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ULYSSES OWENS JR ~ One of the most sought-after drummers of his generation, Ulysses Owens’s artistic command of percussion at age 39 has earned him positions in some of the most successful jazz ensembles of the 21st century. Owens’s reverence for
tradition distinctly manifests in his straight-away playing style, but it is the versatility of his talent— his unique ability to manipulate texture and create penetrating musical shapes— that attracts the attention of jazz’s heavy hitters. His performance catalog includes collaborations with Nicholas Payton, Wynton Marsalis, Monty Alexander, Dianne Schurr, Renee Fleming and Mulgrew Miller, among others.
A burgeoning force in the industry, Owens has been named a Rising Star by DownBeat’s Critics Poll for five years straight. He is a recipient of the 2013 ASCAP
Plus Award, a Gold Medal winner at the 2014 Global Music Awards, and a 2015 Jazz at Lincoln Center Swing! Awards Honoree. Notable of Owens’s accomplishments are his performances on Kurt Elling’s 2010 live album Dedicated to You, and the 2012 Christian McBride Big Band album, The Good Feeling – both Grammy-nominated releases. His work with Joey Alexander, the Christian McBride Trio, and Gregory Porter have also garnering Grammy nominations for the albums My Favorite Things, Countdown, Out Here, Live at the Village Vanguard and Nat King Cole and Me.
A gifted bandleader, Owens has released five successful albums of his own: It’s
Time for U, Unanimous, Onward and Upward, Falling Forward and 2019’s Songs of Freedom, which featured the music of Abbey Lincoln, Joni Mitchell, and Nina Simone. He has also released four self-produced albums with the New Century Jazz Quintet, which he co-leads with pianist Takeshi Ohbayashi in Japan. In 2015, Owens served as Artist-inResidence at the Park Avenue Armory Conservancy where he presented Ulysses in 3. This multi-disciplinary performance piece showcased the literary masterpiece Ulysses by James Joyce, the work of celebrated choreographer Ulysses Dove and Owens’s own original compositions, weaved together through the mediums of music, dance, spoken word and visual art. That same year, Owens was commissioned by Jazz at Lincoln Center and the Museum of Modern Art to compose a work for the Museum’s Summer Garden Series. The final result was a seven-movement suite entitled Stages of Us, reflecting on the African American experience. Owens has also been making a name for himself in production circles, having accumulated over 40 producer credits in just a few short years. His C.V. also includes positions at music schools across New York City, and countless speaking engagements hosted domestically and abroad.
A strong believer in community engagement, Owens has ardently supported cultural institutions.
From 2012 to 2015, Owens served as the Jazz Vesper Series Artistic Director at the world-renowned Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem. He was also appointed Artistic Music Curator for Harlem’s legendary 4
~ HEAVY HITTER Minton’s Playhouse, producing more than 85 shows for the jazz club’s 2015 Fall season. In 2016, Owens was invited by Wynton Marsalis and Aaron Flagg of the Juilliard School’s Jazz Studies Program, Owens’s alma mater, to join the institution’s esteemed faculty as an instructor for small ensembles. Also to that end, he is artist in residence for Douglas Anderson School of the Arts, and visiting artist in residence for Lavilla School of the Arts, both in Jacksonville.
Despite his busy touring schedule, Owens remains tightly connected to his hometown of Jacksonville, Florida,
where his family founded Don’t Miss a Beat,
LISTENING PARTY FOR BITS & PIECES APRIL 1 THE WALRUS JACKSONVILLE
with GENERATION Y APRIL 13 Inc. (DMAB), a non-profit TIMUCUA ARTS organization empowering young people to dream big and FOUNDATION ORLANDO give back to their communities through a blend of musical, APRIL 14 artistic, academic, and civic SOUTH MIAMI-DADE CULTURAL ARTS engagement programming. CENTER Owens serves as DMAB CUTLER BAY Artistic Director. He is the co-creator of his online jazz drum video course, “Finding Your Beat,” and in 2021 he published The Musician’s Career Guide: Turning Your Talent into Sustained Success. His current release and big band debut, 2021’s Soul Conversations, was recorded at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Dizzy’s Club in late 2019. Owens and fellow distinguished multi-hyphenate Ebony Payne-English recently combined their talents to create the jazz/poetry album Bits & Pieces, scheduled for release on May 8. More at usojazzy.com.
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S P O T L I G H T APRIL 2 MAITLAND JAZZ & BLUES FEST MAITLAND
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Jimmy Hall
Born in Birmingham, Alabama and raised in Mobile by a musical family steeped in gospel tradition, Jimmy Hall first gained notoriety as the lead vocalist, saxophonist, and harmonica player for the band Wet Willie, which emerged from Mobile in 1970. His unique brand of R&B-infused rock and roll swagger propelled the group’s “Keep On Smilin’” to the Top 10 on the Billboard singles chart in 1974. Late ‘70s singles “Street Corner Serenade” and “Weekend” hit the Top 40. As a solo artist, Hall appeared in the Top 40 yet again with “I’m Happy That Love Has Found You” in 1980. An inductee of both the Georgia Music Hall of Fame and the Alabama Music Hall of Fame, Hall has served as vocalist and bandleader for Hank Williams, Jr. since the 1980s. In 1985, Hall was nominated for a Grammy as lead vocalist on Jeff Beck’s album Flash, and has toured with Beck as a vocalist over the years. Hall’s songs have been recorded by Gregg Allman, The Marshall Tucker Band, The Amazing Rhythm Aces, Blackberry Smoke, Johnny Russell and others. In 2021 Jimmy Hall was a special guest on the Fisk Jubilee Singers’ Celebrating Fisk!, which won the Best Roots Gospel Album Grammy. Hall is working on an album of mostly new, self-written material, coproduced by Joe Bonamassa and Josh Smith. For this event he’ll be joined by 501 Blues. More at jimmyhall.com.
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S P O T L I G H T APRIL 29 LINCOLNVILLE MUSEUM ST AUGUSTINE
Akia Uwanda
Classically trained jazz and soul vocalist Akia Uwanda is busily capturing hearts and minds with her warmth and authenticity, along with a high-powered vocal range from low alto to high soprano. She has shared the stage with jazz greats such as Gregory Porter and Kamasi Washington. Career highlights include being featured with the gospel jazz group NOIZ at an event in Parma, Italy, opening for Earth Wind & Fire along with C1 Jazz at the 2009 Black Expo Opening Concert in Jacksonville, and an an appearance at Super Bowl Live during Super Bowl 51 in Houston, Texas. A native of Jacksonville, Uwanda released her debut album Lift during her performance at the 2017 Jacksonville Jazz Festival. While absorbing the influences of several music genres – including R&B, blues, funk, soul and gospel – the album remains true to her beloved jazz on a refreshing combination of provocative originals, familiar jazz standards and classic ballads. She boasts an impressive theatrical resumé as well, having performed in stagings of The Color Purple, Dreamgirls, and the original musical drama Majigeen. Uwanda was named 2001 International Model of the Year by Black Sophisticates magazine and Linden Day Publishing, partly due to her owning a multicultural modeling and talent management agency. She also cohosts The Ndustry Show, showcasing indie talent and experts in the entertainment and beauty industries. More at akiauwanda.com.
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Billy Price
2016 Blues Music Award (BMA) winner and twotime 2020 BMA nominee APRIL 3 Billy Price first attracted EARL’S HIDEAWAY national attention during SEBASTIAN his three-year association with guitarist Roy Buchanan, who knew his band needed a vocalist to match his guitar prowess. Price is the vocalist on two of Buchanan’s LPs, That’s What I’m Here For and Live Stock. Since then, Price has recorded and released a total of 17 albums, CDs and DVDs with the Keystone Rhythm Band, the Billy Price Band and solo projects. This Time for Real, with the late Chicago soul singer Otis Clay, received a 2016 BMA for Best Soul Blues Album, and Price’s 2018 followup Reckoning, produced by renowned Norwegian guitarist and producer Christoffer “Kid” Andersen, was nominated for a 2019 BMA in the same category. Price’s next album, 2019’s Dog Eat Dog, was also produced by Andersen, and also received a BMA Best Soul Blues Album nomination. Price himself was also nominated for a 2020 BMA for Best Male Soul Blues Artist. The Billy Price Band, based in his hometown of Pittsburgh, PA, consists of Dave Dodd (drums), Tom Valentine (bass), Lenny Smith (guitar), Jim Britton (keyboards), and Eric Spaulding (sax). They won the Pittsburgh City Paper Reader’s Poll in 2021 as the most popular blues band in the city. Notably, last year also marked Price’s fiftieth(!) year as a professional singer. More at billyprice. com.
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Maria Schneider Blurring the lines between genres, Maria Schneider’s varied commissioners stretch from Jazz at Lincoln Center, to The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, to the American Dance Festival, and include collaboration with David Bowie. With her first recording, 1994’s Evanescence, Schneider began developing her personal way of writing for her 18-member collective comprised of many today finest jazz musicians, tailoring her compositions to the unique creative voices of the group. They have performed at festivals and concert halls worldwide, and she herself has received numerous commissions and guestconducting invites, working with more than 90 groups in 30+ countries. She has received numerous Jazz Journalists Association, Downbeat and JazzTimes Critics and Readers Polls awards, an honorary doctorate from her alma mater, the University of Minnesota, ASCAP’s 2014 Concert Music Award, the NEA Jazz Master designation in 2019, and election into the 2020 American Academy of Arts and Sciences. A strong voice for music advocacy in the digital age, Schneider has testified before Congress, given commentary on CNN, participated in round-tables for the U.S. Copyright Office, been quoted in numerous publications, and written white papers and articles. Her latest release, 2020’s double-CD Data Lords, was a Pulitzer Prize finalist, won two Grammys (bringing her to seven), was named Jazz Album of the Year by the Jazz Journalists Association and NPR. For this event, Schneider and Scott Flavin, the University of Miami Frost School of Music’s Henry Mancini Institute artistic director, will present an evening of music, art, and science to honor Earth Day. More at maria schneider.com.
APRIL 22 UM GUSMAN HALL CORAL GABLES
FROM A PHOTO BY BRIENE LERMITTE SCHNEIDER
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S P O T L I G H T APRIL 1 BLUE POINTE TEQUESTA
APRIL 3 HEARTWOOD SOUNDSTAGE GAINESVILLE APRIL 7 PIERCED CIDER WORKS FORT PIERCE APRIL 8 NORTHWOOD WAREHOUSE W. PALM BEACH APRIL 9 LITTLE BAR GOODLAND APRIL 10 CENTER BAR BONITA SPRINGS
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Terry Hanck Three-time Blues Music Awards winner for Best Horn, silver-haired saxophonist, singer, bandleader and songwriter Terry Hanck launched his career with a move to California from Chicago in the 1960s. There he played with the Elvin Bishop band from 1977 to 1987 before starting the Terry Hanck Band. He relocated to South Florida in 2003, and has been a constant force on the area blues scene ever since. In 2015, Hanck won the ISC Award (International Songwriting Competition) in the Blues category for his soul ballad, “I Keep On Holding On.” Hanck has led his own band for decades, with a sound at the nexus of classic New Orleans R&B, Chicago blues and soul, West Coast honk and Memphis rock and roll. His 1997 out of print debut Live & Raw was followed by 2002’s I Keep On Holdin’ On, and from then on Hanck has released a new collection every three years or so, from Night Train in 2005 to 2016’s From Roadhouse to Your House - Live! which was recorded at the California State Fair. On his latest, 2019’s I Still Get Excited, Hanck brings together his stellar band – guitarist Johnny Soubrand, drummer Butch Cousins and bassist Tim Wagar – and special guests on five originals that stand shoulderto-shoulder with some of his hand-picked favorites. It spent ten months in the Top 12 on the Classic Blues Roots Music Chart. More at terryhanck.net.
FROM A PHOTO BY BOB HAKINS
APRIL 2 BUCKINGHAM BLUES BAR FORT MYERS
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Dirty Dozen Brass Band In 1977, The Dirty Dozen Social Aid and Pleasure Club in New Orleans began showcasing a traditional Crescent City brass band. It was a joining of two proud, but antiquated, traditions at the time: social aid and pleasure clubs dated back over a century to a time when black southerners could rarely afford life insurance, and the clubs would provide proper funeral arrangements. Brass bands, early predecessors of jazz, would often follow the funeral procession playing somber dirges, then once the family of the deceased was out of earshot, burst into jubilant dance tunes as casual onlookers danced in the streets. By the late ‘70s, few of either existed. The Dirty Dozen Social Aid and Pleasure Club decided to assemble this group as a house band, and over the course of these early gigs, the seven-member ensemble adopted the venue’s name. Since that time, the group has taken the traditional foundation of brass band music and incorporated it into a blend of genres including bebop jazz, funk, R&B and soul. This unique blend, described by the band as a ‘musical gumbo,’ has allowed the Dirty Dozen to tour more than 30 countries across five continents, record 12 studio albums, and collaborate with a range of artists from Modest Mouse to Widespread Panic to Norah Jones. Now, 45 years later, the Dirty Dozen Brass Band is a worldfamous music machine whose name is synonymous with genre-bending romps and high-octane performances. More at dirtydozenbrassband.com.
APRIL 13 BROWARD CENTER FT LAUDERDALE
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S P O T L I G H T b l u e s APRIL 11 SEVILLE QUARTER PENSACOLA APRIL 23 BRICK WALL PORT ST JOE
D. Scott Riggs
Gulf Coast-based singer/ songwriter/musician D. Scott Riggs plays Panhandle roots and blues, a rich and flavorful APRIL 29 LIGHTNIN’ mixture of pre-war Delta, SALVAGE Piedmont, and country blues, GAINESVILLE with doses of jazz, gospel, hokum, cajun and jug music. APRIL 30 After becoming disillusioned BLUE TAVERN TALLAHASSEE with the music scene at the time, Riggs formed the Spearman Brewers as a vehicle to deliver the sounds of forgotten 78-RPM records he’d grown to love over the years. The Brewers evolved into an original act showcasing their homegrown spin on traditional American music, and in 2017 and 2018 the group became Regional Blues champions, representing the Blues Society of Northwest Florida in the International Blues Challenge. After six years of touring the southeast U.S., three albums, two EPs and personnel changes, Riggs started playing solo shows, getting back closer to the Blind Boy Fuller, Tampa Red, Blind Willie McTell and Big Bill Broonzy sound he longed for. After an appearance on WDVX’s Blue Plate Special in Knoxville, TN in 2020, Riggs released his first live EP, Blue Plate Special, highlighting his commitment to the progression of traditional blues. Riggs is currently recording his first full-length album, Hard Pill To Swallow, scheduled for release later this year on his label Pure Panhandle Music. Riggs honors the past by bringing it to the present with original compositions based on the enduring styles of days gone by. It’s the new old stuff, right where the bottle hits the string. More at spearman brewers.com.
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Allana Southerland While she started out on clarinet in the seventh grade, by the time Allana Southerland graduated from APRIL 8 Douglas Anderson School LINCOLNVILLE of the Arts High School MUSEUM in Jacksonville and the ST AUGUSTINE University of North Florida, she’d added piano, flute, and tenor, alto and soprano sax to her repertoire. Now performing primarily as a saxophonist, Southerland also runs a private music studio, band, and DJ service. Over her more than 20-year career, Southerland has developed a unique blend of jazz and new-soul vibe with her group The Fusion Band that be likened to that of saxophonists Kirk Whalum, Gerald Albright and Najee. The band has performed all over the country and shared the stage with the Dizzy Gillespie All-Stars, Dave Brubeck and Herbie Hancock. They have also opened for MC Hammer, Frankie Beverly and Maze, and Fantasia. Party in a Box is a new concept by The Fusion Band, blending sax, drums, and background tracks to create a full band sound. The Jacksonville native and mother of two is currently pursuing her Master of Education degree at the University of North Florida, where she earned her Bachelors degree in Music. More at partyina boxband.com. APRIL 1 LAUREN’S JACKSONVILLE
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FESTIVAL UPDATE
APRIL 1 • MAITLAND Maitland Jazz & Blues Festival APRIL 1 • JACKSONVILLE Springing The Blues Festival APRIL 15 • POMPANO BEACH Pompano Beach Jazz Festival APRIL 29 • CARROLLWOOD Jim Burge Jazz Festival MAY 20 • NEW SMYRNA BEACH New Smyrna Beach Jazz Festival MAY 26 • JACKSONVILLE Jacksonville Jazz Festival JUNE 4 • DAVIE South Florida Smooth Jazz Festival
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INFORMATION WAS CORRECT AT TIME OF POSTING Send updates to Charlie@JazzBluesFlorida.com 22