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Crosstown Arts presents the Alex Nollan Jazz Quintet in The Green Room.
TICKETS: $10 advance | $15 day of show
Doors at 7 pm | Show at 7:30 pm
Crosstown Arts presents the Alex Nollan Jazz Quintet, featuring international award-winning jazz pianist and composer Alex Nollan and distinguished musicians Don Aliquo (saxophone), Neal Bowen (bass), Renardo Ward (drums), and Johnny Yancey (trumpet). Alex has performed throughout the South, including Austin, Lubbock, Knoxville, Pensacola, and Gulf Shores. Tennessee-based, the quintet has performed together many times. The Alex Nollan Jazz Quintet works closely with jazz great Donald Brown, who produced the group’s latest album, Stand.
*Crosstown Arts is requesting proof of vaccination or a negative Covid test for this event. Please be prepared to present your vaccination card or a negative Covid test taken within 72 hours at check-in.
Alex Nollan
An award-winning* jazz pianist, composer, and recording artist. He earned a B.A. in music at Rhodes College and studied jazz on the master’s level at the University of Tennessee. His teachers include Michael Jefry Stevens, Gerald Stephens, Bobby Lyle, and Donald Brown. Brown is also his mentor and the producer of his debut CD, titled Stand (2019). The CD features saxophonist Don Aliquo, bassist Neal Bowen, drummer Renardo Ward, and trumpet player Johnny Yancey. Alex has over seventeen years of performance experience in jazz, with engagements in Memphis, Knoxville, Pensacola (Jazz Fest), Orlando, and Lubbock, TX (Hub City Jazz Orchestra). He currently is working on his second CD, which will be produced by Donald Brown. Visit his website alexnollan.com.
*Downbeat Magazine, Unsigned Only (top ten Honorable Mention for jazz composition 2020)
Don Aliquo
An active performer and recording artist, saxophonist Don Aliquo has released five solo recordings and several collaborations, including with trumpeter Clay Jenkins (New Ties and Binds). Don has performed in concerts and on recordings with many world-class jazz artists, such as Gary Burton, Greg Osby, Roger Humphries, Rufus Reid, Harold Danko, Scott Robinson, and Jim McNeely. He is Professor of Saxophone and Jazz Studies at Middle Tennessee State University.
Neal Bowen
Neal Bowen is an electric/acoustic bassist, and accompanist for New York City-based artist Brennan Villines, L.A. vocalist Alexis Grace, Lucky 7 Brass Band, and Memphis guitarist Garry Goin & G3. He has performed with numerous prominent artists and provided bass for countless recording sessions. He has also mentored several notable musicians. Neal resides in Memphis, TN with his wife and two children.
Renardo Ward
Renardo Ward is an international instructor, jazz Ambassador, and local first-call musician in the Memphis area. He has performed with many jazz luminaries, including Donald Brown, George Coleman, Bill Mobley, Roseanna Vitro, Don Aliquo, Clavin Newborn, Jonathan Wires, Michael Jefry Stevens, Joyce Cobb, and Kirk Whalum. He is a former Kennedy Center and U.S. Department of State Jazz Ambassador to West Africa.
Johnny Yancey
Home-grown “Johnny” was inspired to play the trumpet by his older brother, a saxophonist. At Southside High School in Memphis he was mentored by a senior classmate, Donald Brown, who later became an internationally-acclaimed pianist. At Memphis State University he majored in Music Education. He formed his own group in 2002, the Sanctuary Jazz Orchestra. Johnny is quoted as saying, “Jazz is the true music from the soul and for the soul.”
