WORLD-WIDE ACCLAIMED
JAZZ ARTISTS ARE COMING
TO FORT MYERS!
 |
Series Subscriptions and
Single Show Tickets
Now Available!
Sidney & Berne Davis
Art Center's
Grand Atrium
2301 First Street
Fort Myers, FL 33901
Friday, January 10, 2025
6:30pm Cocktails | 7:30pm Concert
Jumaane has spent the last 18 years touring and recording with Michael Bublé as lead trumpeter and vocalist and featured soloist, was a member of Harry Connick Jr.’s house band for the syndicated daytime TV show “Harry,” and the featured guest soloist for Jackie Evancho’s, “Songs of the Silver Screen” world tour backed by a 60-piece symphony orchestra.
Jumaane has toured with his own band to such world-class venues as Jazz At Lincoln Center, Vail Jazz Festival, Java Jazz Festival, Birdland Jazz Club, North Star Festival, Joe’s Pub, Rochester International Jazz Festival, Catalina Island Jazz Festival, and many more. His critically-acclaimed debut album, “I Only Have Eyes For You,” features special guests Michael Bublé, Jackie Evancho, and Naturally 7. His sophomore album, “When You’re Smiling,” was released to much praise in January 2020. His most recent album, Come On Home, was released by Zinn Music in August 2024.
As a composer, Smith has scored music for films such as “Handsome Harry” (starring Steve Buscemi and Jamey Sheridan) and the documentary “Being in the World,” as well as for his own recordings and the interactive sheet music company Tomplay. Smith has worked with musical legends such as Quincy Jones, Herbie Hancock, Aretha Franklin, Christian McBride, Barbra Streisand, Alicia Keys, Kamasi Washington, Jon Batiste, Theo Croker, Etienne Charles, and many more. As a full scholarship recipient at the Juilliard School of Music’s Jazz Studies program (2001-2005), Wynton Marsalis was Smith’s primary trumpet teacher.
Series Subscriptions / Single Show Tickets
Friday, January 24, 2025
6:30pm Cocktails | 7:30pm Concert
Ekep Nkwelle, a 24-year-old Cameroonian-American jazz vocalist, has carved her musical path from the vibrant streets of Washington, DC, to the heart of New York City’s jazz scene. Her journey through the esteemed Duke Ellington School of the Arts, Howard University, and The Juilliard School has been extraordinary. The power of her voice has resonated with jazz luminaries such as Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, Russell Malone, Cyrus Chestnut, and Peter Washington, along with young stars like Emmet Cohen and Endea Owens, leading to countless collaborations. Her performances have graced iconic, internationally renowned venues, from the illustrious Radio City Music Hall, where she shared the stage with classical virtuoso Lang Lang in collaboration with Disney, to The Library of Congress, Marian’s Jazzroom, The Kennedy Center, and the Lincoln Center. Her presence has also illuminated major festivals, including Newport, Montclair, Hudson, and DC jazz festivals.
Friday, February 14, 2025
6:30pm Cocktails | 7:30pm Concert
“Love is in the Air”
Nicole Zuraitis is a GRAMMY® winning and 2X GRAMMY® -nominated jazz singer-songwriter, pianist and arranger, New York-based bandleader and winner of the prestigious 2021 American Traditions Vocal Competition Gold Medal. With a “heart as big as her remarkable voice,” (Jazz Police), Nicole has positioned herself as one of the top artists and “prolific songwriters” (Broadway World) to watch in jazz and beyond. As a recording artist, Nicole has released five albums as leader, and her sixth album, How Love Begins, co-produced with eight-time GRAMMY® -winner Christian McBride, won BEST JAZZ VOCAL ALBUM at the 2024 GRAMMY® awards and features all original music.
Friday, March 21, 2025
6:30pm Cocktails | 7:30pm Concert
and Friends
Born in Boston, Massachusetts, Danny Sinoff began private classical piano lessons at the young age of four years old. When he was eleven, he moved with his family to Naples, FL, and continued his classical studies, going on to win local and regional piano competitions and later getting his first gig at the age of 13. After spending some time at Boston’s Berklee College of Music in 2000, Danny returned to Southwest Florida and began gigging full time in the region, most notably leading a group with the late great trumpeter Dan Miller (Harry Connick Jr., Wynton Marsalis, Tom Jones and Woody Herman) at Ellington’s Jazz Club on Sanibel Island and fully establishing himself as a singer, pianist and strong trio and quartet leader in the SWFL jazz scene.
Danny has performed and recorded with David “Fathead” Newman (Ray Charles), The Brubeck Brothers, Jimmy McGriff, Russell Hall, Kyle Poole, Sweet Georgia Brown, Martina DaSilva, Deborah Bowman, Russell Malone, Paul Bollenback, Joe Farnsworth, Herlin Riley, Akiko Tsuruga, Joe Magnarelli, Hubert Laws, Harry Connick Jr., bassists Ben Wolfe, Neal Caine and tenor saxophonist Jerry Weldon. Danny has also shared the stage many a night with the great tenor saxophonist Lew Del Gatto, a 30-year veteran of NBC’s Saturday Night Live band, along with being a studio recording artist for Johnny Winter!
Single Show Tickets
Friday, April 18, 2025
6:30pm Cocktails | 7:30pm Concert
New Jazz Underground is a trio composed of three Juilliard School Alumni in Jazz at Lincoln Center’s inner circle of young artists who have worked closely with jazz masters ranging from Wynton Marsalis, Victor Lewis and ELEW. The trio featuring Abdias Armenteros - saxophone, Sebastian Rios - bass, and TJ Reddick - drums, met while they were students at the prestigious Juilliard School. However, it wasn’t until the Summer of 2020 when they started playing as a group regularly. Forced out of live music venues during the pandemic lockdown the group would meet on a weekly basis in the parks and streets of NYC to perform. Still without a live audience, in January of 2021 the band started their YouTube channel and have since built a worldwide audience with over four and half million views and 101k+ subscribers as of January 2025 through their viral video performances. The band’s artistic ethos is steeped in veneration of the rich lineage of jazz while demonstrating an acute awareness and presence in contemporary postmodernist sensibilities. Their online output reflects this characteristic balance, performing music created in solemn focus on swing, the blues, and improvisation, yet their approach in the modern art and media landscape comes with a measured irony.
Single Show Tickets
Series generously underwritten by Alexandra Bremner
in loving memory of Eunice Bremner.
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VENUE SEASON SCHEDULE
The Sidney & Berne Davis Art Center, run by Florida Arts, Inc. (a 501c3 organization), is a must-see attraction in downtown Fort Myers with a colorful history. The center is dedicated to bringing world-class art events to the Southwest Florida community. Within our restored, state-of-the-art facility, we present a wide range of events to the public. From concerts to art exhibitions, galas to lectures, and providing educational arts experiences for children and adults alike– we promise excellence! Interim CEO & President: Devon Morreale Parker
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