MARIA HOWELL & NOEL FRIEDLINE

Home For The Holidays! Noel & Maria take tothe stage once again to bring you hoiday cheer in song. Charlotte knows they are a favorite, so if you’re staying in Charlotte a few days after the Thanksgiving meal and family visit, don’t miss experiencing a great performance. Check them out! They’ve been together for years and have a great conversation on stage as well as with the audience.

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Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Julian Fuhs was born on November 20, 1891 in Berlin, Germany. After attending the Stern Conservatory he emigrated to the United States in 1910 and got his American citizenship in 1916. Returning to Berlin in 1924 he put together his Follies Band, whose American-influenced jazz and light music was extremely successful.

He made a significant contribution to the establishment of jazz in Germany in the 1920s. Fuhs was the first to use a three-part saxophone section and was considered the German counterpart to Paul Whiteman after his recording of George Gershwin ‘s Rhapsody in Blue. Fuhs was the first to record it in Europe.

In 1931, as a result of the global economic crisis, he was forced to disband his orchestra and earn his living as the owner of a bar. In 1933 he was repeatedly the victim of violent attacks because of his Jewish origins. He emigrated first to Austria, then to Czechoslovakia and France. In 1937 he returned to America, where he worked as a salesman.

Pianist and bandleader Julian Fuhs transitioned in poverty on February 4, 1975 in Miami, Florida.

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Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Masao Yagi was born on November 14, 1932 in Tokyo, Japan.  He became devoted to American jazz very early in the wave of Japanese jazz enthusiasm, becoming a member of the Cozy Quartet in 1956 after Toshiko Akiyoshi’s departure. During his tenure in the quartet he played alongside Sadao Watanabe.

In 1959, at twenty-six, the pianist formed his own group featuring several Thelonious Monk tunes in their repertoire, culminating in his debut album, Masao Yagi Plays Thelonious Monk, recorded in the summer of 1960. Later in the decade he played with Charlie Mariano, Hidehiko Matsumoto, and Helen Merrill.

The 1970s saw Yagi leading his own ensembles. He was well-known as a composer and arranger, and wrote copiously for film soundtracks.

Pianist Masao Yagi transitioned on March 4, 1991.

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Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Warren Bernhardt was born on November 13, 1938 in Wausau, Wisconsin. His early childhood exposure to piano was due to his pianist father and he learned some rudiments of keyboarding from his friends. At five his parents moved to New York City, where he began studying seriously under varied instructors. After his father’s death he suffered a period of depression and quit music opting to study chemistry and physics at the University of Chicago. However, exposure to blues and jazz influenced the rest of his career.

From 1961 to 1964 he worked in Paul Winter’s sextet, which led to his return to New York. He would go on to work with George Benson, Gerry Mulligan, Jeremy Steig among others. He developed a close relationship with the pianist Bill Evans, who served as his mentor. Bernhardt released several solo albums in the Seventies, and eventually became a member of the jazz fusion group Steps Ahead. In 1971, he provided the piano accompaniment on the Don McLean song Crossroads.

Warren has toured as the musical director with Steely Dan and can be heard on their Alive in America album. He has performed on Simon and Garfunkel’s Old Friends tour, on Art Garfunkel’s solo tours, and on the latter’s presentation Across America.

In 2009 he reunited with his 1973 band L’Image, featuring Mike Mainieri, David Spinozza, Tony Levin and Steve Gadd. They released the album L ‘Image 2.0. Pianist Warren Bernhardt transitioned on August 19, 2022 of natural causes.

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SHELLY BERG TRIO

The Best Of Broadway!

Shelly Berg is a Steinway piano artist and five-time Grammy-nominated arranger, orchestrator, and producer. His album projects The Deep (Chesky), The Nearness of You (Arbors), Blackbird (Concord) and The Will (CARS) are critically acclaimed. Berg earned three Grammy nominations in the Best Arrangement Accompanying Vocal(s) category with jazz singer-lyricist Lorraine Feather and international superstar Gloria Estefan, and a fourth Grammy nomination as co-producer of Gloria Estefan: The Standards (Sony). He earned his fifth Grammy nomination as co-arranger of “I Loves You Porgy / There’s a Boat That’s Leavin’ Soon for New York” from the album Rendezvous (2018) featuring jazz singers Clint Holmes and Dee Dee Bridgewater with The Count Basie Orchestra. Recent projects include recording and/or performing with Tony Bennett, Seal, Lizz Wright, Andra Day, Clint Holmes, Renée Fleming, and Arturo Sandoval.

Shelly Berg is Dean of the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami and was previously the McCoy/Sample Professor of Jazz Studies at the Thornton School of Music at the University of Southern California.  He is also the host of a monthly radio show Generation Next on Sirius XM, music director of The Jazz Cruise, and artistic advisor for the Jazz Roots series at the Adrienne Arsht Center in Miami. Learn more about Shelly at www.shellyberg.com

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