HERLIN RILEY QUARTET

New Orleans is a drummer’s town. But in this town full of first class drummers, Herlin Riley is “the” drummer. The Baron of the Boom Boom. The Pulse that keeps the life flowing through any body of work.

Born into a musical family steeped in gospel, blues, and jazz, Herlin was asked by Wynton Marsalis to join him in New York City in 1988 where Herlin stayed for almost two decades, all the while maintaining a home in New Orleans. He is still a regularly featured musician with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, but has been based back in his hometown for several years now — that is, when he wasn’t on tour with Ahmad Jamal, Dr. John, or Harry Connick Jr. He lights up any stage with just his presence alone, and always fires up the first class musicians who love to play with him.

Quartet
Herlin Riley – drums, percussion, vocals
Roland Guerin – bass
Kyle Roussel – piano
Derek Douget – saxophones

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JASON MARSALIS VIBES QUARTET

Jason Marsalis is the youngest son of piano patriarch and jazz luminary Ellis Marsalis Jr. and their famous New Orleans music family, declared “America’s First Family of Jazz” upon the presentation of their NEA Jazz Masters Award in 2011, the nation’s highest jazz honor. In addition to his renown as a drummer, Jason is also a respected vibraphonist whose 2018 release “Melody Reimagined” with his 21st Century Trad Jazz Band rose swiftly to the top of the Billboard jazz chart. With a fire in his heart and a passion for the music, his will to swing has never been more resolute. The maturity and the command Jason possesses over his music is clearly evident to those who have heard or seen him.

Friday nights were Ellis Marsalis Jr’s regular residential night here at Snug for over 30 years, and to keep guarding that flame, we now present members of Ellis’ family, his personal band, and mentees from over the years as bandleaders each Friday night. 
Jason Marsalis Vibes Quartet
Jason Marsalis – vibraphone
Jason Stewart – bass
Oscar Rossignoli – piano
Ricardo Pascal – saxophones

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VICTOR GOINES

Tonight, New Orleans-bred and presently St. Louis x Chicago x NYC-based saxophonist, clarinetist, composer and educator Victor Goines is the guest bandleader of Snug’s “E-Day” Series, when musicians close to our late great Ellis Marsalis present their tribute concerts to his musical legacy on the night of the week that was Ellis’ Snug residency for over 30 years.

Notably, Victor performed in the Ellis Marsalis Quartet for a number of years beginning in the 1980s. Ellis later hired Victor as a faculty member when he created the University of New Orleans Jazz Studies Department in 1989.  Victor Goines is widely recognized as one of the most engaging and versatile performers and composers in music today. Drawing from his New Orleans roots, his extraordinary career includes performances throughout the world earning acclaim from audiences, critics and colleagues. Goines has been a member of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra in NYC and the Wynton Marsalis Septet since 1993.

He has recorded and/or performed with many notable jazz and popular artists including Ahmad Jamal, Ruth Brown, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Ray Charles, Bob Dylan, Dizzy Gillespie, Lenny Kravitz, Ellis Marsalis Jr, Branford Marsalis, Dianne Reeves, Willie Nelson, Marcus Roberts, Diana Ross, Stevie Wonder, more.

His discography boasts over 20 albums as a bandleader, and recordings on over 70 other releases, including Wynton Marsalis’ Pulitzer Prize-winning recording, “Blood on the Fields” and Ted Nash’s Grammy Award-winning “Presidential Suite.”  A gifted composer, Goines has more than 100 original works to his credit, including his 1992 debut album “Genesis” on the late Harold Battiste Jr’s seminal AFO Records. In 2000, he was commissioned by Juilliard’s Dance Division to compose or their 50th Anniversary.

Victor is currently the Executive Artistic Director at Jazz St. Louis.

Victor Goines New Orleans Quartet
Victor Goines – clarinet & saxophones
Oscar Rossignoli – piano
Jason Stewart – bass
Jason Marsalis – drums

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PHILLIP MANUEL

Influenced greatly by Ella Fitzgerald, Phillip Manuel is a gifted jazz vocalist with a poised, polished and gracefully lithe voice. Manuel’s rich baritone has been heard in many contexts over the last thirty years, from jingles and commercials to global tours with Terence Blanchard and Bill Summers.

From New York to Los Angeles, from Portugal to Paris, Manuel has graced the world’s stages with some of the biggest stars in jazz. Encouraged by Aaron Neville to take the leap for his first live performance as a youth, his voice has been described as dramatic, warm and full of soul. Some say his voice charms and seduces, and his range sounds effortless. His most recent album, 2019’s “PM,” finds him at his soulful R&B best, performing 12 original compositions—a marked departure from his other jazz recordings. While his musical abilities are obvious, Phillip is also an accomplished actor, writer and sought-after voiceover talent, including roles in classic New Orleans films such as Cane River and The Big Uneasy. 
Tonight, Phillip presents his annual special Christmas Concert and his Birthday Celebration, performing music from his endearing Christmas CD collection, “Swingin’ in the Holidays.” 
The Phillip Manuel Quintet
Phillip Manuel – vocals
Michael Pellera – piano
Steve Masakowski – guitar
Amina Scott – bass
Wayne Maureau – drums

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DELFEAYO MARSALIS & THE UPTOWN JAZZ ORCHESTRA

Delfeayo Marsalis is one of the top trombonists, composers, and producers in jazz today. Known for his “technical excellence, inventive mind and frequent touches of humor…” (Los Angeles Times), he is “…one of the best, most imaginative and musical of the trombonists of his generation.” (San Francisco Examiner).
Early influences on Delfeayo’s style include J.J. Johnson, Curtis Fuller, Al Grey, Tyree Glenn, Tommy Dorsey, and Duke Ellington’s trombone masters. From the age of 17 until the present, he has produced over 100 recordings for major artists, including Harry Connick Jr, Spike Lee, Terence Blanchard, the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, and his father and brothers.
In January 2011, Delfeayo and the Marsalis family (father Ellis and brothers Branford, Wynton, and Jason) earned the nation’s highest jazz honor – a National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Masters Award, thus dubbing them “America’s First Family of Jazz.”

On packing a full jazz orchestra into a tiny historic jazz club: “Whatever you have to do,” the trombonist says philosophically. But when the band plays the swing and bebop hits from the 1930s through the 1960s, the music is just as tight. From Mardi Gras music to modern jazz, this band does it all.  An intimate experience like no other!

The Uptown Jazz Orchestra:
Delfeayo Marsalis – trombone
Trombones:  TJ Norris, Ethan Santos
Trumpets:  Andrew Baham, John Gray, Ashlin Parker, Scott Frock
Saxophones:  Roderick Paulin, Scott Johnson, Khari Allen Lee, Travarri Huff-Boone, Shaena Ryan
Clarinet: Gregory Agid
Piano: Kyle Roussel
Bass: Barry Stephenson
Drums: Brian Richbury Jr
+ special guest,  Tonya Boyd-Cannon – vocals

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