Gold Coast Jazz Society 2023-2024 Concert Season

Ed Calle Big BandSaxophonist Ed Calle is known for his extraordinary ability to play bebop, Latin and contemporary jazz, and pop. Born in Caracas of Spanish parents, it was obvious from the start that he was a natural player and now, Calle can be heard on hundreds of recordings both as a sideman and soloist.

He appears on Grammy-award-winning albums by Frank Sinatra, Vicky Carr, Arturo Sandoval, and Jon Secada, as well as on numerous television and motion picture soundtracks. He also has recorded and performed around the world with such artists as Gloria Estefan, Julio Iglesias, Michael Bolton, Bob James, Bobby Caldwell, Rhianna, Extreme, and Vanessa Williams.
Among his many solo recordings, Ed Calle Plays Santana garnered a Latin Grammy Award nomination in 2005. His 2006 release In the Zone (2006) features original compositions and jazz standards and earned a Latin Grammy nomination in 2007. In 2015 he released his newest recording, Mamblue.

Besides being an internationally acclaimed jazz performer and prolific composer and arranger, Calle is in great demand as a jazz clinician and enjoys working with students. Ed has served as a guest artist and clinician with the Monk Institute and at colleges including Brigham Young University, Temple College, The University of North Florida, The University of Florida, The University of Miami, and West Palm Beach Community College.

Ed and Sari Calle live with their three children in South Florida where Ed serves as Associate Professor Senior of Music Business and Production at Miami Dade College. A member of the Miami Saxophone Quartet, a Selmer saxophone artist, and Jody Jazz mouthpieces and AMT microphones endorser, Ed Calle also owns and operates One-Take Recording Studios, leads the Fuego Caliente Latin Jazz Orchestra, and has earned a Doctor of Higher Education Leadership from Nova Southeastern University where he graduated with a perfect 4.0 average. Addressing one of America's greatest educational challenges, Dr. Calle's doctoral dissertation compares the effectiveness of online and traditional remedial mathematics education. In addition to his passion for and study of music, Ed is a lifelong student of mathematics who is frequently asked to deliver lectures exploring the relationship between music and mathematics. Dr. Calle delivered the keynote address at the MAC^3 conference in 2007.

Website: www.edcalle.com

Delfeayo MarsalisDelfeayo Marsalis is one of the top trombonists, composers and producers in jazz today. Known for his “technical excellence, inventive mind and frequent touches of humor” said Leonard Feather, Los Angeles Times. He is “one of the best, most imaginative and musical of the trombonists of his generation,” claims Philip Elwood, San Francisco Examiner. In January 2011, Delfeayo and the Marsalis family (father Ellis and brothers Branford, Wynton and Jason) earned the nation’s highest jazz honor – a National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Masters Award.

Born in New Orleans on July 28, 1965, Marsalis was destined to a life in music. “I remember my dad (Ellis Marsalis) playing piano at the house, and me laying underneath the piano as a child, listening to him play. After briefly trying bass and drums, in sixth grade I gravitated towards the trombone, which was an extension of my personality. Early on my influences and inspirations included J.J. Johnson, Curtis Fuller, Al Grey, Tyree Glenn and Tommy Dorsey.” Marsalis attended the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts high school, was classically trained at the Eastern Music Festival and Tanglewood Institute, and majored in both performance and audio production at the Berklee College of Music.

About the time that he first started playing trombone, Marsalis was already greatly interested in the recording process. “When I was in fifth or sixth grade, my brother Branford showed me how to create a feedback loop on a reel to reel machine. At that time there was a real need in the family for demo tapes. In fact I was recording Wynton when he was in high school. From the age of 17 until the present, Marsalis has produced over 100 recordings for major artists including Harry Connick, Jr, Marcus Roberts, Spike Lee, Terence Blanchard, Marcus Roberts, Adam Makowicz, Nicholas Payton, the Preservation Hall Jazz Band and the projects of Ellis, Branford and Wynton Marsalis.

In addition, Marsalis is an exceptional trombonist who toured internationally with five renowned bandleaders. “Art Blakey taught me a lot about patience and how to construct a solo. My compositions are influenced by Abdullah Ibrahim’s harmonies. Slide Hampton inspired me with the relaxation that he displays in his and with Max Roach, I learned that I had to be on top of my game every moment. During a tour with the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, he was filmed as part of the Ken Burns documentary, Jazz and he was an integral part of Marsalis Family: A Jazz Celebration, a DVD that assembled all of the musical Marsalis’ for the first time and was featured on PBS.

As a bandleader, Marsalis has earned wide acclaim for his first three albums as a leader: Pontius Pilate’s Decision (1992), Musashi (1997) and Minions Dominion (2006). His January 2011 release Sweet Thunder, his most ambitious project yet, is a modern interpretation of the Duke Ellington/Billy Strayhorn suite Such Sweet Thunder.

Marsalis has also been long involved in work as an educator. In 2004, he earned an MA in jazz performance at the University of Louisville and was conferred a doctorate by New England College in 2009. He founded the Uptown Music Theatre in 2000, and implemented its Kidstown after School in three New Orleans grammar schools in 2009. He has also composed over 80 songs that help introduce kids to jazz.

The Last Southern Gentlemen is a landmark recording for Delfeayo Marsalis, pairing father Ellis Marsalis, Jr. with son on a collaborative album for the first time. Built on the intimacy of American ballads and the trombone’s expressive mimicry of the human voice, The Last Southern Gentlemen is a firm acknowledgement of the existence and importance of these sweet, gentle sounds.

Website: www.delfeayomarsalis.com

Allan Harris QuintetAllan Harris is a world-class singer, guitarist and songwriter.  Perhaps best known for his interpretations of jazz standards, Allan’s smooth vocals and guitar-styling easily cross genres, from jazz to rock to blues. He is unquestionably one of the most versatile talents in contemporary jazz and blues music.  “Harris is a velvet-voiced jazz singer, with a savvy manner and music in his veins.” (Variety)  Very few vocalists in the industry have his charismatic combination of soulful yet elegant phrasing, exciting musicianship, and dynamic stage presence. 

Tony Bennett has called Allan "my favorite singer" and The New York Times' Stephen Holden raves about "the protean talent that is Allan Harris."  Allan has cultivated a global following, playing for packed audiences and receiving outstanding reviews throughout the United States, Europe, Russia and the Far East.  A three-time winner of the New York Nightlife Award for "Outstanding Jazz Vocalist,” Allan is regularly featured at the world’s great music festivals.  The Miami Herald wrote that Harris’ voice and demeanor “project the warmth of Tony Bennett, the bite and rhythmic sense of Sinatra, and the sly elegance of Nat ‘King' Cole.”

Growing up in Brooklyn, Harris was meant to be a musician.  His mother was a classical pianist, and his Aunt was an opera singer, who turned to the blues.  Because Aunt Theodosia attracted the attention of famed music producer Clarence Williams, he became a regular dinner guest and often brought along other performers such as Louis Armstrong.  Once Armstrong even baby-sat and terrified young Allan with his "frog like voice." Sunday afternoons were spent at the Apollo matinees, which was across the street from his Aunt Kate’s Soul Food restaurant, where he got to meet many of the artists who played the Apollo during his formative years. 

As a teenager, Harris moved to Pittsburgh where he learned from some of the masters like Harold Betters and Roger Humphries.  He worked with bands around the area and learned to play many different styles of guitar from country to soul music, and ultimately found his niche in jazz.  Early on in his career he was known as a guitar player who sang, but as audiences began hearing his voice he became more focused on singing.  While his guitar style was influenced by rock musicians of the day, his voice always was most comfortable singing the American Songbook.  Harris moved to Atlanta and then to Miami where he continued developing his voice and stage presence.  It was in Miami that he first met Tony Bennett who encouraged him to return to New York in 1991.

Since then Harris has been a featured soloist and producer of a three-year jazz series at Sotheby’s where he first teamed up with Tommy Flanagan.  He has paid tribute to Nat “King” Cole at the Kennedy Center where he recorded, Long Live the King (Love Productions Records, 2007) and continues to tour around the world.  In 2007, Mr. Harris was awarded the Chamber Music of America Residency Grant for his “Cross That River” project which toured 12 schools in Harlem.  “Cross That River,” is now a full-scale musical celebrating the Old West as told through the words and music of a black cowboy, and played to rave reviews during the 2009 New York Musical Theater Festival.
As a Gibson Guitar featured artist, Allan and Ruby (his constant 6 lb. canine companion and the first dog music critic) can frequently be found rehearsing at the Gibson Hit Factory, and along with The Allan Harris Band, enjoy playing the top music clubs in his hometown of New York City.

Website: www.allanharris.com

 

TIERNEY SUTTON
Tierney SuttonThe New York Times said that jazz vocalist, Tierney Sutton is “a serious jazz artist who takes the whole enterprise to another level.” Sutton has been a Jazzweek “Vocalist of the Year” awardee and a recipient of the LA Jazz Singer’s “Vocalist of the Year” award. A six-time Grammy nominee for “Best Vocal Album,” Sutton is often described as “a singer’s singer,” and “a musician’s singer” who uses her voice like an instrument. For over 20 years she fronted the Tierney Sutton Band, which includes pianist Christian Jacob, drummer Ray Brinker and bassists Kevin Axt and Trey Henry. Her band’s CDs have consistently topped the US jazz radio charts.

In addition to her work with her band, Sutton currently performs in a jazz trio with flautist Hubert Lewis and guitarist Larry Koonse. She is also be touring and recording with the award-winning Turtle Island Quartet over the next several years.

Sutton’s most recent CD is After Blue, a re-imagining of the legacy of Joni Mitchell. She has headlined in recent years at The Hollywood Bowl, Carnegie Hall, The Kennedy Center and Jazz at Lincoln Center. She can also be heard on film and television soundtracks including The Academy Award-nominated film “The Cooler” as well as on television commercials (BMW, Green Giant, Yoplait Yogurt, and Coke)

As a music educator, Sutton taught for over a decade at USC’s Thornton School of music and is currently the Vocal Department Head at The Los Angeles Music Academy in Pasadena, CA where she has created a new curriculum for vocalists. Her former students include vocalists Sara Gazarek, Kathleen Grace and Gretchen Parlato. Tierney’s voice can often be heard on film and television soundtracks as well as on television commercials. Learn more at the artist’s website at www.tierneysutton.com


SHELLY BERG
Shelly BergAn accomplished pianist in both classical and jazz styles, Shelly Berg is a recording artist for Concord Music Group, and a Steinway piano artist. He has arranged and recorded with many award-winning artists. In 2007, Berg was appointed as Dean of the University of Miami’s Phillip and Patricia Frost School of Music where he teaches both privately, in the Frost Experiential Music Curriculum, and administers the academic, musical and research pursuits of over 700 music students and 100 faculty. He was formerly the McCoy/Sample endowed music professor at USC Thornton School of Music where he taught for 16 years.

Berg is featured as an arranger and pianist on two Grammy and Latin Grammy Award winning Arturo Sandoval projects on the Concord label. His trio, the Shelly Berg Trio (Shelly Berg, piano; Gregg Field, drums; Chuck Bergeron, bass), recorded an all-Gershwin CD with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra with José Serebrier, Conductor. His recent Grammy Award nominations include “Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist” for his arrangement of “Out There” on the CD Tales of the Unusual (Jazzed Media) featuring vocalist Lorraine Feather in 2013. In 2014 he was again nominated for “Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s) for his arrangement of “What a Wonderful World” on Gloria Estefan: The Standards (Sony Masterworks) and as co-produced for Gloria Estefan: The Standards in the Best Traditional Pop Album category, along with Gloria Estefan and Emilio Estefan.

Shelly performs at major music festivals and venues throughout the world, is the Music Director for an annual Jazz Cruise and was recently a featured speaker at the TEDxMIA conference on Miami Beach. He is also a featured performer on several concerts for UM’s annual Festival Miami. In 2012 he performed on piano and the B-3 organ at the Hollywood Bowl for a Ray Charles Tribute concert which was produced by Gregg Field. He appears regularly for the Gold Coast Jazz Society at the Broward Center and for Larry Rosen’s JazzRoots Series at the Adrienne Arsht Center in Miami.

Website: www.shellyberg.com

diego figueiredo ken peplowski 1 credit carol loricco
Diego Figueiredo and Ken Peplowski - photo credit Carol Loricco

“Diego Figueiredo is one of the greatest guitarists I’ve seen in my whole life. The world needs to listen to his music."  George Benson

"Diego Figueiredo is one of the most amazing and exciting artists in jazz today.  His astounding virtuosity fuses Brazilian, jazz, and classical elements into a style all his own.  The audience is swept up into Diego’s joy of music!" Shelly Berg / Dean of Music - Frost School of Music at University of Miami

Houston PersonHe’s one of the best . . . He’s got bull chops!” – Dizzy Gillespie

Dubbed “the natural heir to the Boss Tenor crown worn so long and so well by Gene Ammons” (Bob Porter), global performer Houston Person knows the music business inside out, from booking his own tours to producing his own albums. As eclectic as he is talented, Person has recorded everything from disco and gospel to pop and R&B, in addition to his trademark, soulful hard bop. After years as producer and house tenor for HighNote Records and touring with the late Etta Jones, Person is now known as a master of popular songs played in a relaxed, highly accessible style reminiscent of the great Ben Webster.

Johnny Rodgers was born and raised in Miami, FL.  A graduate of the New World School of the Arts in Miami, he went on to study at Florida State, the University of Miami’s Frost School of Music and graduated from Western Michigan University.

A fortuitous meeting with Liza Minelli led to his participation on her world tours and later as a featured singer, dancer, pianist and songwriter in the Tony Award-winning Liza’s at The Palace on Broadway in 2009 and 2010. Johnny co-wrote the featured song “I Would Never Leave You” which is included on the show’s DVD release as well as the Grammy-nominated CD.

Jon Faddis

Jon Faddis is considered to be the complete and consummate musician, with the skills of conductor, composer, and educator. He had earned accolades from his close friend and mentor John Birks “Dizzy” Gillespie, who declared of Faddis, “He's the best ever, including me!” Faddis possesses an unparalleled range with a full command of his instrument. Time Out New York (2003) has praised Faddis as “the world's greatest trumpeter … brash soloistic logic and breathtaking technical acuity.” According to the The Wall Street Journal, Faddis is “a trumpet player of prodigious lyrical force”.

Karrin Allyson

"If there's a choir in heaven, someday the exquisite vocalist Karrin Allyson will lead it. She's such an otherworldly talent that the creator probably already has her on heavy rotation." The Houston Press

"Allyson coolly stakes her claim. She brings a timbre that is part ice and part grain — incisive, original, and emotionally convincing." Gary Giddons, The Village Voice

Heart, intelligence, warmth — an emotional range from bittersweet to sassy —you hear it every time you listen. Make no mistake — Karrin Allyson is singing to you.  The New York Times

Karrin lives in New York City, following a childhood in the Midwest, schooling in the Bay Area, a degree in classical piano performance and important stints in Minneapolis and Kansas City, where she began her recording career with Concord Jazz. Karrin currently spends two days out of three on tour, playing the major jazz festivals, concert venues and clubs of the U.S. and making repeated tours overseas — to Brazil, Japan, Australia and the great cities of Europe. Throughout 2014 Allyson was featured as solo vocalist in the 'Newport —Now 60' Tour which played in thirty cities across the US and Canada before concluding the 2014 Newport Festival.

diego figueiredo ken peplowski 1 credit carol loricco
Diego Figueiredo and Ken Peplowski - photo credit Carol Loricco

"Ken Peplowski is one of those fine young Americans who are currently setting so much of the pace in all that's good in jazz.” Jazz Journal International
“Ken Peplowski is arguably the greatest living jazz clarinetist” Russell Davies, BBC2

Instructions for securing your paperless tickets.

READ INSTRUCTIONS HERE

SUBSCRIPTION ORDER FORM

GCJ FALL NEWSLETTER

GCJS Email List

Join Our Email List

Special Events

A  Night  of Incredible Jazz

Free Jazz Concert

We Thank Our Sponsors