Paul Broadnax Quartet featuring Fred Haas

Groovin’

with  Fred Haas (saxophone), Peter Kontrimas (bass), Les Harris (drums)

Paul Broadnax is now in his seventh decade as a performer, and the renowned pianist/vocalist has not missed a beat. Twice nominated for the Boston Music Awards Jazz Singer of the Year, in 2003 Broadnax was voted Musician of the Year by the Boston Musicians’ Association. A disciple of the American Songbook, the baritone crooner counts Nat King Cole and Joe Williams among the artists who have most influenced his sound. Broadnax, 82, has performed with notables such as Williams, Clark Terry, Milt Hinton and Dorothy Donegan, Alan Dawson, Lionel Hampton, Cab Calloway, Jimmy Witherspoon, Diane Carrol, Donna Byrne and Rebecca Parris. Broadnax and his band performed to a full house to open Highland Jazz’s 2004-05 season. Their long-awaited return to the HJ stage is sure to be another hit.

Saturday, September 13, 8:00 p.m. Newton South High School

Sheila Jordan and Steve Kuhn

Seems Like Old Times

Join Highland Jazz as we celebrate the 80th birthday of award winning vocalist Sheila Jordan, who teams with longtime accompanist Steve Kuhn for a special night of music and memories.  Jordan, who honed her bebop phrasing and playful scatting in the clubs of Detroit and New York, has been hailed as one of jazz’s most consistently creative singers. Starting with her 1962 debut Blue Note recording “Portrait of Sheila,” the incomparable Jordan has influenced many artists in the jazz vocal genre. In honor of her lifetime of service to jazz, in May Jordan received the Mary Lou Williams Women in Jazz Award at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. Her HJ performance comes on the heels of an international tour that includes stops in Germany, the Netherlands, Italy and Portugal.

 

A graduate of Newton South High School, Steve Kuhn has brought his unique style and elegant sound to the jazz scene for more than 50 years. The original pianist in John Coltrane’s Quartet, the Brooklyn-born Kuhn played with luminaries including Stan Getz and Art Farmer before co-leading a group with Sheila Jordan in the 1970s. In the mid-80's, Kuhn co-founded the popular All Star Trio with bassist Ron Carter and drummer Al Foster. The trio’s 1986 gig at the Village Vanguard produced two live recordings, “The Vanguard Date” and “Life’s Magic.” The trio reunited 20 years later at Birdland to produce the acclaimed “Live at Birdland,” which was released on Blue Note Records in 2007.

Saturday, November 1, 8:00 p.m. Newton South High School

George W. Russell Jr. and Friends
with Wannetta Jackson

Soul Train

with  Sean Skeete (drums) and Wesley Wirth (bass)

Celebrate the joyous marriage of gospel and jazz with pianist George W. Russell, Jr. and his ensemble. Their high-energy performance will raise your spirits and touch your soul. Russell's music and harmonic approach to improvisation have inspired jazz enthusiasts around the world. The Inspirational Jazz pianist has shared the stage with a number of legendary jazz artists including Bob Moses, Billy Pierce, Stan Strickland, Stanley Clarke, Lenny White, Semenya McCord, and Andy McGhee. On his 2006 self-titled CD, Russell is joined by smooth jazz saxophonist Walter Beasley for two unforgettable ballads. The pianist has performed at Jordan Hall’s Gospel Jubilee and the John Coltrane Memorial Concert at Northeastern University. Among his  accomplishments, Russell competed as a finalist in the Martial Solal International Jazz Piano Competition in Paris, France. In 2001, he received the Gospel Music Award from the New England Conservatory of Music for his contribution to gospel music in New England. Russell performs regularly with accomplished drummer Sean Skeete and bassist Wesley Wirth, and the trio has performed to sold-out shows at Sculler’s Jazz Club and the Regatta Bar in Boston and Cambridge.

Saturday, March 28, 2009, 8:00 p.m. Newton South High School 

Mark Harvey & The Aardvark Jazz Orchestra

A Salute to the Duke

Hailed by JazzTimes for its “lush sonorities and a saxophonic blend worthy of Duke’s finest reed sections,” The Aardvark Jazz Orchestra will celebrate Ellington’s 110th birthday (April 29,1899) with classics and rarities by the Maestro, along with Ellington-inspired works by Mark Harvey and others. Now in its 36th season, The Aardvark Jazz Orchestra is a 17-member jazz ensemble known for its exhilarating concerts spanning the jazz and American music spectrum, from the music of Ellington and other jazz greats to original works by founder/music director Mark Harvey. Winner of the 2000 Independent Music Awards, the band has premiered more than 100 works for jazz orchestra and has released 10 CDs to international critical acclaim. The latest disc, American Agonistes: Music in Time of War (Leo Records), contains some of the band's most evocative work to date (“a stunning hour of music that is in turn beautiful, poignant and raucous” — Billboard.com).

Saturday, April 25, 2009, 8:00 p.m. Newton South High School 

Celebrating Our 26th Year of Great Music

2008-2009 Season