Fort Lauderdale's Gold Coast Jazz Society’s Concert Series 2010-11

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Amaturo Theater
Broward Center for the Performing Arts
201 SW 5th Ave.
Ft. Lauderdale FL 33312

“Let the music embrace your SOUL!” That’s this year’s theme for the Gold Coast Jazz Society’s jazz concert series at the Amaturo Theater. You’ll embrace our evenings of great jazz and feel the soul of each and every musical artist.

You asked for big bands, so we’re kickin’ off the season on Wednesday, November 10 with the big band music of the Frank Derrick Big Band and Quintet. “The Beat Goes On” will feature the music of Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Buddy Rich and more! Renowned drummer, Frank Derrick, has led a multifaceted national and international musical career. A virtuoso performer, composer, and educator, Frank has performed with numerous legends and artists including Redd Foxx, Stephanie Mills, Della Reese, Freda Payne, Eubie Blake, The Platters, Eartha Kitt, The Duke Ellington Orchestra, Dorothy Donegan, The Pointer Sisters, Ken Peplowski, Dakota Staton, Steve Allen, The Louis Armstrong Legacy Band, Donna Summer, Keely Smith, Maureen McGovern, Ann Hampton Callaway, Benny Carter, and has conducted on the concert stage for John Pizzarelli and Lanie Kazan. His many theatrical credits include Bubbling Brown Sugar, The Wiz, Ain’t Misbehavin’, Sophisticated Ladies, Big River, and Catskills. Frank has toured worldwide with Cab Calloway for ten years and was drummer for “The David Letterman Show” on NBC.

On Wednesday, December 8 you’ll enjoy The Shelly Berg Quartet with Ken Peplowski, Clarinet. Shelly Berg is “a technically astounding and aggressive pianist with unstoppable energy,” says Don Williamson, JazzReview.com Originally from Cleveland, Ohio, Berg entered the Cleveland Institute of Music studying classical music at the age of six. He went on to earn Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees in piano performance from the University of Houston School of Music. Berg has mostly devoted himself to being a music educator, but has also recorded critically acclaimed albums The Nearness of You (Arbors, 2009), Blackbird (Concord, 2005) and The Will (CARS, 2000). In 2006, he arranged most of the songs on the album entitled Ray Sings, Basie Swings (Concord). Shelly Berg was previously the McCoy/Sample Professor of Jazz Studies at the USC Thornton School of Music. He is currently Dean of the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami.

Joining Shelly Berg will be jazz clarinetist, Ken Peplowski. "From my first time performing in public, I knew I wanted to play music for a living,” says Peplowski. The litany of musicians with whom Ken has collaborated reads like a who’s who of jazz… Mel Torme, Leon Redbone, Charlie Byrd, Peggy Lee, George Shearing, Madonna, Hank Jones, Dave Frishberg, Rosemary Clooney, Tom Harrell, James Moody, Cedar Walton, Houston Person, Steve Allen, Woody Allen & Erich Kunzel.

The Jeff Hamilton Trio will be featured on Wednesday, January 12. Originality is what versatile drummer Jeff Hamilton brings to the groups he performs with and is one of the reasons why he is constantly in demand. Jeff's recording, It's Hamilton Time (Lake Street Records), received enormous airplay while reaching #5 on the Gavin national jazz radio chart. His trio's second release, Jeff Hamilton Trio-LIVE! (MONS) was nominated by critics for best jazz recording in Germany in 1997. The trio's second release in 2000 on MONS was Hands On. Hamilton House-Live at Steamers. As well as recording and performing throughout the world, Jeff also teaches, arranges and composes. The Trio includes Jeff Hamilton on drums, Christoph Luty on bass and Tamir Hendleman on piano.

We’ll celebrate Valentine’s Day with jazz vocalist Jackie Ryan on February 9. Jackie will make her south Florida debut with her concert, This Heart of Mine, featuring her favorite love songs, Jazz and Latin gems from her last two #1 selling CDs. Jackie has been such a hit at London's famed Ronnie Scott's Club (where she has been a regular for eight years) that the owner, Pete King, asked Jackie to appear on Ronnie Scott's own prestigious Jazz House label. The London Evening Standard called her "one of the finest singers to perform at Ronnie's since Shirley Horn." Among the many jazz greats Jackie has sung, recorded, or toured with are: Clark Terry (at the Monterey Jazz Festival), Toots Thielemans, Barry Harris, Cyrus Chestnut, Terry Gibbs, Buddy DeFranco, Red Holloway, Eric Alexander, Jeremy Pelt, Ernie Watts, Roy McCurdy, Benny Green (at the Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival), Amina Figarova, Mike Wofford, Larry Vuckovich, Jon Mayer, and Jon Hendricks - just a few of the legends with whom she has shared the stage, and who sing her praises as well.

Back by popular demand, the exhilarating Bill Allred Classic Jazz Band will return on Wednesday, March 9 with the music of the big bands in From Basin Street to the Big Bands. Now in its 21st year, the band was born in Orlando by a group of former musicians of Walt Disney World and Rosie O’Gradys. Started essentially as a “kicks” band, they collected and played the arrangements of Matty Matlock and Billy Maxted. After performing at a few jazz festivals, they realized that there was a real market for their “little big band” type of sound. That was more than 20 years and 14 recordings ago.

Local jazz favorite Turk Mauro and our very own Eric Allison will be the featured artists on Wednesday, April 13 in Tenor Titans with members of the Gold Coast Jazz Society Band. Join these two sax titans as they perform jazz classics of Zoot Sims and Al Cohn, Sonny Stitt and Gene Ammons, and Johnny Griffin and Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis and more.

Wrapping up the season on Wednesday, May 11 will be another local favorite, jazz songstress extraordinaire Julie Davis, guitarist Kelly Dow and the Davis and Dow Jazz Band in an evening of steamin’ hot jazz - Hot House Swing. Their music has been called “Brazen excellence!” by Cadence Magazine. All About Jazz raves “Outstanding jazz voice and guitar.”

You won’t want to miss this exciting closing to our jazz season. Don’t miss a beat of fantastic toe-tappin’ jazz this season! Full Season and Jazz Sampler subscriptions are still available by calling the Gold Coast Jazz Society at 954-524-0805. Single tickets to all concerts are available through the Broward Center Box office at 954-462-0222 or online at www.browardcenter.org. Read more about the artists at http://www.goldcoastjazz.org/.