Jazz in February
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Sunday, FEBRURARY 10, 2008 5:00 PM JAZZ CELEBRATIONS Proudly Presents: The JON MAYER TRIO Featuring: JON MAYER – Piano ROY MC CURDY - Drums DAVE CARPENTER - Bass Jon Mayer has been a significant part of the jazz scene since the fifties. He has played with many of the jazz legends, including John Coltrane, Jackie Mclean, Chet Baker, Kenny Dorham, Pete LaRoca, Bud Powell, and Ray Draper. He was a prominent figure in the 60’s hard bop scene. His passion for the piano has also shown in his performances with The Manhattan Transfer, Les McCann’s Magic Band, Dionne Warwick, Bonnie Rait, and Sarah Vaughan. After being out of the jazz scene for many years, Jon has returned with a new passion and fervor for his music. His trio, with bassist Ron Carter and drummer Billy Higgins, has received high accolades for their 1995 album Round Up The Usual Suspects. Mayer says, “I can’t tell you in words what it was in that record that excited me, but I knew then that the race was on.” The Los Angeles Times said that the pianist “proved himself to be a musician of considerable technical abilities with a mature, engaging improvisational sense and an extreme sensitivity to the music going on around him.” By 1991, Mayer settled in Los Angeles and seriously pursued his career in the jazz world with a fine piano trio session with bassist Ron Carter and drummer Billy Higgins; the release of “Do It Like This” (A-Records). March 2002 saw the release of Mayer’s ‘Full Circle’; ‘The Classics’ (Reservoir) was released in 2004 and ‘Strictly Confidential’ (Fresh Sound) was released March 2005. `My Romance (Reservoir) was released in 2006. Mayer’s philosophy toward playing - and his playing itself - is deceptively simple. "I’m trying to convey the emotional range and feeling that I perceive in the people I admired when I started, many of the very best jazz pianists: Bud Powell, Bill Evans, Red Garland, Wynton Kelly, Carl Perkins, and Horace Silver. Mayer says he’s having the time of his life. "What’s great for me is finding new depths. I feel like the new kid on the block and I have that kind of energy on the bandstand. It’s exciting to feel that I’m only now beginning to grow and explore my potential.” Please mark your calendars for future performance at 5:00 PM Putter Smith / Gary Foster – March 9, 2008 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- JAZZ CELEBRATIONS FIRST LUTHERAN CHURCH -- 1300 East Colorado St., Glendale, CA. (Between Verdugo and Chevy Chase -- PLENTY OF FREE PARKING) (818) 240-9000 or (323) 245-4000 www.first-lutheran-church.com -- email jazzcelebrations@sbcglobal.net Free will offering will be taken |
