LEESA RICHARDS QUARTET & JEAN CAZE QUARTET
As a part of Miami’s vibrant music scene, singer/songwriter Leesa Richards grew up in music-rich Detroit and started showing an inclination towards the arts at a very early age. “My parents listened to a lot of jazz and I would record myself over and over singing along to Nancy Wilson records,” she says. But when she saw Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, she knew she wanted to be a dancer. She graduated from University of North Carolina School of the Arts with a degree in dance and began her career on stage performing with a variety of dance companies.
She began honing her vocal chops with soul greats Gerald Austin and Peabo Bryson and contemporary soul maverick Dionne Farris. Her first world tour was as a dancer with legendary singer Whitney Houston after which she combined her love for music and dance to earn the role of Mary Magdalene in the national tour of the Broadway musical, Jesus Christ Superstar, earning critical acclaim which led to featured performances throughout the US and Europe.
Renowned jazz trumpeter Jean Caze, stands as a prominent figure in today’s jazz scene. His magnetic performances have graced stages alongside icons such as Herbie Hancock, Aretha Franklin, Mariah Carey, Al Jarreau, Roy Hargrove, Arturo Sandoval, and George Duke, among others. Currently serving as the featured soloist for Michael Bublé worldwide, Jean’s musical journey traces back to his roots in Queens, NY, where his passion ignited at the age of nine. By his senior year, he showcased his talent on national television with “Chicago” on NBC.
Jean’s dedication to his craft earned him scholarships, accolades, and widespread recognition, culminating in a Bachelor’s degree from Manhattan School of Music and a Master’s from Florida International University. Noteworthy achievements include securing second place in the 2007 Thelonius Monk International Jazz Trumpet Competition and claiming victory in both the 2004 National Trumpet Jazz Competition and the 2006 International Trumpet Guild Jazz Competition.
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The Jazz Voyager
The Jazz Voyager is leaving Philly and heading south to Durham, North Carolina for his first visit to the historic landmark, the Hayti Heritage Center. It sits on the campus of North Carolina Central University, an HBCU founded in 1909 and America’s first public liberal arts institution.
The center was named for the independent black community founded shortly after the American Civil War on the southern edge of Durham by freedmen coming to work in tobacco warehouses and related jobs in the city. By the early decades of the 20th century, African Americans prospered due to Jim Crow, owning and operating more than 200 businesses, which were located along Fayetteville, Pettigrew, and Pine Streets, the boundaries of Hayti.
I will be in the audience to witness for a second time the vocal talents of 7 time Grammy Award nominee Nnenna Freelon, who will perform with her bassist John Brown, the North Carolina Central University Jazz Ensemble, directed by Robert Trowers and the Vocal Jazz Ensemble, under the direction of Dr. Lenora Helm Hammonds, someone I have known for many years, having followed her career as a vocalist and as an educator. She continues to create wonderful accomplishments at NCCU.
The downtown location is at 801 Fayetteville Street 27705. For tickets and more information go to https://notoriousjazz.com/event/jazzmeia-horn-5
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NNENNA FREELON
Vocalist, composer, producer, arranger and 7 time Grammy nominee Nnenna Freelon brings her talent to the Hayti Heritage Center on the campus of North Carolina Central University.
She is joined by her ensemble including bassist John Brown, the NCCU Jazz Ensemble under the direction of Robert Trowers, and the NCCU Vocal Jazz Ensemble directed by Dr. Lenora Helms Hammonds.
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MYRNA CLAYTON & WEST SIDE WINDS JAZZ ORCHESTRA
America’s Songbird Myrna Clayton joins Big Band Jazz with the West Side Winds Jazz Orchestra, conducted by Jody Mayfield. Special guest vocalist during the evening performance of is the Enchanting Cheryl Johnson. Presented by Asa Music Production, Inc celebrating Jazz Appreciation Month.
Senior 55+ discount tickets online ONLY. ***Not sold at the door event day.
Fees apply to all tickets
Free entry to handicap patrons and caregivers.
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MALA WALDRON QUARTET
Year of ALICE, a Jazz Appreciation Month Special features the quartet performing the music of Alice Coltrane.
Mala Waldron is a native of NYC whose first paid gig was playing keys and singing back-up vocals with a local R&B band, “Liquid Pleasure” at the Elk’s club at age 15. Shortly after joining, the band was signed to RCA Records(Midland International.) She later enrolled at SUNY, Old Westbury study African-American Music with Makanda Ken McIntyre, Richard Harper, Andrei Strobert, Warren Smith and Amina Claudine Myers, earning a Bachelors Degree.
Mala’s music career has taken her all over the world doing performances in such countries as Japan, France, Italy, Belgium, Russia, Belarus & China. She has performed on some of NYC’s most prestigious stages, including the Iridium Jazz Club, the Blue Note, the Jazz Standard, the 55 Bar, Brooklyn’s BAM Cafe, and at the Kennedy Center (Millennium Stage in Washington D.C.
She has done numerous international tours and festivals, including, Hennessy-Moet Asian XOXO Jazz Tour (with shows in China, Taiwan & Malaysia), the Catania Jazz Fest, Corinaldo Jazz Fest and Farfa Voice Fest (Sabina) as well as festivals in the U.S., a highlight of which was the Annual Diet Coke Women in Jazz Festival (JALC) opening for Patrice Rushen.
As an educator, Mala has done vocal and composing workshops in Italy, and participated in the WBGO Kids Jazz Concert Series lat the Newark Museum and Jitterbugs – Jazz for Kids (Jazz Forum Arts.) She was a featured performer on the Chapman Stage at the first annual Coltrane Day Festival. She was featured in the recently published book, Giving Birth to Sound: Women in Creative Music (Renate da Rin and & William Parker editors) and can be seen in the documentary film, ‘The Girls in the Band,” directed by Judy Chaikin.
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