Tag Archives: jazz

The Fred Hersch Trio come to South on Main tonight as part of Oxford American Jazz series

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Fred Hersch Trio [JAZZ SERIES]The Oxford American magazine is excited to welcome the Fred Hersch Trio to the South on Main stage! This is the third show of their Jazz Sub-Series. Doors open at 6:00 PM, with dinner and drinks available for purchase at that time.

The series is made possible in part by presenting sponsor UCA College of Fine Arts & Communication, as well as their season sponsor University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.

Additional season partners include Stella Boyle Smith Trust, Cypress Properties, Inc., J. Mark & Christy Davis, Chris & Jo Harkins, Margaret Ferguson Pope—Thank You Aunt Margaret!, EVO Business Environments, Jay Barth & Chuck Cliett, Stacy Hamilton of Desselle Real Estate, Downtown Little Rock Partnership, Arkansas Arts Council, Department of Arkansas Heritage, Rosen Music Company, and Steinway Piano Gallery Little Rock.

Tickets are $35 (General Admission), $52 (Reserved), and $54 (Premium Reserved) and are available via Metrotix.com or by calling (800) 293-5949.

Over the course of thirty years and five incarnations, the Fred Hersch Trio has remained at the pinnacle of modern jazz, venerated as the epitome of thrilling interplay and dynamic spontaneity. The Wall Street Journal calls the trio “one of the major ensembles of our time,” while The New Yorker applauds them for playing with “high lyricism and high danger.”

The current trio includes renowned pianist Fred Hersch with bassist John Hébert and drummer Eric McPherson. In less than a decade, the three have released six acclaimed albums, garnering two GRAMMY nominations and countless accolades. The trio was voted #2 Jazz Group in the 2018 DownBeat Critics Poll, which recognized their unique ability to traverse a wide range of styles and approaches while maintaining profound depths of emotion and the exhilarating spark of invention. The trio’s latest release, Live in Europe (Palmetto), has been hailed as their best to date.

Fred Hersch is a pervasively influential creative force who has shaped the course of jazz for more than three decades as an improviser, composer, educator, bandleader, collaborator and recording artist. A twelve-time GRAMMY Award nominee, Hersch has earned an impressive number of the music world’s most prestigious accolades. His memoir, Good Things Happen Slowly, was published in September 2017 by Crown Archetype Books / Random House.

A New Orleans native, John Hébert moved to the New York area in 1993, quickly establishing himself as a highly sought after bassist among such renowned artists as Andrew Hill, Lee Konitz, Paul Bley, John Abercrombie, Kenny Wheeler, Paul Motian, and Maria Schneider. He’s also released two well-received albums with his other trio featuring French pianist Benoit Delbecq and drummer Gerald Cleaver.

A native of New York City, Eric McPherson began studying with master drummer Michael Carvin at the age of twelve. He would go on to study with alto legend Jackie McLean at the University of Hartford’s Hartt School of Music, as well as work and record with the innovative pianist and composer Andrew Hill. Learning from these seminal figures, McPherson has developed a highly personal and creative approach to music.

Tonight on South on Main stage – Shamarr Allen

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Shamarr Allen Get a taste of “True Orleans” with Shamarr Allen’s blend of jazz, hip hop, funk, brass and soul. Shamarr is a full time member of Galactic and has collaborated with many renowned artists such as Willie Nelson, Patti Labelle, Harry Connick Jr. and more.

Show begins at 8 pm. Purchase advance tickets for $8 or pay $12 at the door. Tickets do not guarantee you a seat. To reserve a table please call (501) 244-9660.

“Many New Orleans musicians blend jazz and brass band music with bounce, hip-hop, funk, soul, R&B and more. Shamarr Allen has a name for his blend: True Orleans.” – Will Coviello, Gambit Weekly

Shamarr Allen is the definition of New Orleans Music! Hailing from the Lower 9th Ward of New Orleans, Allen has influences in jazz, hip hop, rock, funk, funk blues and country. He is the lead vocalist and trumpeter of his band “Shamarr Allen and the Underdawgs”.
In addition to performing with his band, Allen has collaborated with many renowned artists such as Willie Nelson, Galactic, Mannie Fresh, Patti Labelle, Harry Connick Jr. and Lenny Kravitz to name a few. In addition to displaying his skills on the frontline as a lead performer, Allen is also a music composer, writer, producer and multi instrumentalist. With a scintillating and unique sound, look and examplary talents, Allen transcends musical boundaries. He is the True Orleans Experience!

Tonight the Oxford American kicks off its Jazz Series at South on Main with Peter Martin & Romero Lubambo feat. Erin Bode

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Peter Martin & Romero Lubambo Featuring Erin Bode [JAZZ SERIES]The Oxford American magazine is excited to welcome Peter Martin & Romero Lubambo featuring Erin Bode to the South on Main stage!  The concert is tonight (September 5) at 8:00pm.

This is the first show of their Jazz Sub-Series. Doors open at 6:00 PM, with dinner and drinks available for purchase at that time. The series is made possible in part by presenting sponsor UCA College of Fine Arts & Communication, as well as their season sponsor University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.

 

Peter Martin is an acclaimed jazz pianist, composer, arranger and educator. His touring career has taken him to six continents numerous times. In January 2011 Peter performed with a select group of jazz artists at the White House for a State Dinner hosted by President Obama, and he returned to perform for the Governor’s Dinner in February 2012 for the first family and other guests.

Peter performed on and arranged Dianne Reeves’ GRAMMY-winning release A Little Moonlight. He also appeared in George Clooney’s 2005 film Good Night, and Good Luck, as well as being the featured pianist and an arranger on the GRAMMY-winning soundtrack. Peter has performed, toured and recorded with Wynton Marsalis, Chris Botti, Betty Carter, Christian McBride, and Joshua Redman, as well as the Berlin Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the New York Philharmonic. In 2014 Peter was selected to tour with “Newport Now 60,” an all-star ensemble that toured nationwide in celebration of the iconic festival’s 60th anniversary.

In 1985, Romero Lubambo came to the United States, and brought with him a new sound in Brazilian jazz guitar.

Romero’s guitar playing unites the styles and rhythms of his native Brazilian musical heritage with his fluency in the American jazz tradition to form a distinctive new sound.

From the cool, sophisticated rhythms of his native Brazil to hard bop, Romero is a guitarist who’s comfortable in any musical setting. He is an uncommonly gifted soloist and musical improviser with a steady stream of unpredictably creative musical thoughts and the virtuosity to deliver them.

Lubambo is considered by critics to be “the best practitioner of his craft in the world today…the guitarist’s facility, creativity and energy are in a class all their own.”

In the decade-plus since Erin Bode began her professional recording career, she has garnered much critical praise for her pure voice, perfect pitch, and impressive phrasing and style. It is this talent, coupled with her reluctance to accept classification as a purely jazz vocalist that has led to reviews hailing her as “someone you won’t forget” and comparing her sound to the likes of Eva Cassidy and Norah Jones.

To date, Bode and her band have released eight albums and have toured the United States, as well as Italy, Asia, and Africa. The Erin Bode Group creates music forged from the Americana of its members’ Midwestern roots, infused with jazz grooves and made magic by Bode’s bell-like voice. Sophisticated arrangements and attention to phrasing, both vocal and instrumental, further distinguish the band’s fresh sound.

While Bode got her start singing standard jazz, her recent projects have been decidedly more pop-based. 2008’s Little Garden and 2010’s Photograph feature all original material by Bode, and showcase her love of poetry with songs that are rich in harmonic and timbral texture. For her most recent album, Here and Now, Erin has collaborated with producer and bassist Viktor Krauss, guitarists Matt Munisteri and Todd Lombardo, cellist Tara Santiago and GRAMMY Award-winning vocalist, Suzanne Cox.

 

Additional season partners include Stella Boyle Smith Trust, Cypress Properties, Inc., J. Mark & Christy Davis, Chris & Jo Harkins, Margaret Ferguson Pope—Thank You Aunt Margaret!, EVO Business Environments, Jay Barth & Chuck Cliett, Stacy Hamilton of Desselle Real Estate, Downtown Little Rock Partnership, Arkansas Arts Council, Department of Arkansas Heritage, Rosen Music Company, and Steinway Piano Gallery Little Rock.

4-Show Jazz packages are available beginning May 13 via Metrotix.com or by calling (800) 293-5949. Single tickets go on sale May 20 and are $35 (General Admission), $44 (Reserved), and $46 (Premium Reserved). Please take a look at this very important ticketing and seating information before purchasing your tickets (view reserved seating chart). Full season ticket pricing and options are also available in a consolidated format, here.

August 2nd Friday Art Night – Old State House Museum features Rodney Block Jazz Project

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Join the Old State House Museum for Second Friday Art Night, Friday, August 9, from 5 to 8 p.m.

They will present the Rodney Block Jazz Project in concert!

Led by trumpet king Rodney Block, the quartet will perform their unique blend of traditional jazz, gospel, hip-hop, bebop, funk and soul, live on the iconic lawn of the
Old State House.

Tonight’s Sessions at South on Main features Surprise Jazz All Stars

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Sessions :: Surprise Jazz All Stars Acclaimed saxophonist, MarQuis Hunt, is curating and hosting the month-long “Jazz in July All-Stars” Sessions series at South on Main each Wednesday in July.

Tonight’s concert is a surprise.  MarQuis has not released the names of the artists, but given the caliber of musicians he knows and has already featured, it is guaranteed to be an evening of hot jazz!

The shows begin at 8 PM. Tickets are $10 at the door. Dinner and cocktails are available before and during the show. Your ticket guarantees admission, but does not guarantee a table. Call 501-244-9660 to reserve a table. These shows are expected to sell out; call today to avoid disappointment.

Arkansas Jazz Heritage Foundation annual event tonight at Atlas Bar

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Image may contain: textThe Arkansas Jazz Heritage Foundation (the all-volunteer nonprofit which maintains and sponsors the Arkansas Jazz Hall of Fame established in 1994) will hold its 2019 annual event (an intimate jazz concert with special sit-ins) on Monday, 17 June (8 to 11 p.m.) at the Atlas Bar (1224 South Main Street).

This annual fundraiser is adults-only (21+) and open to the public; cost of admission is $20, payable at the door by cash/check (payable to the Arkansas Jazz Heritage Foundation).  Larger donations are encouraged, and the Foundation recognizes patrons donating at least $50/$100/$500/$1000;

Proceeds from this event (along with annual dues and donations from individuals) fund the Foundation’s ongoing educational activities and upcoming Hall of Fame inductions (held in even-numbered years).

Doors open at 7:45 p.m.

Food and beverage service will be available during the event.  Admission fee is waived for current AJHF members submitting 2019-2020 dues (payable 1 July 2019) by 1 June 2019; a new membership application (available on Foundation’s website and Facebook page) must be submitted with dues from any member who has not done so in the past three years.

Headlining the event is Grammy-nominated vocalist Roseanna Vitro (1998 Arkansas Jazz Hall of Fame, roseannavitro.com); the anchoring quartet features Joe Vick (upright bass, 2014 Arkansas Jazz Hall of Fame), Ted Ludwig (guitar, 2016 Arkansas Jazz Hall of Fame, tedludwig.com), Brian Brown (drums, 2018 Arkansas Jazz Hall of Fame), and Sam Carroll (keys).  There will be special sit-ins by various distinguished jazz artists, including other Arkansas Jazz Hall of Fame inductees.

2019-2020 OXFORD AMERICAN music series at South on Main

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One of the best music series in the South takes place in Little Rock as the Oxford American brings musicians to South on Main. It is actually three different music series: Americana, Jazz, and Archetypes & Troubadours. Tickets are already on sale, and many of the concerts will sell out. So do not delay!

Up first is Amy Helm in the Americana Series. She will perform on Thursday, August 22 at 8:00pm. “One of Americana’s most impassioned, soul-stirring singers.” —Rolling Stone Country

First in the Jazz Series is Peter Martin & Romero Lubambo featuring Erin Bode. They’ll be in Little Rock on Thursday, September 5 at 8:00pm. “One of the most underrated pianists in jazz today … Martin plays with the kind of daring and excitement that marks a distinctive personality on the keyboard.” — Washington Post

The first in the Archetypes & Troubadours Series is Rev. Sekou on Thursday, September 26 at 8:00pm. “Rev. Sekou delivers the spiritual performance we need now.”—Paste

Next in Americana is Chatham County Line on Thursday, October 17 at 8:00pm. “What initially drew me to this Raleigh, North Carolina-based quartet is that in addition to the unique mix of bluegrass, folk and Americana tunes they harmonize so beautifully on is the fact that they typically crowd around a single, large, silver radio microphone. And that’s not the band’s only nod to the past.” — Huffington Post

Marsalis is a name synonymous with jazz. The Jason Marsalis Vibes Quartet is next in the Jazz Series on Thursday, November 14. “[Marsalis’s] playing is eccentric within graceful boundaries, concerned with polyrhythm as science, history and gamesmanship, full of technique used to non-slick ends … Discipline and strategy are written deeply into the band.” — New York Times

Next in the Archetypes & Troubadours Series is Catherine Russell on Thursday, December 5, at 8:00pm. “A wonderfully charismatic performer with a show­stopping voice and an unabashedly old-fashioned repertoire.” — The Washington Post

The Fred Hersch Trio takes the Oxford American stage for the Jazz Series on Thursday, January 30 at 8:00pm. “An elegant force of musical invention, Fred Hersch cannot be discounted in any discussion of the top contemporary jazz pianists.” —LA Times

Jon Cleary is next in the Americana Series.  He’ll be on stage on Thursday, February 20 at 8:00pm. “Cleary embodies the heart and soul of the Crescent City, keeping the sound and the fury of its legendary piano pounders alive and kicking.”— No Depression

John Fullbright will be next in the Archetypes & Troubadours Series on Thursday, March 12 at 8:00pm. “In a short-­attention-­span world overloaded with sensory stimulation, there aren’t many artists who can stop you in your tracks with a single song.” —American Songwriter

The final 2019-2020 Americana Series entry is Mary Gauthier on Thursday, March 26 at 8:00pm.  “…[Mary Gauthier’s] Rifles and Rosary Beads, is not only one of the most arresting American singer-songwriter records in recent years, but one of the most vital pieces of art to come out of those two wars.” — Rolling Stone Country

Ranky Tanky closes out the 2019-2020 Archetypes & Troubadours Series on Thursday, April 16 at 8:00pm. “Ranky Tanky proved that exotic music can be both unfamiliar enough to be surprising, and yet familiar enough to provoke swinging hips and nodding heads. When it works, it’s the best of both worlds.” —Paste

The final Jazz Series concert is on Thursday, April 23 at 8:00pm. It features the Miguel Zenón Quartet. “This young musician and composer is at once reestablishing the artistic, cultural, and social tradition of jazz while creating an entirely new jazz language for the 21st century.” —MacArthur Foundation