THE STRING QUEENS
Praised for its authentic, soulful, and orchestral sound, The String Queens (TSQ) is a dynamic trio that creates stimulating musical experiences that inspire diverse audiences to love, hope, feel, and imagine! With an array of repertoire spanning from the Baroque era to the Jazz Age to today’s Billboard Hot 100 Chart, TSQ performs versatile programs that take listeners on a rousing musical journey through time and a multitude of musical genres.
Based in Washington, D.C., TSQ has been featured in performances at renowned concert halls and venues across America, including Carnegie Hall in New York City and The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in the nation’s capital. Notable appearances include a special performance dedicated to Vice President Kamala Harris at the “We Are One” Presidential Inauguration Concert in January 2021 and rendering a spotlight presentation of TSQ’s electrifying arrangement of Harry Styles’s hit song “Golden” for the world’s most prestigious tennis tournament “The Championships, Wimbledon” in June 2021. As an ensemble who frequents the D.C. jazz scene, other headlining performances include multiple appearances at the DC Jazz Festival and the Capital Jazz Fest.
In August 2022, TSQ released its third album titled “RISE”, which was made possible by a Sphinx Organization MPower Artist Grant. With this album, TSQ sought to sonically address the problems that are currently plaguing the world by creating unique arrangements of timeless classics rooted in hope, joy, peace, and love. Featuring original compositions by Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, Richard Smallwood, The Beatles, Michael Jackson, and more, “RISE” takes listeners on a musical journey that starts in a field of loss and hopelessness and ends in a fortress of faith, triumph, and fortitude. Previous albums from TSQ include a self-titled EP released in 2019 and a holiday EP titled “Our Favorite Things” released in 2020. All TSQ albums are available on its website and all major digital music platforms.
The Ladies ~ Kendall Isadore: Violin, Dawn Johnson: Viola,
Tickets: $35.00 ~ $55.00
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The Jazz Voyager
Hitting those friendly skies on British Airways back to the States is a fifteen hour fly time from Warsaw to Philly with a four hour layover at Heathrow, but it was fun seeing a new city, new venue and hearing Mr. Herring again up close and personal in a club setting. An old stomping ground, South Jazz Kitchen, is the destination that serves up elevated comfort food that combines America’s original music with Southern heritage cuisine.
Praised for its authentic, soulful, and orchestral sound, The String Queens (TSQ) is a dynamic group with violinist Kendall Isadore, Dawn Johnson on Viola, and cellist Élise Sharp. They create stimulating musical experiences that inspire diverse audiences to love, hope, feel, and imagine. This Jazz Voyager is anticipating the experience of a versatile repertoire and musical journey through time spanning from the Baroque era to the Jazz Age to today’s Billboard Hot 100 Chart.
Nestled in the Spring Garden neighborhood of the city, the venue is located at the intersection of Broad and Mt. Vernon, at 600 N. Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA 19130. For more info https://notoriousjazz.com/event/the-string-queens.
More Posts: adventure,cello,club,genius,jazz,music,preserving,travel,viola,violin
THE STRING QUEENS
Praised for its authentic, soulful, and orchestral sound, The String Queens (TSQ) is a dynamic group that creates stimulating musical experiences that inspire diverse audiences to love, hope, feel, and imagine! With an array of repertoire spanning from the Baroque era to the Jazz Age to today’s Billboard Hot 100 Chart, TSQ performs versatile programs that take listeners on a rousing musical journey through time and a multitude of musical genres.
More Posts: adventure,cello,club,genius,jazz,music,preserving,travel,viola,violin
Daily Dose Of Jazz…
LaDonna Smith was born on March 2, 1951 in Birmingham, Alabama. She learned to play violin and went on to perfect viola and piano. Since 1974 she has been performing free improvisational music with musicians Davey Williams, Leland Davis, Michael Evans, Gunther Christmann, Anne Lebaron, Derek Bailey, Eugene Chadbourne, Misha Feigin, Michael Evans, David Sait, Jack Wright, John Russell, Sergey Letov, Toshi Makihara, Andrew Dewar and many other world major improvisers.
As a performer, she has toured the United States, Canada, Europe, Russia, Siberia, Korea, India, China and Japan. She produced concerts and festivals in Alabama and the Southeast, including the Birmingham Improv Festival and The Improvisor Festival. She serves on the Board of Directors of the International Society of Improvised Music (I.S.I.M.).
In 1976, Smith co-founded TransMuseq Records with Davey Williams. She is editor-in-chief and publisher of The Improvisor magazine which began in 1980 as an extension of The Improvisor’s Network, a grass-roots organization in New York City that attempted to connect improvising musicians across America. She is a member of the Fresh-Dirt collective (Alabama Surrealism).
Avant garde violinist, violist, and pianist LaDonna Smith, who has recorded 37 albums, continues to perform and record.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Csaba Deseo was born February 15, 1939 in Budapest, Hungary. His mother was a violin teacher and he began playing the instrument at the age of 10. He continued his musical education at Béla Bartók Conservatory in Budapest, and got his diploma in 1961. He taught in music schools until 1967 when he became a member of the Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra, where he played until 1999. During the time he played innumerable concerts in Hungary and in many countries of the world from Japan to the United States. He performed with artists like Sir Georg Solti, Leonard Bernstein, Ádám Fischer, and Yehudi Menuhin, to name a few.
His career took off in 1963 when he appeared with his first group at the legendary Dalia Club in his hometown. From 1964 they gave regular concerts and were frequently featured on Hungarian Radio and TV. He would play at festivals and jamborees in the Sixties, then recorded his debut album under his own name Four String Tschaba in 1975 for MPS Records in West Germany. In that session Deseo played both violin and viola, and he would go on to record 4 LPs and 6 CDs with Hungarian and foreign musicians.
1975 saw Csaba meeting Zagreb vibraphonist Bosko Petrovic, with whom he played regularly until 2011. He also appears as a guest star in Germany, where he usually solos with the group of Walter Kurowski.
Since 1980 Deseo has fronted bands with different line-ups. His more important partners were pianist Laszlo Gardony, vibraphonist Richard Kruza, guitarist Andor Kovacs, bassist Bela Lattmann and drummer Imre Koszegi. Since 1990 he’s been working mainly in a trio and is a regular guest artist at the concerts of the Benko Dixieland Band and the Budapest Ragtime Band.
During the past few decades he has also played with international stars and is a regular contributor to the specialist Hungarian music magazine, Gramofon ~ Classical and Jazz. Violinist Csaba Deseo continues to perform and record.
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