone, pepperoni chips, basil;  Hot Cheese Injection- hot cheese sauce, peppers, hot sauce;  MAC Truck- mac and cheese, bacon;  Spicy Daewood- kimchi, mustard
  3. Jackie’s Mobile Café- Old Fashion Artisan Crafted Hamburgers with all the toppings, Farm- Raised Catfish, Finger-Licking Wings, Chick-O-Stick, Nachos and Fries
  4. Kona Ice- Tropical Shaved Ice Experience…  FLAVOR YOUR WORLD!
  5. Southern Gourmasian- Steamed Buns , Shrimp & Grits, Spicy Chicken & Dumplings, Almond Crusted Chicken Sandwich, S’more cookies

 

Live music:

Performed by Michael Shaw from 11 a.m.- 12:30 p.m.  Michael plays a wide variety of acoustic music from the 60’s to today. He plays all your favorite covers mixed with some of his own creations.

 

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Main Street Food Truck Fridays is held each spring and fall with up to five food trucks as an offshoot of the Main Street Food Truck Festival and is presented by the Downtown Little Rock Partnership in support of Main Street revitalization.  The dates for Fall 2015 are: September 4, 11, 18 and 25 and October 9, 16, 23 and 30. There will be no Main Street Food Truck Fridays on October 2 before the Festival. Food trucks and menus are updated weekly on Facebook: facebook.com/MainStreetFoodTruckFestival.

The 5th annual Main Street Food Truck Festival will be held Saturday, October 3, 2016 on Main Street from 3rd to 8th, 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and is presented this year by Road Runner Stores. This year over 40 food trucks will participate along with art and craft vendors, buskers, beer gardens, Heifer International children’s activities and more. Earlier in the year the Main Street Food Truck Festival was designated by an online magazine called Vacation Idea as one of the “Best Food Truck Festivals in the United States.” (http://vacationidea.com/ideas/best-food-truck-festivals.html)

Anat Cohen kicks off Oxford American 2015-16 Jazz Series at South on Main tonight at 8

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oa jazz AnatTonight at 8pm, the Oxford American magazine welcomes Anat Cohen to the South on Main stage to kick off the OA Jazz Series!

Doors open at 6:00 PM, with dinner and drinks available for purchase at that time. This series is made possible by presenting sponsor, the UCA College of Fine Arts & Communication. Additional partners include The Summer Foundation, Arkansas Arts Council, Capital Hotel, Piano Kraft, Rosen Music Company, and FM-89.1 KUAR.

Tickets are $20 (General Admission), $30 (Reserved), and $32 (Premium Reserved). View the South on Main reserved seating map here. Please take a look at this very important ticketing and seating information before purchasing your tickets.

Clarinetist/saxophonist Anat Cohen has won hearts and minds the world over with her expressive virtuosity and delightful stage presence. Anat was born in Tel Aviv, Israel, and raised into a musical family. She began clarinet studies at age twelve and played jazz on clarinet for the first time in the Jaffa Conservatory’s Dixieland Band. At sixteen, she joined the school’s big band and learned to play the tenor saxophone; it was this same year that Anat entered the prestigious “Thelma Yellin” school, where she majored in jazz. After graduation, she discharged her mandatory Israeli military service duty from 1993-1995, playing tenor saxophone in the Israeli Air Force band.

The Jazz Journalists Association has voted Anat as “Clarinetist of the Year” eight years in a row, and she has topped both the Critics and Readers Polls in the clarinet category in DownBeat magazine every year since 2011. That’s not to mention years of being named “Rising Star” in the soprano and tenor saxophone categories in DownBeat, as well as for “Jazz Artist of the Year.” In 2009, ASCAP awarded Anat a Wall of Fame prize for composition and musicianship, among other honors.

In March 2015, Anzic Records releases Luminosa, her seventh album as a bandleader. Luminosa sees Anat play singing, dancing originals, interpret Brazilian classics by the likes of Milton Nascimento, and even re-imagine electronica as acoustica with an ingenious arrangement of a Flying Lotus tune. Luminosaencapsulates the description Jazz Police offered of Anat in full flight: “She becomes a singer, a poet, a mad scientist, laughing—musically—with the delight of reaching that new place, that new feeling, with each chorus.”