Tag: The Green Room

Choro das 3

Choro das 3 — the “First Family of Choro” — returns to Memphis on their 7th U.S. tour for an unforgettable evening of joy, excitement, and megachops in The Green Room at Crosstown Arts.

Tickets: $20
Doors at 7 pm | Performance at 7:30 pm

Brazilian choro music is a living gem — the “roots music” of that country and the mother of the samba and bossa nova we love. In choro, the flavors of immigrant mazurkas, polkas, and waltzes are seasoned with smoky tango and simmered in an irresistible Afro-Brazilian groove. From Heitor Villa-Lobos to Darius Milhaud to Stan Getz to Walt Disney, choro has inspired artists of all stripes and is a window into an entire musical world. Catchy and melodic – easy to appreciate – yet bursting with kaleidoscopic virtuosity that fascinates the listener, choro has been well-described as “classical music played with bare feet and callused hands.”

About Choro das 3:
A Brazilian instrumental group of three sisters and their father, Choro das 3 began to play as a band in 2002. Flutist Corina doubles on piccolo, trading lead and counterpoint roles with Elisa on bandolim (Brazilian mandolin), tenor banjo, clarinet, and accordion; Elisa also writes and performs at the piano. Lia anchors the harmony and provides the bass lines so essential to choro with the violão de sete cordas (7-string guitar). Their father, Eduardo, supplies the rhythmic heartbeat with the pandeiro (Brazilian frame drum).

Choro das 3 shares a tradition that’s over 100 years old, one that continues to attract new composers, musicians, and audiences. The group has received accolades all over Brazil and abroad for virtuosity and creative energy, and has played a significant role in the preservation, renovation, and modernization of Choro.

About West Tennessee Choro:
This concert is a collaboration between Crosstown Arts and West Tennessee Choro, a non-profit corporation based in the Memphis area created to share the popular instrumental musical styles of Brazil with music lovers of all ages through education, participation, and presentation.

Jukebox: Blueshift Ensemble, Lucky 7 Brass Band, & 926 Stax Alumni Band

You’re invited to a party at The Green Room! Explore Crosstown Arts’ new eclectic music venue with short sets by Blueshift Ensemble, Lucky 7 Brass Band, and 926 (Stax Music Academy Alumni Band). Don’t miss this night of music with soul, brass band, and contemporary classical.

Tickets: $5
Doors at 7:30 pm | performance at 8 pm

Schedule:
8:00-8:30 pm — Blueshift Ensemble (East Atrium stage)
8:30-9:15 pm 926 — Stax Music Academy Alumni Band (The Green Room)
9:15 pm — Lucky 7 Brass Band (The Green Room)

About the artists:

Blueshift Ensemble
Blueshift is a Memphis­-based contemporary chamber music ensemble dedicated to bringing artists and audiences together through artistic collaboration. By programming both new and existing classical repertoire alongside multi­-genre collaborations, Blueshift aims to connect a wider audience to today’s classical music. The ensemble draws upon Memphis’s uniquely diverse musical heritage by combining classical music with popular music genres such as rock, blues, soul, and hip hop and featuring local musicians, visual artists, and composers. The astronomical term “blueshift” indicates an object’s moving closer toward the observer. Blueshift aims to bring concert music and art out of the concert hall and into the Memphis community.

Lucky 7 Brass Band
Comprised of some of the baddest of the bad musicians in Memphis, the Lucky 7 Brass Band has formed a raw, powerful sound that must be heard to be believed. Whether soul, rock, rap, or pop, the Lucky 7 Brass Band always brings the party, so come get lucky!


926 – Stax Music Academy Alumni Band
926 are the singers and musicians who have graduated from Memphis’ world-renowned Stax Music Academy and now work as professional musicians. They have graced concert stages throughout the country and the world, including Australia, Italy, England, France, Germany, New York City’s Lincoln Center, Washington D.C.’s Kennedy Center, and Smithsonian Museum Festivals, and here at home at Levitt Shell, B.B. King’s Blues Club, Memphis in May, and other venues.

The Groove feat. Darryl Sanford & Friends

Darryl Sanford is an incredible pianist with a flare for improvisation. Using his experience in music theory and composition in the gospel world, he applies a spiritual approach to R&B, funk, and soul. He’s bringing a few friends with him to the party, so you don’t want to miss this one.

Tickets: $10
Doors 7 pm | show 7:30 pm

The Groove is a series showcasing some of the funkiest bands and musicians around. In this event, the band — rather than the lead singer or frontman — is the star. Each month will feature performances in the premier listening environment “The Green Room,” the new venue for live music at Crosstown Arts. Groove in an inviting lounge setting highlighting an array of musicians — some you may already know and some you’ll discover.

Sharde Thomas Rising Stars Fife and Drum Band at The Green Room

Join us for a performance by the Sharde Thomas Rising Stars Fife and Drum Band, featuring the granddaughter of famed fife player Otha Turner, in The Green Room at Crosstown Arts. DJ Andrew McCalla will be spinning records throughout night around the Rising Stars’ performance.

Tickets: $10
Doors at 7:30pm | Show at 8pm

About the artists:
National Endowment for the Arts Heritage Fellow recipient and famed fife player Otha Turner— who founded the Rising Star Fife and Drum Band— loved telling the story of how his granddaughter Shardé Thomas simply strode up to him one day, grabbed a cane, and began blowing into it. Within a few years, Thomas was filling in at recording sessions and performing with Rising Star at picnics.

Thomas is now an American singer and fife player in her own right within the vanishing American fife and drum blues tradition. She still makes her fifes by hand out of cane, hollowing it out with a heated metal rod—just as Turner did. Within a region overflowing with musical talent, they stand apart as authentic practitioners of one of the most unique forms of American music. She calls the band “Rising Stars” because, she says, that’s what they are.

 

Memphis Mix feat. Susan Marshall at The Green Room

Enjoy an evening of familiar hits from the Stax and Hi Records catalogues performed by a select group of the finest musicians in the city and fronted by one of Memphis’ premiere vocalists, Susan Marshall. This show is a bon voyage of sorts for this all-star group of Memphis musicians before they head overseas to perform at the Memphis in Poland festival.

Joining Susan on stage will be Marcin Arendt, Peewee Jackson, Heather Trussell, Sam Shoup, Rebecca Arendt, Harold Smith, and special guests. This performance will be recorded for broadcast on Memphis own internationally syndicated radio program, Beale Street Caravan.

Tickets: $10
Doors at 7:30 pm | Show at 8 pm

About Susan Marshall:
Memphis artist Susan Marshall began her career Off-Broadway as a leading soprano in the Rep-Company Light Opera of Manhattan. Shortly after moving back to Memphis in 1990, she began fronting rock-soul band The Mother Station and was signed to a record deal with EastWest / Atlantic Records.

“Better Off Alone” (a song she co-wrote with Austin Carroll) was recorded by American Idol’s Katherine McPhee for her 2007 self-titled debut which reached #2 on Billboard’s Top 200 Albums Chart. Her songs have also been recorded by international blues divas Ana Popovic and Reba Russell to name a few.

Susan has toured all over the world as part of the Afghan Whigs as well as with Cat Power & The Memphis Rhythm Band. She is also known for her studio and/or stage work with a wide range of superstars; Lucinda Williams, Keith Richards, Norah Jones, Lenny Kravitz, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Ann Peebles, North Mississippi Allstars, Alvin Youngblood Hart, Solomon Burke, Jim Lauderdale, Steve Earle, and Kirk Whalum to name a few.

Songwriters in the Round feat. Don Bryant, Susan Marshall, and Reba Russell

Join us for Songwriters in the Round at The Green Room at Crosstown Arts, featuring Don Bryant, Susan Marshall, and Reba Russell.

Tickets: $10
Doors at 7 pm | performance at 7:30 pm

About the artists:
Don Bryant began singing when he was 5. He joined his father’s family vocal group, then formed a gospel quartet for a high school radio gig. The group went secular, singing pop at WLOK on Dick “Cane” Cole’s popular show. After parting with the DJ, they took a very real step toward careers when, as the Four Kings, they began fronting Willie Mitchell’s band.

But the group broke up and Willie anointed Don Bryant as his leading man. Don could also write songs. He was still in his teens when, in 1960, Willie was producing the 5 Royales and Don handed him “I Got To Know.” The 5 Royales put it on wax. Don was hot in the spotlight and in the writer’s room.

As Willie Mitchell carved out his place at Hi Records, Don was close by. He wrote material for other Hi artists, including Janet & the Jays and Norman West. Around 1970, Willie put Don with the Hi label’s newest act, Ann Peebles, who burst on the scene with “Part Time Love.” Don looked at this slight young lady and penned “99 Lbs” for her. The relationship warmed, they co-wrote the hit “I Can’t Stand the Rain” in 1973 and were married the following year.

Memphis artist Susan Marshall began her career Off-Broadway as a leading soprano in the Rep-Company Light Opera of Manhattan. Shortly after moving back to Memphis in 1990, she began fronting rock-soul band The Mother Station and was signed to a record deal with EastWest / Atlantic Records.

“Better Off Alone” (a song she co-wrote with Austin Carroll) was recorded by American Idol’s Katherine McPhee for her 2007 self-titled debut which reached #2 on Billboard’s Top 200 Albums Chart. Her songs have also been recorded by international blues divas Ana Popovic and Reba Russell to name a few.

Susan has toured all over the world as part of the Afghan Whigs, as well as with Cat Power & The Memphis Rhythm Band. She is also known for her studio and/or stage work with a wide range of superstars; Lucinda Williams, Keith Richards, Norah Jones, Lenny Kravitz, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Ann Peebles, North Mississippi Allstars, Alvin Youngblood Hart, Solomon Burke, Jim Lauderdale, Steve Earle, and Kirk Whalum to name a few.

Reba Russell is a name synonymous with the Memphis Music scene. She is a published songwriter, vocalist, guitarist, backing vocalist, bandleader, and producer, as well as a touring and recording artist.

Reba Russell and her band tour throughout the United States and Europe and have released eight independent albums that showcase songwriting and delivery. She is also a highly respected Memphis studio/session vocalist.

The list of credits for recording artists that Reba has performed backing vocals in session for is vast. A few notable credits are; U2 (When Love Comes to Town, BB King/ Bono). Class of 55 Homecoming featuring: Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins. Huey Lewis and the News, album; Soulsville. Numerous local/blues/regional acts including Tracy Nelson, Jim Dickinson, Sid Selvidge, and Lucero.