Virtual conversations and performances with JazzArts

JazzArts Charlotte’s mission is to connect the cultural community and develop an audience for jazz, through quality education, performance, and musician support.

Here are some of the events they have planned. Go to their website for a full list, including ticketed shows that might not be “cheap enough” to list on Charlotte on the Cheap, but are a great value!

The Set featuring Menastree
Thursday, September 23rd, 2021
8 p.m. to 9 p.m.
YouTube Live
Free

Menastree is a group of Carolina natives that have come together to reinforce the Queen City music scene. You heard them at the May Jazz at Victoria Yards Summer Series, and we welcome them again on our virtual platform to provide their “feel good music” with an eclectic blend of jazz, hip hop, soul funk and every genre in between.

Featuring:
Braxton Bateman – trumpet
Jesse Lamar Williams – drums
Stefan Kallander – guitar
Jeremy Maher – bass and vocals
Zach Wheeler – sax and keys

Conversations with Curtis: The Impact of Billie Holiday
Tuesday, October 5th, 2021
8 p.m. to 9 pm.
YouTube Live 
Free

This month, In preparation for the Billie Holiday JAZZ ROOM tribute, we speak with vocalist Melissa Morgan and Harlem Legend Bill Saxton about the amazing “Lady Day”, who changed the way jazz was sung.

Billie Holiday’s vocal style was inspired by the jazz instrument, pioneering a new direction in improvisation of phrasing and tempo. She used that same powerful voice as a statement on Civil Rights. For this she has been recognized in the Grammy Hall of Fame, the National Rhythm and Blues Hall of Fame, and in books and TV.

Melissa Morgan, who considers Billie Holiday one of her main influences, will share with us what she has learned in reimagining this epic performer, and how Billie Holiday has shaped her jazz career.

Bill Saxton, owner of the venue where a teenage Billie Holiday got her start, will share anecdotes of Holiday’s legends and legacy that continues today. Bill’s Place, Harlem’s still-active speakeasy, got its start in the early years of Prohibition during the 1920’s. It was a lawless era of gangsters and illegal drinking in small underground parlors of private houses uptown. If only those walls could talk…

Tune in to the monthly Conversation with Curtis series to discover outstanding musicians, past and present, regional and international. Our interactive events are a chance for you to engage with the artists who are usually up on the stage. These conversations are led by jazz expert, JAZZ ROOM MC, and CurtJazz radio host Curtis Davenport.

The Set: Mac Arnold & Plate Full O’ Blues
Thursday, October 28th, 2021
8 p.m. to 9 p.m.
YouTube Live
Free

JazzArts Charlotte’s virtual live music series is excited to present a night of blues, with the legendary Mac Arnold and Plate Full O’ Blues. Mac Arnold has blown the roof off THE JAZZ ROOM and set the Jazz at Victoria Yards night on fire. He’s back with his band, to bring the deep southern blues to your living room.

Blues: A style originating from the deep South, is steeped in American history. It’s call-and-response style is irresistible, and the 12-bar structure and blues scale were a major influence on rock and roll.

Mac Arnold: Mac’s first band included James Brown on piano. In Chicago, Arnolds toured and recorded with none other than the Muddy Waters Band, helping shape the electric blues sound that inspired the rock and roll movement. Moving to LA, his music career reads like a “who’s who” list of blues and R&B: producer on Soul Train, backup band for Otis Redding, B.B. King, and the Sanford & Son TV show. He has shared the stage with Eric Clapton, Big Mama Thornton and John Lee Hooker. Back to his South Carolina roots, Mac is serving up a mess of Blues with his own band, “Mac Arnold & Plate Full O’ Blues”.