Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Monica Mancini was born on May 4, 1952 in Los Angeles, California to film composer Henry Mancini. She began her singing career at fourteen as a member of the Henry Mancini chorus, which later led to a successful career in the Los Angeles studios.
Monica is a Concord Record recording artist and two-time Grammy award nominee, who has carved out an impressive career as a singer performing on club and concert stages, and with major symphony orchestras worldwide.
She has appeared on countless film scores, and recorded with artists including Placido Domingo, Horace Silver, Quincy Jones, Michael Jackson Stevie Wonder, Kenny Rankin and Plas Johnson among others. She has recorded four albums, fronted the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra and sung Senza Fine on the soundtrack for the 2002 film Ghost Ship. She continues to perform and tour.
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LORI WILLIAMS
Celebrate the start of Memorial Day Weekend with an evening of live music at the legendary Blues Alley Jazz as international vocalist Lori Williams takes the stage for one special night featuring two intimate performances. Known for her rich tone, expressive storytelling, and deep musical roots, Lori presents an evening of traditional and contemporary jazz, soul, and inspirational music, delivered with authenticity and emotional depth. This performance offers audiences the opportunity to experience her artistry in the city where her musical journey began. Featuring: Benjie Porecki – keys Tracey Cutler – saxophone Michael Bowie – bass Mark Prince – drums Join us for a meaningful holiday weekend evening of music, reflection, and connection.
Williams is a renowned American jazz vocalist, educator, producer, and arts advocate whose career spans more than 30 years. Known for her smooth, soulful sound and expressive storytelling, she blends traditional and contemporary jazz, soul, and inspirational music, delivering performances rooted in authenticity, reflection, and positive messages. Her work has taken her to stages around the world, earning international respect as both a performer and educator.
An accomplished recording artist, Lori has released multiple albums, including Healing Within and her most recent project, Here We Are, recorded in Austria, reflecting her continued global artistic reach and creative evolution. She has performed at venues such as Blues Alley, Keystone Korner, Middle C Jazz, City Winery, the Capital Jazz Fest and Cruise, as well as numerous international jazz festivals. Her artistry has been recognized by former Vice President and President Joseph Biden, and she received a Helen Hayes Award nomination for her celebrated portrayal of Ella Fitzgerald.
A graduate of Hampton University with a Bachelor of Arts in Mass Media Communications, Lori is also a veteran music educator. She served for over 30 years in DC Public Schools and the Department of Defense Dependents Schools (DoDDS), advocating for arts education and student empowerment through music. Her educational work continues through her roles as an artist-in-residence, clinician, and workshop leader, where she mentors students and emerging artists through performance-based learning and jazz pedagogy. She is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Jazz Studies at Georgia State University, further deepening her scholarship and artistic practice.
Beyond the stage and classroom, Lori is an accomplished radio producer and host. She produces and hosts Collector’s Choice with Lori Williams on JazzRadioWETF.org and curates the Sunday Jazz Lounge, selecting and hiring talent while fostering community through live jazz experiences. She is also the founder of Positive Music for Positive Minds, an initiative dedicated to inspiring and empowering youth and communities through the arts.
Now based in Georgia, Lori continues to perform, teach, and create opportunities for artists while advancing her lifelong mission to spread peace, purpose, and positivity through jazz, education, and community engagement.
Tickets: $50.00 +$7.00 fee
Showtimes: 7:30pm & 9:30pm
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NICOLE HENRY
Celebrating a 20-year recording career with eight critically acclaimed chart-topping albums, Nicole Henry is the recipient of a Soul Train Award for “Best Traditional Jazz Performance,” and she has garnered four Top-Ten jazz albums on the U.S. Billboard, JazzWeek, HMV Japan, and U.K. Sweet Rhythms charts. Hot House Jazz said, “Few voices can set a listening room on fire, then let it burn into a cinder like Nicole Henry’s.”
The New York Times, Miami Herald, and Jazz Times Magazine have compared her to Sarah Vaughan, Natalie Cole and Whitney Houston for her dynamic range, impeccable phrasing, and ability to connect to a lyric. Whether burning through a swing tune or gently caressing a ballad, Nicole truly makes each song uniquely her own and “aims right for the emotional center.” (Billboard)
Henry has toured in over 20 countries and has recorded with musical greats Kirk Whalum, Julian Lage, John Clayton, and Gerald Clayton. She’s also performed with the Duke Ellington Orchestra, the Henry Mancini Institute Orchestra, Pasadena Pops, Michael Feinstein, saxophonist Paul Taylor and more.
Showtimes:
Friday/Saturday: 7:00pm & 9:30pm
Sunday: 2:00pm
Tickets: $35.00 ~ $60.00 + $7.00 fee
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LIZZ WRIGHT
Through an inimitable voice that The New York Times touts as, “a smooth, dark alto possessed of qualities you might associate with barrel-aged bourbon or butter-soft leather,” renowned vocalist and songwriter Lizz Wright sings with a soaring reflection of the cultural fabric of America. She lies beneath the script of history, transcending social divides with an offer of love and deep sense of humanity. Her music accepts the beauty of reality and creates a collective experience of belonging for the listener. Wright’s songs embody a tradition that allows us to always feel at home.
Wright’s 2024 studio album release, Shadow, presents Lizz in a gentle and triumphant light. With five originals penned by Wright, Shadow is anchored by acoustic guitars and layered with string quartets, harp, Carnatic Indian classical strings, gospel vocals, and bare emotion. It celebrates the intimacy of romantic love, loss, community, and healing. The album was produced by Chris Bruce and executive produced by Wright on Blues & Greens Records (with licensing/distribution through Lightyear Entertainment/Virgin Music). Wright worked with renowned engineer Ryan Freeland (who recorded Grace and has also worked with music legend Bonnie Raitt), and the album features acclaimed guest artists Angelique Kidjo and Meshell Ndegeocello.
At the age of 22, Wright first made a name for herself nationally as a vocalist with a touring concert tribute to Billie Holiday. At 23, she signed with Verve Records for the release of Salt, which topped Billboard’s contemporary jazz charts. She went on to record for Universal Music Group and released the albums Dreaming Wide Awake (2005), The Orchard (2008), and Fellowship (2010). On Concord, Wright released Freedom & Surrender (2016) – featuring the single “Lean In,” which landed on President Obama’s Summer 2016 playlist – and Grace (2017). Wright’s (2022) release of Holding Space (a live recording of a concert in Berlin at the Columbia Theater) was her debut live album on Blues and Greens Records.
Wright looks forward to the release of a duo album in 2026.
Tickets: $43.21 ($35.00 + $8.21 fees) | $54.54 ($45.00 + $9.54 fees)
Discounted Parking: $18.80 ($15.00 + $3.80 fees)
$20.00 Minimum Per Person
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Shirley Valerie Horn was born on May 1, 1934 in Washington, D.C. and was encouraged by her grandmother to begin piano lessons at age four. At twelve she studied piano and composition at Howard University and later majored there in classical music. Unable to afford to attend, Shirley was forced to decline an offered a place at the Juilliard School. Forming her first jazz piano trio when she was twenty, her early piano influences were Errol Garner, Oscar Peterson and Ahmad Jamal that moved away from her classical background.
She then became enamored with the famous U Street jazz area of Washington, sneaking into jazz clubs before she was of legal age. She was most noted for her ability to accompany herself with nearly incomparable independence and ability on the piano while singing, the rich, lush, smoky contralto gave an unprecedented expression to every song she sang. Although she could swing as strongly as any straight-ahead jazz artist, Horn’s reputation rode on her exquisite ballad work.
She recorded with Stuff Smith in 1959, and on small labels into the Sixties. Horn first achieved fame in 1960, when Miles Davis discovered her and his public praise was a rare commodity. She eventually landed on Mercury and Impulse and over the course of her career she recorded some four-dozen albums both as leader and sideman.
Following the arrival of the Beatles, Horn scaled down performances to her native D.C. clubs, raised her daughter and worked full time in an office. Recording sporadically from 1965 through the late 80s, by the early Nineties her resurgence came with “Here’s To Life” and the albums began to flow, nearly one a year until 2003.
The small setting performer, singer and pianist Shirley Horn kept her same trio for twenty-five years. In the early 200s due to health issues she cut back her schedule, and battling diabetes and breast cancer passed away on October 20, 2005. She was nominated for a Grammy 9 times and won for “I Remember Miles”, performed for several White House invites, received an honorary Doctorate from Berklee College of Music and was given a NEA Jazz Master Award.