Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Maria Cole was born Maria Hawkins on August 1, 1922 in Boston, Massachusetts but grew up in her aunt’s genteel surroundings in North Carolina. Graduating in 1938 from the prestigious Black preparatory, the Palmer Memorial Institute, which was founded by her aunt, Dr. Charlotte Hawkins Brown. She returned to Boston to attend a clerical college but began working with a jazz orchestra by night and soon dropped out to pursue her love of music in New York.

Once in the city Maria joined Benny Carter’s band, performed with Count Basie and Fletcher Henderson before Ellington heard a recording of her throaty, resonant voice in the mid-1940s and hired her as a vocalist for his Orchestra. By 1946 she was appearing solo at Club Zanzibar in Harlem as an opening act for the Mills Brothers.

In 1943 she married Tuskegee Airman Spurgeon Ellington, who died in a training flight, met Nat King Cole while both performing at the Zanzibar, married him in 1948 and remained united until his death in 1965.

Jazz singer Maria Ellington Cole died in a nursing home in Boca Raton, Florida following a short battle with stomach cancer at the age of 89, on July 10, 2012.

 

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JOE GRANSDEN & NOEL FRIEDLINE TRIO

Tony Bennett’s life and legacy embody the absolute pinnacle of the Great American Story. As we honor the centennial milestone of his birth, his unprecedented career as the pre-eminent singer of the 20th and 21st centuries continues to embrace and inspire audiences across all generations.

Through his unyielding dedication to artistic excellence, Bennett became the ultimate “keeper of the flame,” extolling the timeless values of the Great American Songbook. Yet his impact reached far beyond the stage; he consistently stood on the front lines of modern history. A World War II veteran who fought in the Battle of the Bulge, Bennett went on to perform for eleven U.S. Presidents and marched side-by-side with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in Selma. A lifelong pacifist and proactive humanitarian, his commitment to justice bridged cultural divides by highlighting our shared humanity. This special centennial tribute celebrates a visionary artist who achieved the American Dream without ever forgetting his roots—leaving behind a profound blueprint of dedication, courage, and compassion.

Guided by Duke Ellington’s advice ~ “Number one, never give up. Number two, remember number one!” ~ jazz vocalist Antonia Bennett has spent her life honoring the Great American Songbook. The youngest daughter of legendary artist Tony Bennett and actress Sandra Grant Bennett, Antonia grew up in Los Angeles and began singing with her father at age four, surrounded by icons like Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald. Her early passion led her to Boston’s prestigious Berklee College of Music.

By the mid-2000s, Antonia was officially performing as her father’s opening act at renowned venues worldwide, including Radio City Music Hall, the Hollywood Bowl, and London’s Royal Albert Hall. Her distinct voice—which The New York Times describes as a mix of “Billie Holiday and Rickie Lee Jones, with a hint of Betty Boop”—shines on her acclaimed releases Natural and Embrace Me. From recording “I’ve Got My Love to Keep Me Warm” with her father to capturing critics’ attention with her own swinging standards, Antonia continues to tour the world, effortlessly bridging her father’s incredible musical legacy with her own contemporary jazz artistry.

Cover: $54.15 ~ $66.15

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Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Cynthia Scott was born July 20, 1951 in El Dorado, Arkansas, the tenth of twelve children. She started singing at the age of four, and was exposed to a wide variety of music. She grew up soaking in a myriad of influences such as Carmen McRae, Robert Flack, Aretha Franklin, Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughan and Ella Fitzgerald.

After high school Scott moved to Dallas, Texas and while working as an airline stewardess honed her craft with James Clay, Claude Johnson, Roger Boykin, Onzy Matthews and Red Garland. In 1972 she became a Raelette, backing Ray Charles for two years. During this time they toured Europe with Oscar Peterson, Joe Pass, The Count Basie Orchestra and Joe Williams.

Following Charles’ death she would work with Hank Crawford, Marcus Belgrave, and David “Fathead” Newman. By the late 80s she was in New York’s Chelsea Place hiring a young Harry Connick Jr., turning a four-week engagement into three years. She has since headlined at such jazz spots as Birdland, Iridium, Dizzy’s Club Coca Cola and the Super Club.

Cynthia has worked with Lionel Hampton, Cab Calloway, Kevin Mahogany, The Harper Brothers, Bill Charlap, Julius LaRosa, Norman Simmons and Wynton Marsalis, the later bringing her in to be the first vocal to sing in Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Rose Room to test its acoustics.

Scott’s list of accomplishments are too long to enumerate but on the short list she has performed at festival worldwide, toured with the musical “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil”, was a finalist in the 1998 Thelonious Monk Vocal Competition, and the 2005 International Songwriting Competition, is a vocal teacher at The New School and City College and teaches private students and among other things has been a Jazz Ambassador for U.S. State Department.

Vocalist and educator Cynthia Scott was inducted into the Arkansas Black Hall of Fame in 2016 and she continues to perform, tour and record.

 

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LISA FISCHER

After four decades of featured background singing with icons like Luther Vandross, The Rolling Stones, Chaka Khan, Tina Turner, and Nine Inch Nails, Ms. Lisa Fischer set out to take center stage with her own humble, heartfelt song. The 2013 Best Documentary Oscar winning film “Twenty Feet from Stardom” altered the course of Lisa’s musical journey, telling her story, with clips of her legendary duets with Sting or with Mick Jagger on “Gimme Shelter”, left audiences eager to see and hear more, so Lisa took the chance to set out on her own reinventing classic songs with her co-conspirators JC Maillard and Grand Baton. Their organic fusion of Caribbean psychedelic soul and jazzy progressive rock ignited Lisa’s flexibility and freedom of expression, awakening her lifelong desire to make music that heals but still rocks the house.

While Lisa’s range is legendary, her greatest gift is the ability to connect, to reach the hearts of her listeners. Raised in the Fort Greene neighborhood of Brooklyn, she emerged from New York’s fervent studio scene in the early 1980s, sang for two decades with legendary vocalist Luther Vandross, and released “So Intense”, earning her first Best R&B Performance Grammy with “How Can I Ease The Pain”. She joined the Rolling Stones for their 1989 Steel Wheels tour, and continued to grace their stage for the next 26 years. Lisa’s passion for constant growth and experimentation with different styles invited recent collaborations with jazz pianist Taylor Eigsti, Sting, Bruce Springsteen, Michael McDonald, Eric Krasno, Talib Kweli, Billy Childs and YoYo Ma, the BBC Proms / Jules Buckley and the Metropole Orkest, Alonzo King LINES Ballet, Anna Deavere Smith’s “Notes from the Field” for HBO, and especially her full evening program The Classic Lisa Fischer with Grand Baton and Seattle Symphony, Cincinnati Symphony and the National Philharmonic.

The Band:
Lisa Fischer: Vocal
Orrin Evans: Piano
James Genus: Bass
Mark Whitfield Jr.: Drums

Cover: $49.43 ~ $66.32 | Fees Included
Food/Beverage Per Person: $20.00 Minimum

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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.

Rubin takes the stage of the Jellife Theatre for a Benefit Concert with  proceeds from the evening will support Karamu’s artistic productions, arts education programs, workforce development initiatives, community engagement efforts, and the preservation of Black theatre and storytelling. Opening reception begins at 5:30pm, concert @ 7:00pm.

The Band:
Vanessa Rubin ~ Vocal
Brandon McCune ~ Piano
Kenny Davis ~ Bass
Jerome Jennings ~ Drums

Cover: $125.00 |  Ticket Includes:
~ Admission to the Vanessa Rubin Benefit Concert
~ Pre-concert reception
~ Complimentary drink tickets
~ Post-concert dessert reception

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