2014-15 Season

After seven wonderful years at the Esther Simplot Performing Arts Academy lobby, the Boise Jazz Society is moving our subscription series concerts to the Sapphire Room at the Riverside Hotel--beautifully designed for intimate listening.  Our new venue also offers us unobstructed views with slightly more concert and table seating, an hor d'oeuvres menu, and easy access to lots of free parking.

With the announcement of our 2014-15 fabulous lineup of subscription series artists, Boise Jazz Society Membership numbers are well ahead of previous years.  Check out the artist bios and music samples then purchase your BJS membership and 4 concert subscription series by clicking TICKETS and choosing Online or Mail Purchase.

Please note that General Admission tickets are not available until the Membership Drive is completed in early October.

Want to support our BJS educational mission including the Sunday Community Jazz Symposia Series and Monday Jazz Education Residencies at Boise State? Please consider donating to our Jazz Education Contribution Campaign at one of the contribution levels below.

The Big Band ~ $1000 - 2499
        Beboppers ~ $500 – 999
            Swingers ~ $250 – 499
                Mainstreamers ~ $100 – 249
                    Hipsters ~ $50 – 99

Contribute today and get in on our drawing before each concert for one of three, reserved tables of choice.  All contributors, at any level, will be eligible to win a table seating four ticketed guests.   

Send your contribution made to the Boise Jazz Society Jazz Education Campaign at my address below.  All contributions are tax deductible as allowed by federal and state law.

Finally, help sustain world-class jazz artistry in Boise by sponsoring one of our subscription series concerts for 2014-15.  A Concert Sponsorship will associate your name or company with internationally-acclaimed artists and will help assure that the BJS continues to bring you the very best in the world of jazz today.  Contact Mike Samball to find out more about the many benefits of a Concert Sponsorship.

 2014-15 Season Subscription Artists

 
http://www.carmenlundy.com/

About Carmen Lundy

"In a world of pretenders, Carmen Lundy is a genuine Jazz Singer" - The Evening Standard

Carmen Lundy began her professional career in Miami, FL as a jazz vocalist and composer when there were very few young, gifted and aspiring jazz vocalists on the horizon. Over three decades later, Ms. Lundy is celebrated throughout the world for her vocal artistry and is highly regarded for her jazz innovation.

Having recorded more than twelve albums as a leader, Carmen's far-reaching discography also includes performances and recordings with such musicians as brother and bassist Curtis Lundy, Ray Barretto, Kenny Barron, Bruce Hornsby, Mulgrew Miller, Terri Lyne Carrington, Kip Hanrahan, Courtney Pine, Roy Hargrove, Jimmy Cobb, Ron Carter, Marian McPartland, Regina Carter, Steve Turre, Geri Allen, Robert Glasper, Patrice Rushen and the late Kenny Kirkland. Ms. Lundy's 2005 release, the hugely successful "Jazz and The New Songbook-Live at The Madrid", features some of the jazz world's best known musicians paying tribute to Ms. Lundy.

 Carmen Lundy's work as a vocalist and composer has been critically acclaimed by The New York Times, The Village Voice, The Los Angeles Times, Variety, The Washington Post, Jazz Times, Jazziz, Downbeat and Vanity Fair among many others, as well as numerous foreign publications. Says John Murph in Downbeat - "Lundy mesmerized with her languid and dynamic phrasing as she extended certain lines without melismatic melodrama." And Don Heckman of The Los Angeles Times – "Lundy's performance was the product of talent that has ripened fully. Her far-ranging, fluidly mobile voice roved through and around the melodies, and her innate sense of theatricality illuminated every layer of drama in her story-driven songs."

Grammy Winner for Best Jazz Vocal Album of 2011 - Terri Lyne Carrington's Mosaic Project - features the Carmen Lundy composition "Show Me A Sign", with Ms. Lundy's original performance from the album "Solamente" reinvented on the arrangement.

The Grammy-nominated and highly regarded 2012 release "Changes" (Afrasia Productions) is on several 'Top 10 Albums of 2012' lists, and continues to garner both critical and popular acclaim. Juan Rodriguez of The Montreal Gazette said of Carmen Lundy - "A classic jazz singer – not retro, but the real deal – with an adventurous style and imposing voice. Always a rare treat."

http://gracekellymusic.com/

Grace Kelly's Biography

"Grace Kelly plays with intelligence, wit and feeling. She has a great amount of natural ability and the ability to adapt that is the hallmark of a first-class jazz musician."  Wynton Marsalis

GRACE KELLY - "MUSIC FUSION MASTER"

When it comes to singer/ saxophonist/ composer/ lyricist/ arranger/ producer/ educator Grace Kelly, people seem to be divided into two groups: those who marvel at her proficiency, creativity and ever-accelerating growth, and those who have yet to encounter the 21-year-old wunderkind. The ranks of the former category are growing by the day. Trumpeter and Jazz at Lincoln Center Artistic Director Wynton Marsalis was so impressed with Kelly's three-night stand as guest of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra that he invited her to join the ensemble at the Kennedy Center's Eisenhower Theater in Washington, D.C. for Barack Obama's Inauguration Celebration. Harry Connick, Jr. heard Kelly in a master class on a December afternoon and brought her on stage to sit in with his band that night.

Since then, Kelly has been voted "Best Jazz Act" in Boston four consecutive years in the FNX/Phoenix Best Music Poll, and then voted Best National Jazz Act in 2012. She has received the ASCAP Foundation's Young Jazz Composers Award in 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011 and 2013 and won "Jazz Artist of the Year" at the Boston Music Awards in both 2008 and 2010. The 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013 Downbeat Critics Poll added to her the list naming her one of the "Alto Saxophone Rising Stars", the youngest artist ever to be named to the music poll.

Musical energy flows from the heart of the teenaged phenom, who was born Grace Chung on May 15, 1992. (She became Grace Kelly after her mother divorced and remarried and her stepfather, Bob Kelly, legally adopted Grace and her sister Christina.) The strong classical music background of her mother's family led Grace to begin piano lessons at age six, and she still does much of her composing at the piano as she sings wordlessly. Singing, dancing, writing songs and theater were also early passions, soon joined by a fascination with the recordings of Stan Getz and other jazz saxophonists that her parents played during Sunday brunches.

She began to study the clarinet at her elementary school in the fourth grade, and began private saxophone lessons a few months later. Further inspiration was provided by vocalist Ann Hampton Callaway, who detected "the boundless spirit and imagination of a natural artist" when she met Kelly in 2002. Another early champion, middle school music teacher Ken Berman, was so inspired by the pre-teen's playing and writing that he insisted, "you have to record." What followed was her first disc, Dreaming. "The CD release took place on March 17, 2004, when I was 12," she recalls, "and as soon as I walked on stage, I realized that performing was my favorite thing to do."

John Clayton Bio http://johnclaytonjazz.com/ 

John Clayton is a natural born multitasker. The multiple roles in which he excels -- composer, arranger, conductor, producer, educator, and yes, extraordinary bassist -- garner him a number of challenging assignments and commissions. With a Grammy on his shelf and eight additional nominations, artists such as Diana Krall, Paul McCartney, Regina Carter, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Gladys Knight, Queen Latifah, and Charles Aznavour vie for a spot on his crowded calendar.

I am very pleased that the first album of the series has been successfully released: a CD featuring duets with my son, Gerald. He was available, open to the idea, and he gave me the family discount (ya gotta love that!).  I will tell you about additional upcoming Parlor Series releases in the future, and I hope that you'll enjoy them all. Needless to say, I am not only thrilled about launching this project, I am elated that the first album in this series will feature Gerald.  I want to share these performances with you and invite you to come on board. We'll travel on this creative adventure together as I play these new duets in an intimate and spontaneous environment with some of my closest musical friends. Step into my parlor and enjoy some new music with us today!  John Clayton

About Gerald Clayton  http://geraldclayton.com/

Over the course of eight years, with three albums as a leader, several studio projects as a sideman, and countless worldwide performances, pianist and composer Gerald Clayton has established himself as a leading figure in the up-and-coming generation of jazz artists who are fluent in the range of styles that make up today's jazz lexicon. Hailed by The New York Times for his "huge, authoritative presence," Clayton is well on his way toward etching his own enduring mark in the long and rich tradition of jazz. Never has this been more apparent than in Life Forum, his latest recording on Concord Jazz and his most ambitious project to date.

In 2011, Gerald received a second Grammy nomination, this time for 'Best Jazz Instrumental Composition', for his piece "Battle Circle" featured on the Clayton Brothers recording, The New Song and Dance.

The same year, Clayton released his second album, Bond: The Paris Sessions. While the expectations may have been high in the aftermath of the acclaimed debut album, Clayton recalls the album coming together organically and with a minimum of stress. "You hear people talk about the curse of the sophomore album, but recording that album – and the whole process leading up to it – was very natural for us as a trio. We'd been touring a great deal at the time and spending a lot of time together, so going into the studio and catching that vibe was completely natural." Bond received a Grammy nomination, Gerald's third, in 2012 for 'Best Jazz Instrumental Album'.

Life Forum, set for released in 2013, "might be the most ambitious album yet," states Clayton. "Conceptualizing the music for a group of eight musicians was a new experience for me, and it required more preparation than I was accustomed to. With the addition of lyrics to three of the tunes, as well as some other post-production work, this project has been a departure from my previous two. I'm doing more writing now than I've ever done before, and working with Ben Wendel, who produced the record, was very helpful. I really admire his playing and his writing. He and I got together prior to the sessions to talk about the music and map out what I needed to do to get it recorded. In that sense, it was more demanding than the previous records.  What comes after Life Forum is anyone's guess," says Clayton.

http://delfeayomarsalis.com/

About Delfeayo Marsalis

Delfeayo Marsalis is one of the top trombonists, composers and producers in jazz today. Known for his "technical excellence, inventive mind and frequent touches of humor..." (Leonard Feather, Los Angeles Times), he is "...one of the best, most imaginative and musical of the trombonists of his generation." (Philip Elwood, San Francisco Examiner.) In January 2011, Delfeayo and the Marsalis family (father Ellis and brothers Branford, Wynton and Jason) earned the nationʼs highest jazz honor – a National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Masters Award.

 

Marsalis has also been long involved in work as an educator. In 2004, he earned an MA in jazz performance at the University of Louisville and was conferred a doctorate by New England College in 2009. He lectured in schools in 1995 on behalf of the Dallas Opera and the Bravo cable network. Marsalis served as director of the Foundation for Artistic and Musical Excellence summer program in Lawrenceville, New Jersey (1998-2002), founded the Uptown Music Theatre in 2000, and implemented its Kidstown After School in three New Orleans grammar schools in 2009. He has composed over 80 songs that help introduce kids to jazz.

 

 

http://ellismarsalis.com/

 

Ellis Marsalis Bio

 

Ellis Marsalis is regarded by many as the premier modern jazz pianist in New Orleans. Born on November 14, 1934, his formal music studies began at age eleven at the Xavier University junior school of music. After high school, Marsalis enrolled in Dillard University (New Orleans, LA) as a clarinet major. He graduated in 1955 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music Education. Marsalis spent the next year working as an assistant manager in his fathers motel business.

 

Marsalis is the recipient of Honorary Doctorate degrees from his alma mater Dillard University, New Orleans, LA (1989); Ball State University, Muncie, IN (1997); Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA (2010); Tulane University, New Orleans, LA; and The Juilliard School, New York, NY. In 2011, Marsalis and his family were awarded the highest honor in Jazz, NEA Jazz Masters, the first group award ever distributed by the National Endowment for the Arts.

 

Marsalis has appeared on NBC's Today show with host Bryant Gumbel; the Tonite show with both Johnny Carson and Jay Leno; the Arsenio Hall show with pianist Marcus Roberts; the Charlie Rose show; Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood; ABC's Good Morning America with Spencer Christian, as well as several local and regional television shows. In 1984 Marsalis and New Orleans singer/actress Joanne "Lady BJ" Creighton shared honors at the Ace Awards ceremony for the best single music program on cable television.

Marsalis continues to be active as a performing pianist leading, and occasionally touring, his own quartet. He has several recordings on the CBS-SONY label and currently releases recordings on his own recording label, ELM RECORDS, developed with his wife Dolores and son Jason.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Mike Samball
Boise Jazz Society
Department of Music
Boise State University
Boise, Idaho 83725
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Phone: (208) 426-3498