WHO: The Straz Center
WHAT: Straz Jazz Project
WHERE: Straz Center Riverwalk
WHEN: April 30, May 20-21
Workshop events include:
The Jazz Rhythm Section Workshop – Saturday, April 30 at 3:30 p.m. – With an emphasis on shifting musical approaches as the music varies from style to style, this workshop delves into how to most effectively play in a jazz rhythm section. This workshop is open to all jazz musicians, with an emphasis on piano, bass drums, and guitar.
The Steel Pan Jazz Workshop – Saturday, May 21, at 1:30 p.m. – This workshop will give an overview of the basic voices in the pan orchestra, the soprano, alto, cello, and bass pans, and will share basic techniques in the playing of the steel pan. Participants will learn about the history, cultural significance and musical richness of the steel pan, the Caribbean instrumental phenomenon with roots in Trinidad and Tobago.
Concert events include:
Michael Ross Quartet, with special guest Fred Johnson – Saturday, April 30, at 7 p.m. – Bassist/composer Michael Ross has been a mainstay of the local jazz scene since the early ‘80s. With his quartet, Ross will showcase his compositional skills and mighty bass technique. Vocalist Fred Johnson will join Ross to sing some of his favorite standards, and the duo will perform some intimate bass and voice duets.
A Steel Pan Jazz – Friday, May 20, at 7:30 p.m. – Jazz with a Caribbean feel is on the bill for the final evening of the Straz Jazz Project. Miamians Karnerham and Einstein Brown, master steel pan players who also make and chart the history of the instrument, will be joined by The Fred Johnson Jazz Ensemble for this joyous fusion of two rich musical traditions.
All workshops and performances are FREE of charge. Registration is encouraged by visiting www.StrazCenter.org. Walk-ups are welcome.
This event is sponsored by TD Charitable Foundation, Cornelia T Bailey Foundation and MetLife Foundation.
For more information about the Straz Center for the Performing Arts and its upcoming events, visit www.strazcenter.org.
Events, days, dates, times, performers and prices are subject to change without notice.