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JOE ROTHMAN &
JOHN MCCLURE
Present
LITTLE ABOUT THE ARTISTRY
OF EACH EVENING…
Monday, February
24, 2025
 A
special evening of Bossa Nova and Swing featuring Bill Cunliffe’s newest
group, with special guest, International Saxophonist, Harry Allen.
Grammy award winning pianist, arranger & composer, Bill Cunliffe last
appeared
for us with Jackie Ryan and mentioned to Joe the idea of bringing to Sunset
Jazz his new band for an evening of Bossa Nova and Swingin’ Songbook
Standards. Bill’s affinity for Latin & Brazilian rhythms (“Bill in
Brazil”
and “Imaginacion”) together with his tribute album to Oscar Peterson,sets up
an exciting show centering on many well-known songbookstandards for the
evening. And to make this a “double-bill” event, mainstream jazz and bossa
nova saxophonist Harry Allen will join Bill’sgroup by honoring his heroes
Stan Getz, Lester Young & Scott Hamilton. Allen was described by C. Michael
Bailey as “the Frank Sinatra of the tenor
saxophone: a
master interpreter of standards” in 2008. Along with Scott
Hamilton,
Allen was also considered by British critic Dave Gelly in 2004 to
be one of
the “finest exponents of swing tenor alive today” in a review of
their
album Heavy Juice.
Tuesday, March 11, 2025
 Rickey
Woodard All-Stars featuring Tawanda, one of the hottest
vocalists
on the scene, will play favorites from the Great American Songbook.
Originally from Nashville, Rickey Woodard has performed worldwide with
such legends as
Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Benny Carter, Horace Silver
and Ray
Charles. His “sound” is distinctive and all his own. For this series, Rickey
will bring his own band to our stage, including Tawanda, a rising jazz
star and
winner of the prestigious Sarah Vaughan vocal jazz competition,
who will
lend her immaculate musicianship and a maturity that few of her
contemporaries bring to the American Songbook classics. Should you be a
fan of
blues and soul coming together to celebrate “the standards”, we
suggest
you not miss this paring of Rickey & Tawanda together with an all-star trio…
sure to be a sell-out.
Tuesday, April 8, 2025
 The
Graham Dechter Quartet with Alex Frank, Ryan Shaw and vocalist Melissa
Morgan- salute the music of George Gershwin.
Guitarist and an LA native, Graham Dechter is one of the most promising
young jazz musicians on the scene today, having performed with Wynton
Marsalis, Michael Buble’, and as a member of the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz
Orchestra, following in the footsteps of his guitar heroes- Wes Montgomery,
Barney Kessel and Herb Ellis. Alex Frank has already established himself as
a first-call bassist & arranger for film (Jersey Boys), television (Modern
Family) and records (Michael Buble’) in addition to being the musical
director and bassist for Jeff Goldblum’s the Mildred Snitzer Orchestra.
Having also founded the group- Too Marvelous For Words, a tribute to the
original Nat King Cole trio, Alex will assist Graham in presenting a rousing
tribute to the life and music of Gershwin. A devotee of Gershwin,
vocalist Melissa Morgan was a semi-finalist in the Thelonious Monk
International Jazz Competition, hosted by Billy Dee Williams and Herbie
Hancock.
Tuesday, April 22, 2025
 Adryon de
León performs “Songbirds: Ladies and The Great American Songbook” .Adryon de
León, born and raised in the tiny artist's village of Ojai, CA, cut her
teeth in a Baptist congregation. Over her formative years, musical theater
infused de León's life with the end result a unique theatrical, gritty and
soulful sound. Currently, she is a featured principal vocalist/performer for
the Disneyland Resort, has performed background vocals for Idina Menzel,
Macy Gray, Patti Austin, The Growlers and George Clinton and also lends her
voice to commercial and feature film sessions for Hulu, Netflix, Fox Studios
and more. Adryon can currently be heard on the Grammy-nominated Lady Gaga
album "Chromatica" and as a featured solo vocalist on the soundtrack for the
Netflix film Mank, composed by Trent Reznor. And, in January 2024, she
performed as a hand-picked vocalist at the Emmys Governor's Galas, for
winners and nominees alike. She returns February 23rd from a 1 month, 10
countries and 31 cities tour.
Tuesday, May 6, 2025
 We
end the Spring Season with a quartet of your favorites - John Proulx, Dave
Tull, Alex Frank and Kye Palmer singing and playing a mix of standards and
originals.
A
great evening of jazz instrumentals and vocals will be on display with this
specially designed group of artists who have each appeared at Sunset Jazz in
various settings, with little need for individual career introductions.
With Proulx and Tull taking care of piano, drums and their unique individual
vocal interpretations of original & standard vocals, bassist Alex Frank will
return to Sunset Jazz lending his stellar accompaniment & special solo
features, together with the beautifully melodic trumpet & flugelhorn playing
of Kye Palmer. Evening highlights will include tunes associated with
Chet Baker & Nat King Cole plus Tull’s original classics such as I Just Want
to Get Paid, The Airport Song and Every Day I Have the Blues. Musical
variety will be the “spice” in bringing a close to the 2025 Spring Sunset
Jazz series at Bayside.
WWW.SUNSETJAZZATNEWPORT.COM
TICKETS & INFO: (949) 759.5003
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