Crosstown Arts
The Green Room at Crosstown Arts
Tuesday, April 25, 2023
Doors open at 7 pm | Show begins at 7:30 pm
Tickets: $10
The University of Memphis Jazz Singers is comprised of 10 to 15 male and female vocal students. This group performs a wide range of music from traditional arrangements of jazz standards to more contemporary fusion jazz.
Crosstown Arts presents Kafé Kirk with Kirk Whalum and special guest Jazzmeia Horn in Crosstown Theater.
Sunday, April 23, 2023
Crosstown Theater
Box office opens at 5PM | Doors open at 5:30PM
Show begins at 6PM
Tickets: General Admission $45 (plus fees)
Join Grammy-winning saxophonist Kirk Whalum for Kafé Kirk, an ongoing jazz series in Crosstown Theater featuring musical and spiritual collaborations with special guest artists. This iteration’s performance will feature jazz singer Jazzmeia Horn.
JAZZMEIA HORN
Jazzmeia Horn is an American jazz singer and songwriter. She won the Thelonious Monk Institute International Jazz Competition in 2015. Horn’s repertoire includes jazz standards and covers of songs from other genres, including by artists such as Stevie Wonder. She has been compared to jazz vocalists such as Betty Carter, Sarah Vaughan, and Nancy Wilson.
“Horn is among the most exciting young vocalists in jazz, with a proud traditionalism that keeps her tightly linked to the sound of classic figures like Nancy Wilson and Betty Carter, but a vivacity of spirit and conviction that places her firmly in the present.” — The New York Times
KIRK WHALUM
Soulful, passionate, stirring…these are the words most often used to describe Kirk’s music. Forged from his Memphis, Tennessee, gospel roots and his 1980s initiation into the thriving Houston, TX nightclub scene, Kirk’s big, rich tenor sound is unmistakably his. The ’80s were highlighted by Kirk’s stepping out of his blossoming sideman role and forming his own band. It was there that Kirk ultimately developed both his “voice” and songwriting in the crucible of the local club scene—especially at a rooftop club called Cody’s. It was also in Houston where jazz pianist Bob James “discovered” him and brought him on tour, which led to five successful albums with Columbia Records, including Cache, Kirk’s first #1 album. As well, Kirk and Bob received a Grammy nomination for their collaboration album, Joined at the Hip. After moving to Los Angeles, Kirk became an in demand session player for top artists like, Barbara Streisand, Al Jarreau, Luther Vandross, Larry Carlton, Quincy Jones and most notably, Whitney Houston, amongst many others. It’s his sax heard on the mega-hit, “I Will Always Love You.” Kirk soon followed that career high point with his phenomenal hit album released on Warner Bros. Records, For You, perhaps the most successful of over 25 solo recordings to date; others include his eclectic, and much lauded, Gospel According to Jazz series, (Chapters 1, 2, 3 and 4). In addition to his many solo projects, Kirk was also a member of the popular soul/jazz group, BWB, which features Kirk as the “W” of the group with Rick Braun (trumpet) and Norman Brown (guitar).
Kirk is the recipient of numerous awards and acknowledgements for his musical excellence including three Dove Award nominations, an NAACP Image Award nomination and has won two Stellar Awards- Gospel music’s highest honor. A twelve time Grammy nominee, Kirk won his first Grammy award (2011)for Best Gospel Song (“It’s What I Do”—featuring Lalah Hathaway) alongside life-long friend and gifted songwriter, Jerry Peters.
Crosstown Arts presents Strictly Jazz: The Music of Bill Evans in the Green Room.
The Green Room at Crosstown Arts
Sunday, March 26, 2023
Doors at 6:30 pm | Show at 7 pm
Tickets: $15 in advance | $20 at the door
The Crosstown Strictly Jazz Series, presented by Strictly Jazz Entertainment in collaboration with Crosstown Arts, is designed to salute classic jazz music as contemporary musicians perform the work of the legends.
This show features Gerald Stephens (piano), Art Edmaiston (tenor saxophone), Marc Franklin (trumpet/flugelhorn), Neal Bowen (bass), and Mike Assad (drums) with a special live painting experience by RODAN.
About Strictly Jazz:
Strictly Jazz Entertainment is committed to cultivating a growing community in the knowledge and appreciation of jazz. Strictly Jazz Entertainment facilitates dialogue and collaboration between the devoted supporters of jazz and the brand new constituents — those new to the genre — for the furthering of the jazz community. Strictly Jazz provides a bridge between leading artists and a community that typically does not embrace jazz by promoting concerts in various venues to generate an atmosphere that is viable for the absorption of pure jazz.
Crosstown Arts presents Gritty City Bang Bang in the Green Room.
The Green Room at Crosstown Arts
Thursday, March 9, 2023
Doors open at 7 pm | Show begins at 7:30 pm
Tickets: $12 in advance | $15 at the door
Gritty City Bang Bang is the brainchild of guitarist Jonathan Bass. Original compositions by Bass are elevated by Memphis titans Mike Assad and Carl Caspersen. This trio delivers improvisation permeated with cinematic Americana vibes, bringing the funk when needed. Next to the likes of BBQ and Home Depot, there has never been a better destination for heavy lifting of the human soul.
Crosstown Arts presents Charu Suri in The Green Room.
The Green Room at Crosstown Arts
Saturday, March 4, 2023
Doors open at 7 pm | Show begins at 7:30 pm
Tickets: $20 ($10 students)
“Charu’s raga-based improvisations are singular.” – Multi Grammy-award winning pianist Arturo O’Farrill
Pianist and composer Charu Suri treads fearlessly between genres, pulling global influences that range from the mood-anchoring Indian ragas, Sufi music, to the trio. Her ground-breaking albums, The Book of Ragas, and its sequel, The Book of Ragas vol. 2 have often elicited the response, “I’ve never heard this type of sound before.”
One of the few female composers from India to perform work at Carnegie Hall, Charu has lived in four continents, and writes music that reflect her journey as both a traveler and her training as a classical music piano prodigy. She has been playing the piano since the age of five, and performing since the age of nine, and one of her best memories is winning an international piano competition at the age of 15.
What started purely as an experiment with her “Book of Ragas” has turned into a niche that she is now increasingly becoming known for. Her latest album is RAGAS & WALTZES, a first collaboration between her and Preservation Hall’s jazz drummer, Joe Lastie.
In this album, dedicated to her late father, she explores European waltzes through her own jazz lens. The album also includes two ragas, performed by guitarist Noshir Mody and flutes by Al Jewer. RAGAS & WALTZES has received a lot of praise from critics. JAZZIZ Magazine has praised its classic reinvention of the European waltz, and All About Jazz said, “These are all Suri originals, with which she creates a mood that is a mix, tune-by-tune, of longing and solemnity, then of a lilting and uplifting beauty, segueing into tender reverence that shifts gear into a segment of lively swing before drifting back to loving respect. And that swing is surely inspired by New Orleans’ Preservation Hall Jazz Band’s drummer, Joe Lastie, Jr., sitting in the recording session’s drummer’s chair.”
But she is no stranger to the art of the Songbook too (attribute this to her listening to numerous records of Bill Evans and Billie Holiday as a kid). “The New American Songbook” has garnered many awards, including a “Band Single of the Year” crystal trophy for her song, Bluesy, awarded by the International Singer-Songwriters Association (ISSA) in 2021.
Charu has performed at Lincoln Center and other prestigious concert halls around the world, including St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands. She often performs with her band, and sometimes as a soloist. She embarks on a multi-city RAGAS & WALTZES tour to India starting with a performance at the National Center for the Performing Arts (NCPA) in Mumbai, on September 16th.
Crosstown Arts presents The Bad Plus & Marc Ribot and the Jazz Bins at Crosstown Theater.
Crosstown Theater
Thursday, March 30, 2023
Doors open at 6:30 pm | Show begins at 7:30 pm
Tickets: $35-45
The Bad Plus
Reid Anderson (bass), Dave King (drums), Ben Monder (guitar), Chris Speed (saxophone)
The Bad Plus are the ultimate originals. A democratic unit with a clear vision and a refusal to conform to convention. For the past two decades they have played with spirit and adventure, made their own rules and done so with a bold sense of creativity and intent. Avoiding easy categorization, The Bad Plus has won critical acclaim and a legion of fans worldwide with their unique sound and flair for live performance.
Now in their 21st year, The Bad Plus continues to push boundaries as founding members Reid Anderson (bass) and Dave King (drums) embark on a new piano-less incarnation of the band with Ben Monder (guitar) and Chris Speed (tenor saxophone) – instigating a new wave of excitement and anticipation within the band that is re-energizing their sound and inspiration. The Bad Plus have constantly searched to bridge genres and techniques while exploring the infinite possibilities of exceptional musicians working in perfect sync.
The Bad Plus is set to release their 15th studio recording and debut self-titled album as a dynamic new quartet via Edition Records on Friday, September 30th. “Evolution is necessary for life and creativity,” say Dave King and Reid Anderson. “We’ve evolved, but we’re still The Bad Plus.”
Marc Ribot & The Jazz Bins
Marc Ribot (guitar), Greg Lewis (organ), Joe Dyson (drums)
Marc Ribot’s four months with jazz organ legend Brother Jack McDuff were his first ever with an internationally touring artist. Their 1979 itinerary included Ribot’s first concerts in Europe, and his only to date in Gary, Indiana and Rochester, NY. Although the two never recorded together (due to artistic differences that became apparent in Ribot’s later work…Brother Jack reportedly spent much of their stage time fixing Ribot with what side musicians referred to as his “death ray”), Ribot never lost his affection for McDuff’s music and the Hammond organ dominated Soul Jazz scene from which it emerged. Says Ribot: “McDuff’s US audiences—the so-called ‘Chitlin Circuit— were just the hippest in the world: sophisticated about the music, definitely…but also demanding the deepest soul while rewarding restraint in its expression. What this brought out in the musicians was every bit as intense as the music taking shape at CBGBs at the time. In fact, I always felt the two scenes had something in common, and I’ve been trying to express exactly what ever since.”
Fellow Jazz-Bin, Greg Lewis, is not only one of the greatest virtuosos of the Hammond b3 organ alive, but perhaps the only one willing and able to haul a real Hammond b3 and Leslie speaker cabinet to live gigs in NYC! Says Ribot: “Greg is NYC’s best kept secret. He can tell a story on the Hammond like nobody else.” Rounded out with a TBA guest drummer, The Jazz-Bins use deep grooves and over the top improvisation to channel the spirits of Newark’s Key Club Sparky J’s Lounge, and NYC’s CBGB’s c/a 1977 into a quest for punk/soul salvation. The Jazz-Bins go— not exactly ‘ancient’, but ‘back’— to the future, to tap into a scene that never really existed (but should have, will, and does whenever people drop their preconceptions about ‘genre’ long enough to feel the groove), and a vibe that never really stopped. Dig it!
New Orleans native Joe Dyson has certainly been one to watch. He started playing music in his family’s church at just two years old. After being noticed for his peculiar talent, Joe was placed in the Louis “Satchmo” Armstrong Summer Jazz Camp where he was shadowed by the late, great clarinetist Alvin Batiste, and his longtime band leader and mentor, alto saxophonist Donald Harrison. He went on to graduate from the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts (NOCCA), and earned a Presidential Scholarship to his alma mater Berklee College of Music.
Joe has shared the stage with Dr. Lonnie Smith, Ellis Marsalis, Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah, Jon Batiste, Leo Nocentelli, Sullivan Fortner, Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Pedrito Martinez, Grammy Award winners Nicholas Payton and Pat Metheny among others.