Mad Romance to Perform at Gold Coast Jazz Concert in Fort Lauderdale Florida

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Mad Romance Vocal Quartet featured in December Gold Coast Jazz Concert

Singing the Great American Songbook

On Wednesday, December 14, the Gold Coast Jazz Society presents the second concert of the annual jazz concert series featuring the madcap vocal quartet, Mad Romance.  The concert begins at 7:45pm at the Amaturo Theater, located at

201 SW 5^th Ave, Fort Lauderdale, Florida

.  Single tickets are $40 and student tickets are $10 with student ID.  Tickets can be purchased through the Broward Center Box Office at 954-462-0222 or online at either www.goldcoastjazz.org or http://www.browardcenter.org/.  A pre-concert Jazz Riff jazz talk will be given by jazz radio personality Stu Grant at 7:00pm in the theater before the show. 

Mad Romance is a jazz vocal ensemble comprised of four of Miami’s renowned jazz musicians, Rick Harris, Lisanne Lyons, Wendy Pedersen, and Greg Diaz.  Accompanying the quartet will be Jim Gaisor on piano, Jamie Ousley on bass and Carlomagno Araya on drums.  With a fresh original style of their own, Mad Romance performs original arrangements in a dizzying array of styles including classic jazz, mambo, lush  ballads, cha-cha-cha, bebop, madcap swing, and a few off-the-beaten path songs from the 1960’s and ’70’s.  To add to the mix, the musicians collectively double on woodwinds, piano, guitar, trumpet and percussion. To hear a video sample go to  Www.youtube.com/watch?v=TcP2Upfulbw.

The group is led by instrumentalist, vocalist and arranger, Rick Harris.  Harris founded the original Mad Romance group in Washington DC, in 1983.  The group’s self-titled recording led them to appearances at the Blue Note in NYC and the Monterey Jazz Festival. Awarded "Best Jazz Vocalist" and "Best Duo/Group" by the Washington Area Music Association, Rick includes in his recordings “All the Things You Are” and “Echoes of Mad Romance” - both with the late Pam Bricker, and his septet, “Rick Harris and the Little Big Horns.”   

Lisanne Lyons earned her Doctorate of Musical Arts from the University of Miami Frost School of Music, where she currently teaches voice.  She is a multiple Downbeat  "Dee Bee" award winning jazz vocalist, arranger, and ensemble director.  Lyons has been featured with many big bands and pops orchestras including Woody Herman, Maynard Ferguson, XL Big Band, Roanoke Symphony, and the Palm Beach Pops. Wendy Pedersen, a graduate of the University of Miami’s studio music and jazz vocal program, is one of South Florida’s favorite performers.  Her high-energy vocal delivery, with deep, convincing emotion has been impacting audiences for many years.  Greg Diaz is one of Florida's premier vocalists and saxophonists.  In addition to working with Mad Romance and leading his own group, Greg has either toured or performed with Ben E. King, Tavares, The Temptations, Tito Puente, The Lettermen, Jon Secada, Bobby Rydell, Ira Sullivan, and many other musical artists.

For more information about the 20th Anniversary Jazz Concert Season, go to www.goldcoastjazz.org. The Gold Coast Jazz Society is a not-for-profit organization that is dedicated to the preservation and promotion of jazz music through a mainstage concert series, free community concerts, educational programs, a jazz scholarship program and the Gold Coast Jazz Society Band, under the direction of Eric Allison, Music Director. 

Funding for this organization is provided in part by the Broward County Board of County Commissioners as recommended by the Broward Cultural Council, the Annenberg Foundation and Funding Arts Broward.  Season sponsors include DeMeo Young McGrath; HI Foundation; Morgan Stanley Smith Barney; the Broward Center; the PaperMill, WLRN FM, and South Florida Consulting.

Broward Center for the Performing Arts

Amaturo Theater

201 SW 5th Ave.

Ft. Lauderdale FL 33312

Shows at 7:45pm

Pre-concert Jazz Riff with Stu Grant – 7:00pm

Tickets by season subscription or by show.

Purchase tickets at www.goldcoastjazz.org