Friday Night
VIP Reception with Tony Monaco Trio and Organissimo
Tony Monaco may be the best organ player you have yet to hear of flying stealth while playing arguably some of the hottest B-3 around. Mentored by the legendary Jimmy Smith in what is considered the more classic style, Monaco does not swing, smolder or smoke. “Tony Monaco burns is this most fitting!” Critical Jazz Review 2012. Tony Monaco began his keyboard life at age eight. When he was twelve, his destiny as a jazz organist was sealed when he first heard Jimmy Smith. An enthusiastic student, Tony began working in Jazz clubs as a teenager in his native Columbus, Ohio, guided by local organ gurus Hank Marr and Don Patterson.
organissimo formed in November of 2000 with the goal of bringing jazz back to the people. organissimo’s sound is instantly identifiable yet constantly evolving, infusing elements of funk, gospel, blues, progressive rock, and Latin rhythms into a solid foundation of jazz. Shifting meters, deep grooves, melodic finesse and tight ensemble interplay are hallmarks of the organissimo sound.
Saturday
Window to the World Park – iRock Jazz Main Stage
The Lake Effect Jazz Big Band was created in 2000 by Tom Weidle, a Herald-Palladium reporter, and Vito Tenerelli, a St. Joseph band instructor, who both wanted to create an “artistic” jazz ensemble, one that would read only the most state-of-the-art arrangements, and perform strictly as “concert” jazz ensemble. Tom (since departed for sunny California) and Vito, our first music director, brought the dream to fruition in January 2001 recruiting 20 of the area’s finest jazz musicians to play within its ranks.
Annalee is a Jazz vocalist and guitarist keeping jazz alive and pulsing all around Chicagoland. Summer of 2012 Annalee started a group with four young, amazing musicians she has fallen in love with and adopted as “The Midnight Sons”. A classic yet modern take on Jazz, Blues, and R&B that resonates the soul of any audience. Annalee and The Boys are gaining ground and excited for their future as a band.
Shana Tucker is a singer-songwriter and cellist who credits her genre-bending ChamberSoul™ journey to the influences of her jazz and classical roots, interwoven with 80’s & 90’s pop music, movie soundtracks, and world music. Shana’s journey as a solo artist began in 2009, when she arrived in Durham, NC and quickly became a staple in the vibrant Triangle music scene. Touted by JazzTimes Magazine as “a jazz talent…whose imprint and vitality has already been quite visible in North Carolina,” Shana’s style and sound as been described as a mash-up of Dianne Reeves, Joni Mitchell, and Tracy Chapman, with an efficient complexity that is reminiscent of Bill Withers.
New York native Mimi Jones (aka Miriam Sullivan) is a multi talented bassist, vocalist and composer. In 2009 she released her debut CD, “A New Day”, and she is currently working on her second. Mimi has performed with or recorded with, the great Lionel Hampton, Kenny Barron, Tia Fuller and Terri Lyne Carrington. She has studied with Lisle Atkinson, Ron Carter, and Milt Hinton. Mimi toured extensively throughout Europe, the United States and has performed on five continents as a US Jazz Ambassador.
Jazz Organ Summit with Tony Monaco, Chuck Loeb & Harvey Mason
Tony Monaco began his keyboard life at age eight, on the accordion. When he was twelve, his destiny as a jazz organist was sealed when he first heard Jimmy Smith. An enthusiastic student, Tony began working in Jazz clubs as a teenager in his native Columbus, Ohio, guided by local organ gurus Hank Marr and Don Patterson. For further inspiration, he studiously absorbed the mastery of Jimmy McGriff, Richard “Groove” Holmes, Charles Earland, Jack McDuff, and Dr. Lonnie Smith.
Grammy nominated guitarist, composer, and producer, Chuck Loeb has had a musical career that spans over four decades, and he is proud to be known as a “renaissance man” in the music world. He is a #1 jazz recording artist; composer of over 250 published songs, network television show themes and scores; a producer of over thirty world-renowned recording artists; as well as an in-demand clinician and educator. With the 2013 release of “Silhouette”, his eighteenth solo CD, Loeb has attained the much sought after position as one of the most in demand artists in the world, as well as one with his own recognizable sound.
Drummer/Producer/Composer – Harvey Mason first showed his penchant for greatness, distinctive technique and innate sensitivity in the late ’60’s performing with jazz legends Duke Ellington and Erroll Garner. His recording career began in the early years of the Blue Note jazz crossover explosion and continued with groundbreaking performances and compositions with Herbie Hancock and the Headhunters. One of the world’s premier drummers, Mason has earned seven Grammy nominations including one for “Best Contemporary Jazz Performance” for the latest of six solo endeavors, “Ratamacue.”