ALLAN HARRIS
Celebrate Black History Month with a powerful performance that honors the resilience, creativity, and legacy of Black Americans. Join us for Harlem After Dark: An Uptown Jazz Party, a vibrant tribute to Harlem’s golden era, featuring world-class musicians, dynamic tap dance, and soulful performances by Allan Harris, Maya Azucena, and AC Lincoln.
This electrifying evening celebrates the enduring legacy of Harlem’s jazz icons while embracing the energy of today’s music scene, making both productions must-see events that highlight the profound impact of Black history and culture.
Tickets: $25.00
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Walter “Rosetta” Fuller was born on February 15, 1910 in Dyersburg, Tennessee, first learning to play the mellophone as a child before settling on trumpet. He played in a traveling medicine show from age 14, then played with Sammy Stewart in the late 1920s.
Fuller In 1930 he moved to Chicago and played with Irene Eadie and Her Vogue Vagabonds. In 1931 he began a longtime partnership with Earl Hines, remaining with him until 1937, when he left to join Horace Henderson’s ensemble. After a year with Henderson he returned to Hines’ band but once again left Hines in 1940 to form his own band, playing at the Grand Terrace in Chicago and the Radio Room in Los Angeles. Among his sidemen were Rozelle Claxton, Quinn Wilson, Omer Simeon and Gene Ammons.
Fuller got the nickname “Rosetta” based on his singing on the 1934 Hines recording of the song of the same name. He would lead bands on the West Coast for over a decade and play as a sideman for many years afterward. On April 20, 2003 trumpeter and vocalist Walter Fuller passed away in San Diego, California.
JOE GRANSDEN
Trumpeter Joe Gransden brings warmth, virtuosity, and joyful swing to his celebration of the music of Chuck Mangione, honoring one of jazz’s most beloved melodic voices. Known for his rich tone, effortless lyricism, and deep respect for the tradition, Gransden captures the soaring optimism and emotional clarity that made Mangione’s compositions timeless—while infusing them with his own dynamic phrasing and modern energy.
This tribute is less imitation than interpretation: a heartfelt homage that revisits iconic melodies and grooves, inviting audiences to rediscover the beauty, accessibility, and sheer joy at the heart of Mangione’s music through Gransden’s distinctive trumpet voice.
Tickets: $44.00
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Sérgio Santos Mendes was born in Niteroi, Rio de Janiero, Brazil on February 11, 1941. S a child he attended the local conservancy with hopes of becoming a classical pianist. As his interest in jazz grew, he started playing in nightclubs in the late-1950s just as the jazz-inflected derivative of samba known as bossa nova emerged.
Mendes formed the Sexteto Bossa Rio, recorded Dance Moderna in 1961, toured Europe and the U.S., recorded with Cannonball Adderley and Herbie Mann, played Carnegie Hall and then moved to the States in 1964, cutting two albums for Capitol and Atlantic Records.
Sergio would join the Musicians Union, Create Brasil 65, change the name later to Sergio Mendes and Brasil 66, opt not to record Tito Puente’s “Oye Como Va” which would become a hit for Carlos Santana, release “Mas Que Nada” that would take them platinum. He would record “Look Around” and their fourth album “Fool On A Hill”.
His breakout success was with the performance of Burt Bacharach’s “The Look of Love” at the 1968 Academy Awards telecast, ultimately becoming the biggest Brazilian star in the world at the time. He would go on to record for Elektra, Bell, A&M and Concord record labels, collaborate with Stevie Wonder, reunite with Lani Hall on the Bond “Never Say Never Again” soundtrack, record with will.i.am and The Black Eyed Peas, Jill Scott, India Arie and others on his Timeless project, win several Grammys over the course of his fifty-five releases and be twice nominated for an Academy Award for the Look of Love and his contributions to the 2011 film “Rio”.
Bandleader, pianist, composer, arranger and songwriter Sergio Mendes died on September 5, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. He was 83.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Roberta Flack was born February 10, 1937 in Black Mountain, North Carolina but raised in Arlington, Virginia, first discovering the work of Black music when she heard Mahalia Jackson and Sam Cooke sing in church. During her early teens excelling at classical piano Howard University gave her a full scholarship and she entered at 15. She changed her major from piano to voice and became an assistant conductor of the university choir.
Graduating from Howard at 19, she began graduate studies in music, but with the sudden death of her father she took a teaching job, which lasted for years in the Washington, DC school system and private lessons from her home. Soon she was performing around town accompanying herself on piano but her star didn’t begin to shine until her voice teacher suggested she turn to pop music. With a performance space built in a Capitol Hill club called Mr. Henry’s it only took the ears of Les McCann to arrange an audition with Atlantic Records. After only 10 hours in the studio, Roberta’s debut album “First Take” was recorded and released.
Flack’s Atlantic recordings did not sell particularly well, until Clint Eastwood chose a song from First Take, “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” for the sound track of Play Misty For Me and it became the biggest hit of 1972. Spending six consecutive weeks at #1 the song earned her first gold record and Record Of The Year Grammy in 1973.
Roberta would go on to record with Donny Hathaway, Peabo Bryson and Maxi Priest; write for television and film, going on to gather more Grammys and hit songs and albums over the course of her career and earned a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Vocalist and pianist Robera Flack died on February 24, 2025 in Manhattan, New York.