Traverse City Music: It’s the 55th Anniversary of Monterey Jazz Festival (MJF), and today, Thursday, March 21, they are here at the City Opera House to celebrate! Hailed as the longest continuously-running jazz festival in the world, the MJF tour features critically-acclaimed, Grammy-winning jazz artists including Michigan native and vocalist Dee Dee Bridgewater, bassist and musical director Christian McBride, pianist Benny Green, drummer Lewis Nash, saxophonist Chris Potter, and trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire. The Elk Rapids Zero Hour Jazz Lab Band will add a special touch, opening the night. With shows at 6:30 pm and 9:00 pm, it’s a night you won’t want to miss.
Tickets are priced at $47, $32, $15 Student/Youth. Visit CityOperaHouse.org for more information.
The Roster
Christian McBride, Grammy Award-winning bassist, has been at the forefront of jazz since he emerged as part of the talented generation of players that took the genre by storm in the early 1990s.
Dee Dee Bridgewater has won a Tony Award, the Laurence Olivier Award, two Grammy Awards, and France’s 1998 top honor –the Victoire de la Musique (Best Jazz Vocal Album).
Benny Green, pianist, combines a mastery of keyboard technique with decades of playing with the most celebrated artists of the last half-century.
Lewis Nash, drummer, is seemingly at home in a wide range of stylistic territory, and his versatility has made him one of the most in demand drummers of the past two decades.
Chris Potter, a world-class soloist, accomplished composer, formidable bandleader, and premier saxophonist, has emerged as a leading light of his generation.
Ambrose Akinmusire, trumpet player, received this praise from the Los Angeles Times: “With a chameleonic tone that can sigh, flutter or soar, Akinmusire sounds less like a rising star than one that was already at great heights and just waiting to be discovered.”
The Traverse City Opera House is located at 106 E. Front St, Traverse City, MI 49684 (231) 941-8082