CAROLE ANN TAYLOR

An Exhibition Honoring Women’s History Month | Art & Jazz

Unbound: The Gaze Within | The Photography of Angéle Etoundi Essamba with a jazz performance by vocalist  Carole Ann Taylor

Angèle Etoundi Essamba was born in 1962 in Douala, Cameroon. She was educated in France and graduated from the School of Photography of Amsterdam where she lives and works today. In 2016, she was awarded the ‘National Knight of the Order of Valor’ by the President of the Republic of Cameroon, and in 2022, she had the honour of representing Cameroon at the 59th Venice Biennale.

The Cameroonian photographer is living and working in Amsterdam, Netherlands. She is most famously known for her work in black and white, humanistic photography, that often focuses on the African woman as a subject matter. Throughout her career, she has foregrounded the female narrative, reflecting on the complex cultural identities of the modern African woman and inspiring subsequent generations of women photographers.

Carole Ann Taylor, a connoisseur of classic jazz, is Miami’s most soulful jazz and cabaret singer and a fixture of the city’s jazz scene for more than five decades. The vocalist is known for her warm stage presence and improvisational style rooted in the traditions of classic jazz standards.

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DEE DEE BRIDGEWATER

Two-time Grammy Winner & NEA Jazz Master Dee Dee Bridgewater Sings the Music of Abbey Lincoln!

Over the course of a multifaceted career spanning four decades, Grammy and Tony Award-winning NEA Jazz Master Dee Dee Bridgewater has ascended to the upper echelon of vocalists, putting her unique spin on standards, as well as taking intrepid leaps of faith in re-envisioning jazz classics. Bridgewater’s career has always bridged musical genres. She earned her first professional experience as a member of the legendary Thad Jones/Mel Louis Big Band, and throughout the 70s she performed with such jazz notables as Max Roach, Sonny Rollins, Dexter Gordon and Dizzy Gillespie. After a foray into the pop world during the 1980s, she relocated to Paris and began to turn her attention back to Jazz.

Strongly influenced by jazz icons Billie Holiday and Louis Armstrong, both of whom she met early in her career, NEA Jazz Master Abbey Lincoln’s distinctive vocal style, thought-provoking writing, and spirited personality secured her a place among the jazz luminaries. Over the years, she has worked with some of the biggest names in jazz, including Benny Garter, Max Roach, Sonny Rollins, Eric Dolphy, Coleman Hawkins, Miles Davis, Jackie McLean, Clark Terry, and Stan Getz. The recipient of numerous civic and community awards for her work with the poor and disadvantaged, Ms. Lincoln resisted the bleak side of life to emerge as a genuine carrier of celebration through music.

Dee Dee Bridgewater ~ vocals
Alexis Lombre ~ piano & keyboard
Liany Mateo ~ bass
Shirazette Tinnin ~ drums

Tickets: $65.00 ~ %75.00 +fee | Streaming: $20.00 +fee

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Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Vanessa Rubin was born on March 14, 1957 and raised in Cleveland, Ohio in a musical household of Trinidadian and Louisianan parentage. After achieving her Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from Ohio State University, she received a standing ovation for her performance of “God Bless The Child” while competing in the Miss Black Central Ohio Contest, which convinced her that her true calling was to sing in the jazz tradition.

Returning to Cleveland after graduation, Rubin started singing locally, forming and managing her first group, consisting of organ, guitar, vibes and drums. By 1982 she was in New York City performing at such landmarks as Sweet Basil and the Village Vanguard with the Pharoah Sanders Quartet. She studied with pianist Barry Harris, went on to work with Kenny Barron, Lionel Hampton, the Mercer Ellington Orchestra, Cecil Bridgewater, Toots Thielemans, Steve Turre, Cedar Walton and Grover Washington, Jr.

In 1992 Vanessa signed with the Novus label, releasing four albums including a 1994 session I’m Glad There Is You: A Tribute to Carmen McRae. She left Novus to sign with RCA for one album and then Telarc releasing Language of Love and Girl Talk. She has recorded with Antonio Hart, Kenny Burrell, Monty Alexander, Houston Person, Frank Foster, E.J. Allen and Clark Terry.

Vocalist and composer Vanessa Rubin expertly interprets the lyrics with both honest emotion and swing, occasionally scatting in unison or in counterpoint with the horns. Billie Holiday’s classic God Bless The Child has since become her official theme song. Her latest release is The Dream Is You: Vanesa Rubin Sings Tadd Dameron. She continues to entertain audiences around the world.

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TONY HIGHTOWER

Singer and songwriter Tony Hightower is the architect of a new movement, ushering R&B and Hip-Hop audiences into the world of “real jazz.” As the son of the late legendary icon Theresa Hightower, Tony was raised in the industry’s spotlight. Following early success with the neo-soul group 4.0 and collaborations with Outkast, Lionel Richie, and Tyler Perry, he found his true calling in the Great American Songbook.
Under the mentorship of the late Freddy Cole, Hightower emerged as a premier crooner defined by smooth phrasing and a sophisticated, contemporary tone. His critically acclaimed 2022 project, Legacy, serves as his manifesto: a soulful, melody-driven invitation for a new generation to discover the power of Jazz.

Tickets: $33.55 ~ $40.90

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Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Keely Smith was born Dorothy Jacqueline Keely on March 9, 1932 in Norfolk, Virginia and showed a natural aptitude for singing at a young age. By 14, she was singing with a naval air station band. At 15, she got her first paying job with the Earl Bennett band.

Smith made her professional debut with Louis Prima in 1949 who later became her husband, playing the ” straight guy” in the duo and making the Mercer/Arlen tune “That Old Black Magic” a standard that won them a Grammy for Best Performance by a Vocal Group.

Keely appeared with Prima in the 1959 film, Hey Boy! Hey Girl! singing Fever,  appeared in and sang on the Thunder Road soundtrack, and her first big solo hit was with “I Wish You Love”. Signing with Reprise in 1961 she began working with Nelson Riddle, though those recordings have never been released. Through the 60s she had minor hits but it wasn’t until 1985 that she made a comeback with “I’m In Love Again” and her 2001 album “KeelySings Sinatra” was nominated for a Grammy.

Smith released Vegas ’58 – Today, a compilation album of her best known songs, all recorded live by her own admission, she has never had a singing lesson and cannot read music. In recent years she has been booked at New York’s Café Carlyle, performed “That Old Black Magic” with Kid Rock at the 50th Grammy Awards and continued to work a light-touring schedule until her passing away on December 16, 2017 of heart failure in Palm Springs, California.

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