Opera House hosts new Jazz, Blues & Tango series

A new concert series debuts at the Traverse City Opera House this Friday, and the name says it all: It’s the Fifth Third Jazz, Blues & Tango! Series.
The mini-series of three shows is a collaboration of the Opera House, the Northwest Michigan Jazz Experience, Inc., and Fifth Third Bank, which has provided a foundation grant. The April/May theme is a “celebration of diversity” using a selection of music from a legacy of Argentine tango music, blues women of the 20th century and classics from the jazz canon by Miles, Mingus & Monk.
Upcoming shows include the following:

Friday, April 15, 8 p.m.
Tango music of Astor Piazzolla with Peter Soave and The Phoenix Ensemble

An evening of tango by Argentine master Astor Piazzolla. Piazzolla’s music, both exciting and sensual, will be performed by internationally acclaimed bandoneon virtuoso Peter Soave with The Phoenix Ensemble, featuring violinist Gabe Bolkosky, cellist Derek Snyder, guitarist Ryan Mackstellar, flutist Saeran St. Christopher, pianist Tad Weed, bassist Andrew Kratzat and Alex Trajano on drums & percussion. The performers have entertained audiences worldwide with their interpretations of Piazzolla’s cool, engaging melodies, inspiring the audience to dance the night away (or at least learn a few new steps if you come an hour early).

Friday, May 6, 8 p.m.
Blues Women of the 20th Century
Straight Ahead with guest vocalist Kymberli Wright

From Washington’s Kennedy Center and the Big Apple’s Blue Note, to the Kansas City Blues Festival and the Montreaux-Switzerland Jazz Festival, Straight Ahead performances are memorable musical experiences. The Grammy-nominated group will honor blues women of the 20th century including Bessie Smith, Billie Holiday and Aretha Franklin. The Kansas City Star wrote, “This dynamic, tight band stole the show at the Kansas City Blues and Jazz Festival.”

Friday, May 27, 8 p.m.
The Music of Miles, Mingus & Monk
Jeff Haas Quintet with Marcus Belgrave & George Benson

Perennial favorites Jeff Haas & Friends offer a wonderful musical landscape for headliners Marcus Belgrave and George Benson to present arrangements of jazz classics by Miles Davis, Charles Mingus & Thelonious Monk. The legendary careers of Belgrave (trumpet) and Benson (saxophone) read like a who’s who of jazz. Bassist Marion Hayden and drummer Alex Trajano join Haas in keeping the energy of an all-star group under control.

Tickets for Fifth Third Jazz, Blues & Tango! are $50 for the three-concert series or $20 per concert (general admission); subscribers enjoy reserved seating. Ticket outlets include Horizon Books, Borders Books & Music, Oryana Food Co-op, the Downtown Traverse City Assn (DTCA at Hardy Parking Deck across from the Park Place Hotel), and the TC Convention & Visitors Bureau.


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