FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Three-day Jazz Festival Features Ellis Marsalis and Other Top Names
HOUSTON -- Trinity Episcopal Church announces its first annual jazz festival. From Friday to Sunday, February 1 through 3, the historic inner-city church will celebrate spirituality, diversity, and creative expression with performances by renowned musicians, a master's class, and a jazz-inspired mass.
The three-day event will kick off at 8 p.m. on Friday, February 1, with two premier tenor saxophonists. Headlining will be Ed Calle, a fiery Latin-inspired soloist from Miami. Born in Caracas of Spanish parents, Calle has worked as a soloist and sideman with a wide variety of big-name acts, ranging from Arturo Sandoval to Gloria Estefan and the Miami Sound Machine, as well as completed a number of critically acclaimed solo albums. Opening for Calle will be Carlos Garnett. Although he is best known for his important work with Freddie Hubbard, Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, and Miles Davis in the sixties and early seventies, Garnett has gained much critical attention with his 1996 comeback album Fuego en Mi Alma.
The celebration will continue on Saturday at 8 p.m. with performances by two more dynamic soloists. Headlining will be the premier modern jazz pianist Ellis Marsalis. Although he has most recently garnered a national reputation as an esteemed jazz educator, Ellis Marsalis, father of Wynton and Branford, made a name for himself in the fifties and sixties with his innovative work with Ed Blackwell, Cannonball and Nat Adderley, and Al Hirt. Opening for Marsalis will be one of the many young performers he has inspired, tenor, alto, and soprano saxophonist Elias Haslanger. Born and raised in Austin, this rising star has a hard-hitting straight-ahead bop sound that has gained respect from both young lions and seasoned veterans.
Ellis Marsalis will share his many insights with a class of aspiring jazz musicians during a master's class on Saturday, February 2, between 1:00 and 3:00 p.m. Currently serving as Director of the Jazz Studies Division at the University of New Orleans, Marsalis has devoted much of his career to training aspiring musicians and promoting cultural and artistic diversity, a mission shared by Trinity Episcopal Church and its congregation.
The connection between creative expression, diversity, and spirituality will be the central focus of a unique jazz-inspired mass which will formally conclude the three-day festival on Sunday, February 3, at 8 and 11 a.m. Music for the mass will be performed by local jazz great Paul English, who will also accompany some of the performers on Friday and Saturday night. A twenty-five year veteran of the Houston jazz scene, English has performed and recorded with Dizzy Gillespie, Arnett Cobb, Kirk Whalum, and others, as well as composed music for the Houston Symphony.
Commenting on the three-day celebration, Trinity's Rector, Reverend William B. Miller says, "Though jazz in the sacred context may be rare, it is a pairing that makes much sense Ð theologically, historically, and liturgically. Sharing some of the same roots as indigenous gospel music, this art form is rightly at home in the sacred context. Trinity seeks to become a home for the sacred arts, a place where creative expression and spirituality meet and flourish. We look forward to becoming an integral part of the cultural and spiritual awakening in our great city."
Tickets for the Friday and Saturday night concerts will be $30 ($20 with student ID). A special rate of $55 will be given for people who want to attend both concerts. The master's class on Saturday afternoon will cost $15 ($10 with student ID).
For tickets and information call 713/528-4100. Trinity Episcopal Church is located at 1015 Holman.
The FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE link features events or other items which are close at hand. If you wish to participate in any of the opportunities posted here, please contact the organizers to confirm the information. All listings are provided by outside organizations and promoters.
Please send event and cultural news items to info@houstonculture.org as soon as you are able, so we can add them to our calendar, www.houstonculture.org/events and mention them to the listeners of KTRU, Rice University Radio, 91.7fm.
Houston Institute for Culture
|
