Al Downing Jazz Education Scholarship Winners Concert

From Dwayne White:

"Jazz is most certainly alive and well in the hands of a younger generation of future jazz stars.
Join us for an exciting evening of jazz featuring Al Downing Jazz Education Scholarship Winners of the past few years.

This spectacular group of musicians will be in session at the Enoch Davis Center, 1111 18th Ave. South, St. Petersburg on Wednesday, August 6, 2008 beginning at 6:30 p.m.

The Al Downing Tampa Bay Jazz Association remains committed to the cause of Jazz Education. Each year ADTBJA sponsors scholarships for high school seniors who plan to continue their study of America's Music, Jazz.

These are the students who will be playing and representing the future of jazz at its finest:

Bryan Downing, guitar Mark Feinman, drums Ray Friere, saxophone

Quinn LaHiff, saxophone Nick Lembo, drums Billy Norris, bass

John Paul, bass"

LaRue Nickelson live at WMNF Live Music Studio

Join an intimate crowd of only 30 people lucky enough to see local jazz guitarist and composer, Larue Nickelson, perform live with his band in the Mike Eisenstadt Live Music Studio at 7:30 p.m. on August 14, 2008, 2008.

LaRue Nickelson is a jazz guitarist and composer from the Tampa Bay area. He has had a varied and diverse music career with many different groups. LaRue has played in New York, Italy, South Africa, New Orleans, Indianapolis, Montreux, and California as well as staying very busy doing festivals and clubs in the Tampa, St. Petersburg, Clearwater, Orlando, and Sarasota, Florida areas. LaRue has performed with Rich Perry, Peter Erskine, Jeff Berlin, Ira Sullivan, Ingrid Jensen, Don Braden, Rufus Reid, Sheila Jordan, Hank Marr, David Leibman, Chuck Owen and the Jazz Surge, Chick Corea, Conrad Herwig, Robbie Ameen, Giovanni Hildalgo, Gary Versace, Walt Weiskopf, Frank Foster, Mike Maineri, Adam Nusbaum, Steve Davis, Marcos Cavalcante, Patrick Bettison, Eric Darius, and Mike MacArthur. He has also recorded with Chuck Owen and the Jazz Surge, The Michael Ross Quartet, Greenwich Blue, Shawn Ashby, Kristen Lomholt, Mark Gould, and Cory Christiansen.

As well as recording and performing, LaRue is also a composer with almost 40 compositions to his credit, many of which have appeared on recordings by Greenwich Blue, The Michael Ross Quartet, and his own projects. His first solo project titled Dark Water has just been released featuring his original compositions. There are also some other recording projects in the works with Tom Brantley, Jeremy Douglas, Chuck Owen's tribute to Michael Brecker, Tom Carabasi, Patrick Bettison, and a duo album with Jeremy Powell. He also has written for two Mel Bay anthologies. He is the jazz guitar instructor at the University of South Florida and currently resides in Tampa, FL with his beautiful wife, Joy, and his slightly less attractive cat, Ornette.

The LaRue Nickelson Group features, Ryan Pate on guitar, Jeremy Powell on saxophone, Joe Porter on bass, and Ian Goodman on drums. Come listen to some great jazz and interact with the band and this month's emcee, ADTBJA member Kenny Walker.

WMNF’s Live Jazz Series was started to offer a venue where the Bay Area’s finest jazz musicians could perform not only standards, but their original compositions, to a crowd who truly cares about their music,” said Carrie Core, volunteer coordinator at WMNF and originator of the series. The concerts are the second Thursday of each month at 7:30pm.


Where: WMNF 88.5 FM Community Radio is located at 1210 E. Martin Luther King Blvd.Tampa, FL.

When: 7:30 p.m. on August 14, 2008., 2008.

How Much: Tickets are $20 advance purchase and $25 day of the show. Call 813-238-8001 during business hours to reserve seats.

For more information on the WMNF Live Jazz Series, visit www.wmnf.org or call Carrie Core at 813/238-8001, ext. 134.

Billy Norris Performing for WMNF Live Jazz Series

Bass player Billy Norris left Tampa a couple years ago to entertain jazz audiences in New York City, but he hasn’t forgotten his roots in the Tampa Bay area. On Thursday, July 10 at 7:30 p.m., he returns to Tampa for the WMNF 88.5 Live Jazz Series with friends LaRue Nickelson (guitar), Alex LoRe (sax) and Michael W. Davis (drums). Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 at the door. Seating is limited in the intimate live music studio and refreshments will be available.

Norris has been playing music since childhood, starting with the guitar, then evolving to play the bass, drums and sing. These days, he concentrates on perfecting his bass playing under the guidance of legendary Harvie S at the Manhattan School of Music, where he received a full-ride scholarship to attend after two impressive stints in the Grammy Jazz Ensemble in 2005 and 2006. Drummer Michael Davis also attends the Manhattan School of Music and is in the band Minor Blues alongside Norris. He hails from the San Francisco Bay Area.

Well-known Tampa Bay area guitarist LaRue Nickelson teaches guitar at University of South Florida and has several recordings to his credit, both as a leader and sideman. The LaRue Nickelson Trio has opened for many touring jazz artists and performs regularly in the region. As a member of Chuck Owen's Resurgence group, Nickelson was a performing artist at the 2000 International Association of Jazz Educators Conference in New Orleans. He also has performed at the Clearwater Jazz Festival, the Umbria Jazz Festival in Italy and throughout South Africa as a member of the USF JAZZTET, the premier performing group of the USF Jazz Program.

Saxophonist Alex LoRe is a native of Tarpon Springs and resides in Jacksonville where he studies with legendary jazz master Bunky Green in the University of North Florida jazz studies program. LoRe has shared the stage with artists such as Benny Green, Russell Malone, Dianne Shuur and Bela Fleck and the Flecktones while playing lead alto saxophone chair in UNF’s award-winning Jazz Ensemble 1. He has performed at the Next Generation Jazz Festival, the Monterey Jazz Festival, the Jacksonville Jazz Festival, The Ravinia Festival, the North Texas Jazz Festival, The Savannah Jazz Fesitval and the Mahaffey Theatre in St Petersburg.

For more information on the WMNF Live Jazz Series contact Carrie Core, CarrieC@wmnf.org, 813.865.8261