Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Roberta Donnay was born on August 10, 1966 in Washington, DC and began singing professionally at sixteen, knapsack wandering through Europe and borrowing guitars. Moving to San Francisco and sang with different bands, studied Latin and vocal jazz along with guitar and released her first indie album Catch The Wave in the Bay area.
She sat on the Board of Governors of the San Francisco chapter of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences alongside Orrin Keepnews, produced the temp track for the documentary Journey of the Universe, and her songs have been featured on such television shows as The Unit, Nash Bridges, The Young and the Restless, One Life To live, All My Children and That’s Life.
She has appeared with Ernestine Anderson, Booker T, Peter Coyote, Johnny Lange, Tommy Castro, Eddie Money, Neil Young and Huey Lewis among others. Her song “One World” was selected as the theme for the 2003 World Aids Day in South Africa. An avid activist she composes about the human condition, not limited to women’s issues, racial injustice, government and environmental destruction. With seven albums as a leader or collaborator, vocalist Roberta Donnay continues to perform, record and tour.
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TOMI BERRY
Sunday Jazz Lounge host Lori Williams introduces vocalist Tomi Berry as she brings to the stage an afternoon tribute to the numerous female singers and songwriters in jazz and R&B who have influenced her life. The Atlanta vocalist moves effortlessly through jazz, smooth R&B, soulful ballads, and spiritual music with a rich, expressive voice. A classically trained singer and seasoned performer, she is known for creating an intimate musical conversation with her audience while bringing warmth and personality to every song.
Female Rhythm Section:
Natalie Ragins ~ Keys
J LaToiya Hester ~ Drums
Téja Veal ~ Bass, Music Director
Cover: $40.84 ~ %51/36 (fee included)
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JOBIM & THE MUSIC OF BRAZIL
In the 1960s, Antonio Carlos “Tom” Jobim brought the bossa nova craze to the United States, and this infectious and sensuous sound soon became beloved throughout the world. We celebrate Jobim’s centennial and the jazz genres of Brazil—including bossa nova, samba and choro with Shelly Berg and the Frost School of Music’s Henry Mancini Institute Orchestra.
Featured Special Guests:
Eliane Elias ~ Piano, Vocal
Anat Cohen ~ Clarinet
Trio da Paz ~ Guitar, Bass, Drums
Cover: $52.65 – $152.10 | Fees Included
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Daily Dose Of jazz…
Ernestine Davis was born on August 5, 1907 in Memphis Tennessee. Little is known about her early life but along the way to becoming a vocalist and trumpeter. In 1937, the Piney Woods Country Life School of Mississippi founded to educate black children, created a 16-piece band known as The International Sweethearts of Rhythm to financially support the school.
In 1941, the International Sweethearts of Rhythm severed their ties with the school, moved to Virginia and recruited seasoned professionals of all ethnicities to join their band such as singer Anna Mae Winburn, Ernestine “Tiny” Davis, and alto saxophonist Roz Cron.
Holding their own during the Swing Era, the ladies toured the United States extensively up until 1945 with the end of the war and opportunities dried up as the men returned home. Their high points of touring were the Apollo Theater in New York, the Regal Theater in Chicago, and the Howard Theater in Washington, D. C., where their debut set a box office record of 35,000 patrons in one week.
One such engagement was at The Apollo where the audience was on their feet, Louis Armstrong and Eddie Durham stood in the wings, smiling broadly as Ernestine “Tiny” Davis took off in a riveting solo. The band pushed the fevered audience to new levels as Edna Williams, Willie Mae Wong, and Ruby Lucas upped the ante on the song “Swing Shift.”
Admired by the likes of Count Basie and Louis Armstrong, the later unsuccessfully attempted to lure Davis away at ten times her salary when she was at the height of notoriety. They recorded “The Jubilee Sessions” for radio broadcasts aimed toward America’s black soldiers serving during 1943 to 1946. However, because of the racial makeup of the Sweethearts, they did not get as much exposure to mainstream audiences in the South.
While their exposure to white audiences was somewhat limited, they were extremely popular with black audiences. Tiny and her partner Ruby Lucas owned Tiny and Ruby’s Gay Spot in Chicago during the 1950s.
In 1988, a short film titled “Tiny & Ruby: Hell Divin’ Women” was made as a tribute to Davis, and her lesbian partner of 40 years, drummer Ruby Lucas. Trumpeter and vocalist Ernestine “Tiny” Davis died in 1994.
Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Tony Bennett was born Anthony Dominick Benedetto on August 3, 1926 in Astoria, Queens, New York City. Growing up in New York City he began singing at an early age, at 10 at the ribbon cutting of the Triborough Bridge and by thirteen singing for money in various restaurants.
Developing his technique after World War II, in 1949,Pearl Bailey recognized his talent and asked him to open for her in Greenwich Village, in which Bob Hope was in attendance. The performance ultimately had Hope taking Benedetto on the road and shortening his name to Tony Bennett. He then cut a demo of “Boulevard of Broken Dreams” and was signed to Columbia Records by Mitch Miller.
With Columbia Records he had his first number one hit with “Because Of You” in 1951. This was followed by several hits throughout the decade as he furthered his approach to jazz singing. By 1962 Tony recorded his signature tune “I Left My Heart In San Francisco” but unfortunately his career suffered an extended downturn with the onset of the rock era.
Launching a comeback some twenty years later, by the end of the 80s and for the next decade Bennett released a series of gold albums and expanded his audience to the MTV generation. He has worked with Art Blakey, Count Basie, Herbie Mann, Nat Adderley, Candido Camero, Jo Jones, Kenny Burrell and Chico Hamilton.
Bennett list of accomplishments include 17 Grammys, two Emmys, being named a NEA Jazz Master and Kennedy Center Honoree, selling over 50 million records worldwide and participating in the 1965 Selma to Montgomery marches during the Civil rights Movement. He is also a serious and accomplished painter having created works that are on permanent public display in several institutions and is the founder of Frank Sinatra School of the Arts in New York City. A seven year battle with Alzheimer’s disease affected his short-term memory, however, his long term memory remained intact, allowing him to remember all the lyrics to songs in his repertoire of the Great American Songbook as he continued to record, perform and tour until he passed away at his home in New York City on July 21, 2023.
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