FORT LAUDERDALE, FL – Jazzy Broadway tunes, big band music, piano jazz, Be-bop and more. These are just a few of the themes of this year’s Jazz Concert Series presented by the Gold Coast Jazz Society. Celebrating over 23 years of presenting jazz in the community, the Gold Coast Jazz Society is providing yet another season of nationally renowned jazz talent in the annual classic jazz concert series presented at the Amaturo Theater at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts.
The 2014-2015 jazz series includes seven concerts featuring international jazz stars as well as outstanding regional and local jazz talent. All concerts begin at 7:45pm and most concert offer pre-show entertainment or jazz and wine lecture. All concerts will occur at the intimate Amaturo Theater at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts, 201 SW 5th Avenue in Fort Lauderdale. Full season subscriptions are available for $245 per person and Jazz Trio subscriptions (3 concerts of your choice) are available for $110 per person by calling the Gold Coast Jazz Society at 954-524-0805. Single tickets for each concert are available at the Broward Center’s AutoNation Box Office at 954-462-0222 or online at www.browardcenter.org or www.goldcoastjazz.org. Student and teacher tickets are $10 with valid ID.
Opening the Gold Coast Jazz Society’s season on November 12, will be the Bill Allred Classic Jazz Band with Jazz Comes Up the River…From Bourbon Street to the Big Bands. This fiery jazz ensemble, under the direction of veteran jazz musician, Bill Allred, will wow you with a night ranging from New Orleans classics to big band favorites.
On Dec. 10, the nationally acclaimed jazz pianist, Bill Charlap and his Trio come to town. One of the world’s premier jazz pianists, Charlap has performed and recorded with many leading artists of our time, ranging from jazz masters Phil Woods and Wynton Marsalis to singers Tony Bennett and Barbara Streisand. Since 1997, he has led the Bill Charlap Trio with bassists Peter Washington and drummer Kenny Washington, now recognized as one of the leading group in jazz.
Jazz vocalist Janis Siegel and the Shelly Berg Trio will treat listeners to an evening of jazzy Broadway favorites in Jazz Meets Broadway on January 14. Siegel is a founding member of the 9-time Grammy Award winning group, The Manhattan Transfer. Joining Siegel will be the stellar jazz pianist Shelly Berg and his trio of Chuck Bergeron on bass and John Yarling on drums. Berg is also a Grammy nominated jazz artist and Dean of the University of Miami Frost School of Music.
On February 13, one of the most prominent and renowned musicians of our time, Arturo Sandoval, will join forces with the South Florida Jazz Orchestra for An Evening with Arturo Sandoval. Sandoval’s virtuosic technical ability and his brilliant multi-faceted style will amaze you. This nine-time Grammy winner was the 2013 recipient of Presidential Medal of Freedom. His electrifying performances have included performing with Celine Dion at the Oscars, with Alicia Keys at the Billboard Music Awards and with Justin Timberlake at the GRAMMY® Awards. The musicians of the South Florida Jazz Orchestra are some of the most experienced professionals in the country, having performed and toured with many of the greatest artists in Jazz and Popular music. These musicians’ careers include tenure with the Big Bands of Woody Herman, Buddy Rich, and Maynard Ferguson, and artists from Stan Getz, Dave Grusin, and James Moody to Frank Sinatra, Paul Anka, and Joe Williams.
The New Orleans Mardi Gras party is coming back to town on March 13 with jazz pianist and vocalist Michael Kaeshammer. This young vibrant Canadian import is a veritable “triple-threat,” blessed with piano virtuosity, vocal ability, and charisma. “Kaeshammer has piano technique to burn, and has an acrobatic way with a grand piano,” says John Terauds of the Toronto Star. He continues to surprise audiences and inspire awe with his elaborate arrangements and improvisations. A true showman, his high octane performance and masterful abilities have earned him international acclaim.
April 8 marks the return of the B3 jazz organ legend, Dr. Lonnie Smith. A local jazz fixture in Fort Lauderdale in his early days, Smith is an unparalleled musician, composer, performer and recording artist. For over five decades he has mastered the Hammond B-3 organ and has been featured on over seventy albums. He has also recorded and performed with a virtual “Who’s Who” of the jazz world. His “A” list trio includes Jonathan Kreisberg and Johnathan Blake.
Wrapping up the season on May 13 is a concert featuring jazz pianist Mike Longo and members of the Gold Coast Jazz Society Band in Bebop and Beyond. Longo was discovered in Fort Lauderdale by Cannonball Adderley. He went on to study and record with Oscar Peterson and was Dizzy Gillespie’s arranger for twenty-two years. Guitarist and Gold Coast Jazz Society Music Director, Martin Hand will lead the band for this concert.
For more information about the 2014-2015 Jazz Concert Series, go to www.goldcoastjazz.org. The Gold Coast Jazz Society is a not-for-profit organization that is dedicated to the preservation and promotion of jazz music through a mainstage concert series, free community concerts, educational programs, a jazz scholarship program and musical services provided by the Gold Coast Jazz Society Band.
