A slew of Grammy-winning jazz artists are coming to Pompano Beach for the Sea of JazzFest this Friday and Saturday at the Pompano Beach Amphitheatre.
Christian McBride, Ken Peplowski, the Clayton Brothers, Randy Brecker, Hubert Laws & Tierney Sutton, Nanny Assis & Brazilian Carnaval Jazz, and the Phil Woods Quintet are all scheduled to perform.
An organizer explained that date happens to be "the same weekend the Jazz Cruise was coming out of Fort Lauderdale." A slew of Grammy winners was already coming through -- and the ship, which departs Sunday, had been sold out -- so it created a win-win for the city and for jazz fans who might not be able to make the cruise.
Alyona Ushe is president and CEO of Pompano Beach Arts -- a collaboration among the city, the community redevelopment agency, and Creative City Collaborative, which manages several Pompano venues as well as the Arts Garage in Delray Beach.
She said the impetus for the festival was that the city was looking for a way to celebrate the 25th anniversary of its signature event, the nautical flea market. "We were looking for something special we could do in conjunction."
General-admission tickets for the shows this Friday and Saturday cost $30. Reserved seats and VIP tickets -- which include an artist meet-and-greet -- are also available. Visit pompanobeacharts.org.
Here are details of the lineup:
7-8PMPhil Woods Quintet ~ featuring Brian Lynch, Bill Mays, Steve Gilmore and Bill Goodwin
With an illustrious career spanning over three decades, Phil Woods and his three-time Grammy Award-winning quintet is arguably the best working group in jazz today. Considered a true "repertory" company in which each player has his own rich musical history, this quintet showcases great jazz compositions, American standards and original material. Winning acclaim as the number one acoustic group in the Down Beat Readers Poll, as well as the International Critics Poll and in Jazz Times Critics Poll, they are making a unique and invaluable contribution to the preservation and enrichment of the American music form called jazz. Most recently, the National Endowment for the Arts honored Woods as the winner of the prestigious Jazz Master Fellowship Award.
8:15-9PM
Nanny Assis & Brazilian Carnaval Jazz
Nanny Assis is one of the top percussionists in the Brazilian music world, as well as an outstanding singer and talented songwriter who has broadly touched hearts and souls through his unbelievably rich and complex music. Assis is a master of the many styles of Brazilian music, including samba, bossa nova, Brazilian jazz, Afro-Brazilian music and other popular and folkloric sounds from his homeland. He has received numerous prizes and won critical recognition from top percussionists and world-renowned musicians alike. He was awarded best percussionist by the Bahia Instrumental Festival. We guarantee you will stand up and dance!
9:15-10PM
Hubert Laws and Tierney Sutton
This charming and unexpected duo features Sutton's lush vocals with the instrumentals of internationally renowned flutist Hubert Laws. As one of the few classical artists who has also mastered jazz, pop, and R&B, Laws moves effortlessly from one repertory to another. His recordings have won three Grammy nominations and he was selected the No. 1 flutist in Down Beat readers' polls ten years in a row and was the critic's choice seven consecutive years. Of equal talent, American jazz singer Tierney Sutton is a six-time Grammy nominee as both a recording artist and arranger. Sutton is often described as a "musician's singer" who uses her voice like an instrument. Their combined talent represents one of the most creative forces in jazz today, as they explore the interplay between jazz and chamber music.
10:15-11PM
Randy Brecker Quintet with Ada Rovatti
A prolific musician and performer, Randy Brecker is an American trumpeter and flugelhornist whose versatility in musical tastes has made him a sought-after player, equally accomplished in playing jazz, rock, and R&B. He was a member of Blood, Sweat & Tears, Brecker Brothers and Mingus Big Band, and has performed or recorded with numerous acclaimed musicians. Brecker's achievements include six Grammy Awards. While the quintet's expert sidemen are all gifted soloists in their own right, Brecker's "secret weapon" is saxophonist, and wife, Ada Rovatti. Her tenor sound is often dark and mysterious, but can be soulful and bluesy, or cutting and edgy. The two know how to accompany each other and their interplay is truly conversational.
Saturday, January 24, 2015
7-8:15PM
The Clayton Brothers with John Clayton, Jeff Clayton, Gerald Clayton, Terell Stafford and Obed
Calvaire
This Grammy-nominated quintet was originally founded in 1977 by saxophonist Jeff Clayton and his brother, Grammy Award-winning bassist, John Clayton. These respectively talented musicians wanted to support each other's preferred formats: Jeff's love of small groups and John's love for big bands. The result is an unimpeded flow of pure creativity demonstrating their unique musical vision and swing. The quintet also consists of John's son, Gerald Clayton on piano (also Grammy nominated), Obed Calvaire on drums and Terell Stafford, a highly regarded trumpeter and band-leader in his own right.
8:30-9:30PM
Old Blues Eyes and Lady Day: Swingin' The Music of Frank Sinatra featuring The Ken Peplowski Quintet with Shelly Berg, Niki Haris, Tom Kennedy and Ernie Adams "Ken Peplowski is arguably the greatest living jazz clarinetist" -Russell Davies, BBC2. Although he has mastered all kinds of settings, from Dixieland to avant-garde jazz, Peplowski is known primarily for playing in the swing music idiom and is compared to Benny Goodman in terms of tone and virtuosity. The quintet features Grammy-nominated Steinway piano artist Shelly Berg (a local favorite), acclaimed bassist Tom Kennedy, vocalist Niki Haris, and one of the most popular and highly regarded musicians in Chicago, percussionist/drummer Ernie Adams. Together they will showcase the memorable music of Sinatra and Billie Holiday.
9:45-11PM
Christian McBride Trio
Bassist extraodinaire, composer, arranger, educator, curator and administrator, Christian McBride, has been one of the most important and most omnipresent figures in the jazz world for 20 years. What has always been unique about McBride is his versatility, having appeared in numerous musical settings with just about any musician imaginable in the jazz, as well as in the R&B and pop worlds. In his latest working group, a trio, McBride is joined by pianist Peter Martin and drummer Jamison Ross. Together they are honing their trio conception to a fine point of expressive depth and nuance. In McBride's words, "It's a pretty diversified trio. The real core foundation is hardcore swingin' blues and
the American songbook."