Results for "Philadelphia"

Olivia Hughart

Olivia Hughart is a jazz saxophonist, woodwind doubler, composer, advocate, and a recent graduate of New York University, with a major in Jazz Studies and a minor in Public Policy and Management. She is a gigging and recording musician with bands in New York City, Philadelphia, and beyond. Hughart is a member of the NYChillharmonic, the Grace Fox Big Band, and the Andrew Neu Big Band, has subbed for Triad Brass, New Heights Brass Band, DIVA Jazz Orchestra, and is frequently called for off-Broadway productions. Hughart has attracted the attention of the press from various publications including Philly Magazine, NPR Live Sessions, WRTI, NYU News, Cool Jazz Radio, Shoutout LA, Voyage LA, and various podcasts. Hughart is a Presser Scholar, 2023 JEN Mary Jo Papich Women in Jazz Scholarship winner, 2020 Bruce Montgomery Foundation Springboard Grant Winner, and 2020 Pennsylvania Project Stream Grant winner. 

Remembering Saxophonist, teacher, and composer Carl Grubbs

by Matt Hooke
January 25, 2024

Saxophonist Carl Grubbs built a community around him everywhere he played, whether in 1970s Philadelphia where people gathered outside of his house to listen to his band practice, or in Baltimore where he mentored countless generations of musicians since the 1990s. Even as his health worsened over the past year, Grubbs continued to see ...

Joe Block Christmas Extravaganza at Chris’ Jazz Café

by Victor L. Schermer
December 25, 2023

Joe Block Christmas Extravaganza Chris' Jazz Café Philadelphia, PA December 17, 2023 Pianist Joe Block is a remarkable pianist and band leader born and bred in Philadelphia and its suburbs. He is a graduate of both Juilliard and Columbia, was mentored by legendary pianists like Tom Lawton ...

Mark Daniel Ettingoff

Early on music became an obsession for Mark soon after he heard Nirvana's Smells Like Teen Spirit on his friend's parents' stereo system around age 10 (similar to many jazz boomers that talk about their formative experiences with The Beatles).  The mercurial guitar dripping in chorus and the pounding syncopated drums hit him instantly like an injection.  Transfixed, he scoured the local Wall-To-Wall sound for another dose of this cathartic magic.  He neglected to read the fine print on the album cover and ultimately purchased Weird Al's "Off The Deep End", which iconically contained a parody of the song and album cover.  Mark listened to the record in error for about a year suspiciously until he found Nevermind, the original 'holy grail' if you will.  This event marked his initiation into a lifetime of these sorts of dumb luck encounters.

Mary Ellen Desmond: Comfort and Joy 2023

by Victor L. Schermer
December 16, 2023

Mary Ellen Desmond and Friends Church of St. Luke and the Epiphany Philadelphia, PA December 10, 2023 This was the twentieth consecutive year that Mary Ellen Desmond has led her “Comfort and Joy" holiday concert in the sanctuary of Philadelphia's Church of St. Luke and the Epiphany. The ...

Michelle Lordi: Only Love Can Break Your Heart

by John Chacona
October 16, 2023

"Only Love Can Break Your Heart," a minor 1970 Neil Young hit, was ostensibly written for Graham Nash after the latter's split from Joni Mitchell (a claim Young later walked back), a breakup song then. It's a lilting waltz with a simple melody more sweet than sad. Cycling eight-bar verse and chorus sections without a bridge ...

Bobby Zankel: The Inside Story of 'A Change of Destiny'

by Victor L. Schermer
September 21, 2023

Saxophonist, bandleader, composer and arranger Bobby Zankel has been making jazz in many ways with diverse cohorts for over a half-century. He has found his own way to create music that is both advanced and very listenable at the same time. He is loved and revered by the many musicians who have performed with him and ...

Jazz Vocalist Mharlyn Merritt Pays Tribute To Forgotten Jazz Diva With New Album

September 20, 2023

Jazz vocalist Mharlyn Merritt is excited to announce the September 9, 2023 indie digital release of her new classic jazz/pop LP, in homage to pre-eminent vocalist Dakota Staton, entitled: I Owe It to Dakota, available on all major streaming platforms including Spotify, Amazon Music, iTunes and iHeart Radio. Dakota Staton made an indelible mark on the ...

Miguel Zenon and Luis Perdomo at Solar Myth

by Victor L. Schermer
August 28, 2023

Miguel Zenon and Luis Perdomo Ars Nova Workshop Solar Myth Philadelphia, PA August 23, 2023 This magnificent performance, by two of the finest Latin-based jazz musicians around today, blew the lid off a “myth" about a seemingly funky-grungy club called Solar Myth. The club's exotic name ...

Maci Miller: Nine

by Richard J Salvucci
August 18, 2023

Philadelphia-based singer Maci Miller gives her audience a variety of looks, all of them good. On first hearing, Blossom Dearie, but then, Blossom Dearie was Blossom Dearie. No one ever sounded quite like her. Then again, there is some mid 1960s Nancy Wilson, hushed, clipped, all business. On reflecting that Dearie and Wilson an odd combination ...