JOE GRANSDEN

Anthony Dominick Benedetto ~ August 3, 1926 – July 21, 2023, known professionally as Tony Bennett, was an American jazz and traditional pop singer. He received many accolades, including 20 Grammy Awards, a Lifetime Achievement Award, and two Primetime Emmy Awards. Bennett was named an NEA Jazz Master and a Kennedy Center Honoree and founded the Frank Sinatra School of the Arts in Astoria, Queens, New York. He sold more than 50 million records worldwide and earned a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Who better to pay tribute to this legendary performer than Atlanta’s consummate jazzman, Joe Gransden!  At 42 years old, Joe has already performed worldwide and released 14 CDs under his own name. Renowned first for the hard bop approach of his trumpet, Gransden’s singing voice has been compared to that of Chet Baker and Frank Sinatra.

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SWEET LU OLUTOSIN

One of the most promising male jazz singers around…  Vocalist, lyricist, and composer Sweet Lu Olutosin has embraced, embodied, internalized this philosophy unflinchingly on his journey to becoming a top 20 international Jazz recording artist. Whether it’s headlining at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C or, playing the Teatro Rendanoin Consenza, Italy , Lu’s performances are life changing.   Sweet Lu believes it is his duty, his mission to share his God given talent with the world; to use the idioms of jazz, blues, and gospel to share the spiritual healing and love this music, his music, imbues.  He feels ‘mission accomplished’ after many of his shows when members of the audience come to him and say things like… your music warmed my heart.

The Band: Quintet: Louis Heriveaux – Piano, Ramon Pooser – Bass, Charles Marvray – Drums, Derrick James – Sax, Lu Olutosin – Vocal

Doors open at 5:30 PM. Seating is limited.

The availability of tickets at the door are based upon advanced ticket and table sales. Season Ticket holders are guaranteed seating.

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The Jazz Voyager

Leaving the land of longhorns, cowboy boots and chili for one of the most expensive cities to live in the Midwest nicknamed Tree Town. Within the boundaries of this city of Ann Arbor is where this Jazz Voyager is heading downtown to catch a new group at The Blue Llama. Located at 314 South Main Street, Michigan 48104, the club operates nightly from Wednesday to Saturday.

It will be an interesting evening as I have never heard The Eastside Jazz Collective. is a 5-piece group with vocals by Adrienne Pisoni that is based in Southeast Michigan. I’ve heard they play classic jazz and swing featuring songs made popular by Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra and Billie Holiday along with some contemporary tunes. I am anticipating an enjoyable evening.

Like the music I find the cuisine tempting and will be dining on crispy deviled eggs, black-eyed pea hummus, sorbet and beignets. For those who are requiring more information go to  https://notoriousjazz.com/event/the-eastside-jazz-collective.

CALIFORNIA JAZZ FOUNDATION

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KATHLEEN BERTRAND

Multifaceted recording artist and writer Kathleen Bertrand is a native Atlantan and Spelman College graduate, whose performances have ranged from two Olympic Games to performances before two presidents, as well as appearances at jazz festivals world-wide. Bertrand toured and recorded as vocalist with jazz vibraphonist Roy Ayers.

This three-octave vocal artist has been an invited performer at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland on three occasions and has made multiple appearances at the Atlanta Jazz Festival, including that of headliner in 2012, as part of the Nina Simone Tribute Ensemble in 2015, and most recently as 2017 producer of  “Celebrating Sarah, Honoring the Music of SarahVaughan” featuring Bertrand and 6 other vocalists. She has opened for many of America’s finest jazz artists, including Ray Charles, Will Downing, Rachelle Ferrell, Najee, Roy Ayers, and Kenny G. Her fan base includes radio and internet listeners across the USA as well as in England, Japan, Finland, Switzerland, Germany, Norway, New Zealand, France, the Netherlands, and Brazil among others.

As a songwriter, she penned the national theme song for the 100 Black Men of America – “What They See is What They’ll Be” – as well as several songs on her CDs All of Me, No Regrets, Reasons for the SeasonNew Standards, and Katharsis,which was released in June 2011 and is still receiving nationwide and world-wide airplay, including 14 weeks on the UK Soul Chart top 30, 6 weeks in the UK Soul Charts Top 10, and 2 weeks at #1.  In November, 2017, her most recent CD, It’s Time to Love, was released, and is already receiving international airplay.

Bertrand has received numerous honors for her jazzy vocal stylings and arts contributions including the Kuumba Award given by East Point/College Park, GA Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta, the inaugural Impact Award from Black Women In Jazz, recognition by the United Negro College Fund as one of “Atlanta’s Legends,” the “Contribution to the Arts” Award by the Pi Alpha Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., the 2016 Georgia Highlight Award given by the Georgia Entertainment Gala, the Civic Award for the Arts presented by the Southern Area of The Links, Incorporated, and recognition by Spelman College with its distinguished “Alumnae Achievement Award for the Arts & Entertainment.” In 2015, she was voted Jazz Vocalist of the Year by Black Women in Jazz.

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EUGENIE JONES

A warm, engaging entertainer, she’s described by critics as an artist who “can make you feel jazz,” she and her recordings have received favorable coverage in every major jazz publication, including DownBeat, JazzTimes, JazzIz, The Gazette/NY, and many others. Described as a “deft vocalist,” Jones has also proven to be a skillful songwriter, releasing 30 originals on her recordings.
Jones puts her Marketing MBA and business acumen to work by producing African-American music legacy events that commemorate the musical history of Seattle’s Central District, including the Jackson Street Jazz Walk and the Celebrating Ernestine Anderson Tribute series. These entertainment/legacy events doubly benefit the community by raising funds for nonprofit service organizations such as the Rotary Boys & Girls Club, the Central Area Senior Center, the Northwest Harvest Food Bank, and the Carolyn Downs Family Medical Clinic. Jones’s work intersecting music and community service garnered her receipt of the 2023 Jazz Journalists Association’s Jazz Hero Award for her community efforts.
The Band:
Eugenie Jones ~ Vocal
Nick Allison ~ Piano
Dean Schmidt ~ Bass
Jamael Nance ~ Drums

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