Cabaret-Style Evening Performances in New Tampa
Chuck Owen & The Jazz Surge return to the Tampa Bay area for two special performances celebrating the acclaimed big band's 30th anniversary, presented by the Tampa Jazz Club in association with the New Tampa Performing Arts Center.
The seven-time Grammy-nominated Jazz Surge has developed a national and international reputation during three decades of performances and recordings. The ensemble has appeared at New York's Birdland, major jazz gatherings and venues throughout Central Florida, while working through the years with an extensive list of guest artists that has included Chick Corea, Randy Brecker, John Abercrombie, Slide Hampton, Benny Golson, Nat Adderley and others.
These September concerts mark the Jazz Surge's first Tampa Bay appearances in nearly four years and form part of a Central Florida anniversary tour immediately preceding sessions for the band's eighth recording. The concerts will introduce new compositions and arrangements being prepared for the upcoming project while also drawing from the music that has defined the ensemble during its first three decades.
The Friday, September 25 performance features internationally recognized trumpeter Randy Brecker, whose long career has encompassed jazz, fusion, funk and contemporary music and whose association with Owen and the Jazz Surge extends back through previous performances and recording projects. Grammy-nominated vocalist Kate McGarry and Tampa Bay vocalist Allison Nash will also appear Friday evening.
The guest lineup changes substantially for Saturday, September 26, when NEA Jazz Master and three-time Grammy Award-winning drummer Terri Lyne Carrington joins the Jazz Surge along with vibraphonist Warren Wolf. McGarry and Nash return for the Saturday program as well.
The anniversary performances also spotlight the unusual continuity of the Jazz Surge itself. Owen founded the ensemble in the mid-1990s as a vehicle for his compositions and arrangements, and the group has maintained an exceptionally stable core through its recording history. Its music remains grounded in the jazz big-band tradition while incorporating influences from American roots music, contemporary classical music, rock, Latin music and other styles.
The current project is described as a 19-piece ensemble, with more than one-third of its musicians traveling from outside Florida. Violinist Sara Caswell continues to occupy a prominent role in Owen's orchestral writing, reflecting the broader instrumental palette that has distinguished many Jazz Surge projects from conventional big-band instrumentation.
Chuck Owen’s connection to Florida jazz runs deep. He spent much of his academic career at the University of South Florida in Tampa, where he served on the jazz faculty and helped develop generations of musicians, composers and arrangers. He also founded the USF Center for Jazz Composition, which became an important part of the university’s jazz program and helped bring nationally recognized artists, composers and educators into the Tampa Bay jazz community.
The Jazz Surge itself has strong Florida roots. Owen formed the ensemble in Tampa in the 1990s, drawing heavily from many of the region’s leading professional jazz musicians. Over the years, the band has remained closely connected to Florida while building a reputation far beyond the state through recordings, touring and collaborations with major guest artists.
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Tickets for both concert series are available through the Tampa Jazz Club. Tampa Jazz Club members receive an automatic ticket discount.
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The Tampa Jazz Club was incorporated as a nonprofit organization in 1995 with the objective of generating interest in preserving, understanding and performing jazz. Proceeds from its programs support the Tampa Jazz Club scholarship fund and community activities.
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