Friday, April 11: Blues Night

Leading off this exciting evening of blues will be Teresa James, recently nominated for “Contemporary Female Blues Artist of the Year”. James’ original style, a cross between funky New Orleans and Texas Blues displays her soul and powerful delivery. Texas-born but California-based, James and her band, The Rhythm Tramps, have been a featured act the last seven years on Delbert McClinton’s Sandy Beaches Blues Cruise. She’s an entertainer who can, and does, bring down the house. Her latest CD, The Bottom Line, features 12 new songs especially written for her by her husband and bassist, Terry Wilson.

The evening moves up to full throttle when Chicago-based blues guitarist/singer Melvin Taylor takes the stage. Considered “One of the most exhilarating blues guitarists to emerge in the past decade” by Rolling Stone Magazine, Taylor is a cross between George Benson, B.B. King and Buddy Guy. As described by The New York Times, Taylor is “A volcanic guitarist (displaying) the sort of virtuosity that drags an audience into a world of risks and chances and excitement”.

Straight-ahead jazz is the order of the night when the John Brown Quintet takes the stage. A native born North Carolinian, Brown, currently Director of Jazz Studies at Duke, tours throughout the country and the world with his Quintet and personally has played with some of the finest jazz musicians in the country including all of the Marsalis brothers, Elvin Jones and even with the Nnenna Freelon Band where he won a Grammy nomination. Brown has played the great stages of America including Carnegie Hall and The Kennedy Center but still enjoys traveling the back roads, performing in small towns across our Tar Heel state. Get ready for the best in traditional and contemporary jazz.
 

Capping off the evening and this year’s Jazz and Blues Fest will be the beautiful and talented North Carolina born Nnenna Freelon who has recently performed with the Count Basie Orchestra at the opening act of the world famous Newport Jazz Fest.

A six-time GRAMMY nominee, Nnenna participated in the Tribute to Nancy Wilson at Carnegie Hall and performed at the While House celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz.

Nnenna Freelon

Freelon most recently debuted at the legendary Apollo Theater in New York featuring her highly acclaimed tribute CD “Blueprint of a Lady – Sketches of Billie Holiday”. An international jazz star, Nnenna Freelon is one of the most memorable voices and jazz interpreters in contemporary music.