Clifford Brown Year Round
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"If you have to ask what jazz is, you'll never know." So said Louis Armstrong, commenting on the beguiling, enigmatic, and wholly American genre known as jazz music. Now you can be in the know all year long with The Grand's Clifford Brown Year Round series presented in partnership with the City of Wilmington and Christina Cultural Arts Center.
A Charlie Brown Jazz Christmas featuring the Eric Mintel Quartet with special guests The JazzChords of Calloway
Sunday, December 11 at 1PM and 4PM
live @ the baby grand
$19 for children, $24 for adults
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The annual broadcast of A Charlie Brown Christmas signals the start of the holiday season for many families, and one of the special aspects of the show is the sweet and lilting jazz melodies of composer Vince Guaraldi. Now imagine being able to hear that music performed live! The acclaimed Eric Mintel Jazz Quartet, a hit at The Grand last year, returns, this time joined by The JazzChords of Calloway to bring all those familiar tunes – “Christmas Time Is Here,” “Skating” and “Hark The Herald Angels Sing” – to the stage of the baby grand. The talented children’s chorus will also enact select scenes from the popular TV special. Quickly becoming a holiday tradition at The Grand!
This year’s performance of A Charlie Brown Christmas is notable for the addition The JazzChords of Calloway, the premier jazz choir of the Cab Calloway School of the Arts. The group was established in 1997 when Bob McGrath (of Sesame Street fame) appeared at The Grand Opera House and needed a jazz choir to back him onstage. Since then, the JazzChords have performed throughout Delaware, at the Hard Rock Cafe in NYC, the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, Rays Starlight Cafe in Disney World (Orlando), the Convention Center in Philadelphia and onboard the Norwegian Dawn cruise ship.
Champian Fulton Quartet
Saturday, February 25 at 8PM
live @ the baby grand
$26
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A star of the City of Wilmington’s 2010 DuPont Clifford Brown Jazz Festival, and a hit when she performed at the Hotel DuPont for the 2010 Grand Gala, jazz pianist Champian Fulton makes her Grand debut with an exuberant voice and breezy style. All About Jazz agrees: “If Cupid were a gal that could play a jazzy piano, swing and sing at the same time,” it would be Champian Fulton!
Living in New York City since 2003, Fulton has been able to become a part of the Jazz scene. She has been able to play with some of the world’s most acclaimed jazz musicians, including Louis Hayes, Jimmy Cobb, Frank Wess, and Lou Donaldson. A perpetual student of jazz piano and jazz singing, Fulton counts Erroll Garner, Bud Powell, Sonny Clark, Count Basie, Dinah Washington, and Sarah Vaughn as some of her main influences.
The Joe Baione Jazz Quintet
Saturday, March 24 at 8PM
live @ the baby grand
$25
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Cited as “an excellent example of the new breed of jazz musician” by All About Jazz, Delawarean vibraphonist Joe Baione has a passion for all things jazz. While making his mark on the jazz scene with his powerful and energetic performances on the vibes, Baione is also ensuring the future of jazz through his teaching and producing projects that make jazz more accessible to his community. By day, Baione is an energetic and highly creative band teacher, and by night he continues that high passion and innovation in his jazz performances, brandishing his unique instrumentation and ensemble size to the delight of local audiences. Check out this homegrown talent while you have the chance!
Arden Concert Gild presents The Bad Plus
Saturday, March 31 at 8PM
Arden Gild Hall
$30 ($25 for members)
Visit ardenclub.org or call 302-475-3126 for tickets
The Bad Plus rocked the DuPont Clifford Brown Fes tin 2009 and now return for their first headlining Delaware gig in the rustic environs of Arden's Gild Hall barn just six miles north of Wilmington.
Funding provided by the Mid-Atlantic Arts Foundation and the Delaware Division of the Arts.
Grace Kelly
Sunday, May 6 at 4PM
Christina Cultural Arts Center
$25-$45
Visit ccacde.org or call 302-652-0101 for tickets
Perhaps no words describe 19-year-old Grace Kelly better than those of Wynton Marsalis, who hails her as "a first-class jazz musician" who "plays with intelligence, wit, and feeling."
This tour engagement of Grace Kelly is funded through Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation's Jazz Touring Network program with support from the National Endowment for the Arts.
The Clifford Brown High School Jazz Competition
Saturday, March 24
live @ the baby grand
High school jazz ensembles - from small combos to big bands - are invited to show off their talents live at the baby grand! Contenders will perform for a panel of jazz experts, including Joe Baione, and one winning ensemble will have the unique opportunity to perform at the presitgious DuPont Clifford Brown Jazz Festival in June 2012. For more information and registration materials, please visit our jazz competition page.