JULIE DEXTER
The world renowned, award winning, British singer, songwriter and producer is considered by many to be one of the most influential female vocalists of our generation. Having shared the spotlight with a host of cutting-edge artists, including Mint Condition, Caron Wheeler, Jill Scott, Lalah Hathaway, Omar, Ledisi, Doug Carn, Third World and Maxi Priest to name a few, Julie not only holds up her own with them but has been praised and respected by them too.
Influenced by legends such as Nancy Wilson, Abbey Lincoln, and Bob Marley, as well as popular icons Omar and Sade, Julie takes classic soul to the heart of Artistry. Fans and critics across the globe have followed her journey through the circles of Jazz, Broken-Beat, Bossa-Nova, Reggae, Afro-Beat and Soul and she was recently honored at the Black Women in Jazz Awards with the Afro Caribbean Soul of Jazz Award.
It was in 1999 that Julie took a leap of faith and moved to Atlanta, Georgia where she now resides. She launched her own label, Ketch A Vibe Records and in 2000 released the critically acclaimed EP Peace of Mind, followed by Dexterity (2002) ,Conscious (2005) and New Again (2011). Moon Bossa, a collaboration with Khari Simmons was released in 2007 and her single “Ketch A Vibe” was featured in national radio ads for Democratic Presidential Candidate Senator Barack Obama. Her latest release Deja Vu is an eclectic blend of Jazz, Soul and Reggae.
Tickets: $33 per person | $3.95 Processing Fee
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KATHLEEN BERTRAND
The 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.
Tickets: $25.00
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LEESA RICHARDS
Save Your Love For Me | Leesa Sings Nancy Wilson
As a part of Miami’s vibrant music scene, singer/songwriter Leesa Richards is helping to shape and define its evolving sound. She has performed with a slate of powerhouse artists including Faith Hill, The Bee Gees, Kelly Clarkson, Gloria Estefan, and Carole King, and recorded with Barbra Streisand and Lenny Kravitz, among other artists.
Richards grew up in music-rich Detroit and started showing an inclination towards the arts at a very early age. She began honing her vocal chops with soul greats Gerald Austin and Peabo Bryson and contemporary soul maverick Dionne Farris.
Tickets: $40.00 ~ $50.00
Presented by the Sunshine Jazz Organization
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Marc Hoffman was born April 16, 1961 in Salisbury, North Carolina. He attended the North Carolina School of the Arts and received a degree in composition. He continued his education at The Dartington International Summer School of Music in Devon, England then studied film composition at the University of Southern California. He studied with David Ott, Sherwood Shaffer, Leo Arnaud and Neil Hefti.
Up until the early 1990s Hoffman wrote concert music, music for theater, pop, Christian music and film composition. Then he focused his attention on jazz and began writing original compositions, both instrumental and vocal, creating his own arrangements of jazz standards. Establishing his own label, Virillion Music, he recorded Long Way Home in 2003 followed by his sophomore album Christmas Time. In 2010 he released Curioso of all-original jazz.
As an educator and author he teaches and lectures on classical, pop and film music and has published two books. He also is an instructor of piano, composition, and voice at Bold Music in the Charlotte, NC area.
Pianist, composer and vocalist Marc Hoffman continues to write concert music, instrumental and vocal jazz pieces, film scores, as well as performing works solo, or with his trio, quartet or quintet and with four- or five-piece bands in a variety of venues.
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VANESSA RUBIN & HER TRIO
Revered as both a torchbearer and a storyteller, jazz vocalist Vanessa Rubin possesses a voice hailed for crystalline clarity, hearth-like warmth, and playful lioness sass. The Cleveland native brings a wealth of diverse influences to her vocal performance from both the Trinidadian/Caribbean roots of her mother and traditional jazz by way of her Louisiana-born father. Additional homespun influences include the melodic bell tone clarity of a young Capital Records recording artist, Nancy Wilson, the fire of Lambert, Hendricks & Ross, the sweet sounds of trumpeter Blue Mitchell as well as her love of the Motown Sound…especially girl groups like The Supremes.
Vanessa’s journey to becoming a jazz singer could be said to have begun at an early age. She was characterized by her mother as always being “a very vocal child,” and knew Vanessa would “do something with that big ol’ mouth of hers.” Coming from parents who valued academia, discipline, and hard work, that “something” was meant to be law school. Attaining a BA from The Ohio State School of Journalism in 1979 was not a disappointment. However, her decision to pursue a career jazz singing did come as a surprise.
The Band: Allyn Johnson ~ piano, Michael Bowie ~ bass, Lennie Robinson ~ drums
Tickets: Thursday ~ $35.00 +$7.00 fees | Friday ~ $50.00 +$7.00 fees
$15.00 minimum food & beverage per person
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