While James Otis Sexton is widely known as a versatile drummer, having performed, toured, or recorded with several world renowned and Grammy-winning artists, he is least known as a composer. For this reason, “The Otis Mission” was created, and it will solely perform James’ original musical compositions.
To celebrate Women’s History Month, the jazz department at the Stax Music Academy will present a tribute to the pioneers and powerhouses that have blazed trails for women worldwide in jazz. The concert will feature SMA’s jazz vocal ensemble, Kind Of Blue, named after the iconic 1959 Miles Davis album. The vocalists will be accompanied by a band of instrumentalists from the SMA Jazz Department. This tribute includes nods to the music of Ella Fitzgerald, Nancy Wilson, Nina Simone, and even contemporary artists like Esperanza Spalding and Jamila Woods.
Morgan James is a Juilliard trained singer, actress, songwriter and recording artist in New York City. She independently released her studio albums of original soul music, entitled Memphis Magnetic, and A Very Magnetic Christmas recorded to analog tape in Memphis, Tennessee.
SpiralPhonics isn’t burdened by the long-cast shadows of guitar/sax/drum trios that have contributed to the lineage of creative music. In fact, with each twist and turn, these guys challenge your own lens of expectation.
SHEENA, a show curated and performed by Nubia Yasin, begs the question “What would make the pain of transformation desirable?” With a blend of original poetry and music, Yasin tells the story of her own transition from girlhood to womanhood against a backdrop of deep rooted shame. By walking through her own shame, she aims to allow the audience a chance to shine a light into their darkest corners, and say to what lives there “I see you. I don’t hate you.”
Amrita “Ami” Kaur Dang is a South Asian-American vocalist, sitarist, composer and producer from Baltimore. Her sound blends elements of North Indian classical, noise/ambient electronics, beat-driven psych and experimental dance pop. The work references her hybrid identity as a first-generation South Asian-American, Sikh upbringing, musical education, as well as the chaos and spirituality of the landscapes of both Baltimore and urban India.
With guitar, fiddle, button-box, banjo, harmonicas, rhythm-bones, and Willi's booming baritone, this is bonafide populist folk music in the tradition of cowboys, frontier fiddlers, and tall-tale tellers. Carlisle recognizes that the only thing holding us back from greatness is each other. With a quick wit and big sing-alongs, these folksongs bring us a step closer to breaking down our divides.
Saxophonist, multi-reedist, and composer Gregory Tardy is one of the most versatile jazz musicians of his generation, equally comfortable in a variety of musical and improvisational situations. He has recorded fourteen CDs under his own name, blending his love of traditional jazz with a more modern seeking style. His latest project, If Time Could Stand Still, was released in the fall of 2020 on WJ3 Records.
Crosstown Arts presents Xiu Xiu in The Green Room. The Green Room at Crosstown Arts Wednesday, April 12, 2023 Doors...
Larson will be joined by Matt Clohesy on electric bass and Jimmy Macbride on drums. Together, they will be celebrating the release of With Love, From New York. The music for the evening will be familiar to fans of Larson — high octane and energetic — and will offer something for jazz and jazz-adjacent fans alike. Join the trio for the last hoorah of a nearly two-year project; you won't want to miss it!
Art rockers from Chicago, NOHMADS weave layers of noir, sludge, and pop to create their unique sound, combining songs, spoken word, and visual elements to tell stories. The band's debut LP, Chartreuse, contains seven original tracks. Soaring guitars, dynamic percussion, and haunting vocal harmonies escort the listener on a ride through everyday silenced small town dramas, into murky backwoods of past lives, and along hopeful deserted dream landscapes.
Gareth Pearson is referred to as “The Welsh Tornado” which is particularly appropriate, seeing as this special talent combines fingerstyle pyrotechnics, with explosive lead runs making Pearson one of the most exciting acoustic musicians gigging today.
