Tessa Souter with the Jimmy Masters Trio at the Sandler Center for the Arts

The Miller Jazz Series began six years ago under the leadership of bassist Jimmy Masters. Held in the 135-seat Miller room of the Sandler Center for the Arts in Virginia Beach, the series has sold out every performance since its inception. The first few years of the series consisted of a different monthly themes, such as The Art of the Beatles, After Bebop, The Music of Burt Bacharach, The Art of the Alto Saxophone, etc. In the last 2 years, the series has expanded to adding guest artists performing with Masters, pianist John Toomey and a rotation of drummers Emre Kartari, Frank Russo and Tony Martucci. Vibraphonist Chuck Redd, vocalists Janis Siegel, Lori Williams, Giacomo Gates and Wyatt Michael (finalist on the reality TV show The Voice, NBC) have all recently appeared with the trio.

The guest artist on this particular even was New York-based Tessa Souter. Self-taught, Souter has performed in venues all over the world, including Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola, Mezzrow, Blue Note, London's Ronnie Scotts, the London and Edinburgh jazz festivals, New York's iconic 55 Bar (a 17-year gig that ended when Covid shut it down) and too many more to mention. She has appeared with Joe Locke, Lynne Arriale, Steve Kuhn, Alan Broadbent, drummer Billy Drummond (to whom she is married); the list continues. Throughout the evening, Souter spoke about the songs she performed, as well as her musical influences. As Souter has said, "I really have been very lucky." Clearly, the audience in the Miller Room felt they were the lucky ones to be present at this outstanding concert. Following are a few photos from that night.