ARTS
All That
Jazz
Benefactors unveil Lakeshore’s new venue By Bridgette Redman
T
he dream of two Valley jazz supporters will open its doors this October. Bob and Gretchen Ravenscroft have built the new 30,000-square-foot performing arts venue bearing their name at 8445 E. Hartford Drive in the Scottsdale Perimeter Complex. The first resident company to perform there will be Lakeshore Music, which is moving from the Tempe Center for the Arts. The opening show, the Kenny Barron Trio, is sold out. Woody Wilson, Lakeshore’s founder and artistic director, says advance sales for the season are impressive. Out of the 1,800 available seats for the season, there are only about 500 remaining. “It’s a beautiful new building,” Wilson says. “It’s 200 seats, which is what we had at TCA, and I’m excited about it.”
Building a relationship
Lakeshore Music President Woody Wilson, left, and Ravenscroft Director David Bauer say the intimate Jazzbird will bring in the best of local music and smaller national acts. (Photo by Pablo Robles)
12 / SCOTTSDALE AIRPARK NEWS / OCTOBER 2021
Wilson says the Ravenscrofts have supported Lakeshore since he founded it in 2009 and through the pandemic. “So, when Bob said he was going to build a theater in Scottsdale and asked if we would come with him, I said, ‘Fine,’” Wilson recalls. “We’ve been at TCA for a long time and saw the ups and downs of the building. I helped pass the …continues on page 14
