Saturday, September 20, 2014
Summer Evening of Jazz
Artists
There is no better way to enjoy the last Saturday evening of the summer than to take in the profound and rhythmic sounds of these jazz greats. Our SEJ artists are sure to deliver a memorable Jazz experience.
Comedian Griff
Concert Line-up Featuring Headliner Alex Bugnon
Griff has wanted to be a comedian since he was three years old. He credits his mother with giving him his first gig making comatose seniors laugh at the Convalescent Homes where she worked. Probably best described as someone who 'plays too much' Griff has performed with Artists and Pastors such as Fred Hammond, Dottie Peoples, Byron Cage, Darwin Hobbs, Pastor Jesse Curney III of New Mercies Christian Church, Bishop Eddie Long of New Birth and countless other congregations and audiences from New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Washington D.C. Griff has also appeared on B.E.T.’s Comic View, Showtime’s The Big Black Comedy Show, The One Love Gospel Cruise, and most recently the fourth year of Radio One’s Family Comedy Tour. Since September of 2009 Griff has been working on his true passion, The Toni & Griff Show, a family oriented radio/TV show produced and created by his beautiful and hilarious wife, Toni.
Toni Byrd has established herself as one of Atlanta’s unforgettable and versatile vocal artists. Nominated by Black Women in Jazz for 2014 Best Black Female Vocalist of the Year and recipient of the 2014 Best Black Female Jazz Record Award for "Autumn in New York", Byrd has made Georgia her home since the year 2000 and has worked with some of Atlanta’s finest musicians. In addition to singer, songwriter and awarding winning vocalist, add actress to her status. Byrd was cast in a primary role, playing the character, “Ida Belle”, in the movie, "Lawless", which opened in theaters in August 2012 starring, Shia LaBeouf, Tom Hardy, Guy Pierce, Jessica Chastain, Mia Wasikowska, Jason Clarke and Gary Oldman. Byrd is the first female vocalist to perform at the legendary Pinewood Atlanta Studios for the kickoff gala celebrating the new American location in Fayetteville, Georgia. Byrd also recorded background vocals for a TV series pilot, “Still The King”, starring Billy Ray Cyrus.
Toni's extraordinary talent has drawn the attention of many talented musicians, vocalists and bands across the country. One of her longest musical involvements is with Peachtree Jazz Edition big band under the direction of David Gaissert. Byrd has been the vocalist for this popular Atlanta band since 2003. Toni is a local favorite performing in venues including Turner Field, Four Seasons Hotel, the Rialto Theater, the Ritz Carlton, the Georgian Terrace, The Egyptian Room at the Fox Theater, and the Fred Brown Amphitheater in Peachtree City to name a few. Byrd has opened for music artists, Kenny G, Take 6, Wycliffe Gordon, and Gladys Knight. Byrd has performed after parties for Norman Brown, Eric Darius, Pieces of A Dream, Richard Elliot, George Benson, and Boney James.
Byrd's first recording experience was on a live recording project in Memphis, Tennessee. Byrd found herself recording live once again with Billy Rivers and the Grammy nominated choir, The Angelic Voices of Faith on the 1999 album, "Gotta Lift Him". Byrd used the tools she learned from her early recording experiences when she co-produced, arranged and recorded her own CD with fellow musician, Neal Wauchope, entitled "No Greater Love....Remembering Billie Holiday". Released in November of 2010, the CD covers 17 songs recorded by the legendary jazz singer. Byrd's next CD will feature some of her original songs and a Christmas CD is also in the works.
Byrd performs regularly at The Georgia Shrimp Company in Peachtree City, Georgia and at Sweet Georgia's Juke Joint on Peachtree Street in downtown Atlanta.
Toni Byrd
Concert Host
Walk Up Jazz Band
Neal Wauchope is the founder and owner of Walk Up Music. He is a bandleader and freelance pianist and organist in the Atlanta area and has been a professional musician most of his life. His first Compilation CD made when he was more of a blues pianist than anything else. "There weren't quite as many serious blues guys in San Diego as I was used to in Atlanta, but the ones who were there didn't mess around". Although the blues was his first love at the time, Jazz was always the goal. "I managed to collect some recordings of many of the heavyweights in town".
Neal's good friend, Jonny Viau, gave him his first steady gig in San Diego, which resulted in him playing with Vaiu in Paris, Switzerland, and Mexico. Neal has 20 recordings under his belt and he has worked with many artists, including the late Sean Costello, Danish Blues musician, Peter Nande, Earl Thomas and Roy Gaines, to mention a few.
Toni Byrd and Walk Up Jazz will be performing together at the 2014 Summer Evening of Jazz concert.
Antoine Knight
Antoine Knight wants you to know one thing, he’s not just trying to talk the talk – he can really Walk Da Walk! That’s the soul inspiration and concept behind the Atlanta based saxophonist’s highly anticipated follow-up to his 2004 debut project In The Red, which received airplay in over 50 cities. The new CD, Walk Da Walk, is in the urban contemporary jazz (with some unexpected stylistic twists) at its best, but it’s also the veteran musician’s motto for living a life of authenticity. Knight took several years to ensure that Walk Da Walk conveyed a very personal autobiographical journey. A deeply spiritual person and musician, Knight creates an inspiring yet melodic chronicle that serves as an engaging testimony of where he has been in his life. Born and raised in Pensacola, Florida, Antoine Knight began playing sax at age 11 and enjoyed a childhood filled with incredible sounds—starting with an 8-track tape his aunt had of Jr. Walker and continuing on through his dad’s John Coltrane and Cannonball Adderley albums.
While Knight played sax throughout his school years, it was at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church where he performed with Jennifer Holiday, and Yolanda Adams. Since then he has shared the stage and played with Angela Bofill, Vesta, Miki Howard, Najee, Ronnie Laws, Kim Waters, and Marcus Johnson. Upon entering college at Florida A&M University he began focusing on two other disciplines; majoring in engineering and minoring in military science. Knight worked as an engineer and is presently in the U.S. Army Reserves, but his love for music brought him back to performing. “For me, Walk Da Walk, is a journey of my testimony that has never ended. I’ve been battle tested and will emerge stronger and ready for whatever lies ahead. We all have had testimonies and journeys that we’ve walked, and Walk Da Walk is my way of conveying my own experience through music.”
Knight is a versatile performer and musician, doing hundreds of private parties, weddings and corporate events. He also played in the house band for the Atlanta Falcons football team in the early 2000s, performing regularly for hundreds of VIPs. He has opened for Steve Oliver at the Suwanee Jazz Festival (Suwanee, Georgia) and appeared at the Atlanta Jazz Festival in 2007 and 2010. Inspired by the sounds of Motown, Antoine plays with raw energy and is well known for his interaction with the audience. Antoine became Atlanta’s first independent artist to get picked up by Radio One Broadcasting, on the station formerly known as WJZZ 107.5 FM.
Jazz pianist Alex Bugnon has been a prolific, energetic force on the contemporary music scene for more than two decades. A renowned musician/composer/bandleader, Bugnon hales from the picturesque town of Montreux, Switzerland – site of the world famous Jazz Festival.
Bugnon left Montreux to continue his training at a music conservatory in Paris before landing in Boston to further hone his skills at the famed Berklee School of Music. It was here in the U.S. that his exposure to a diversity of musical styles – from R&B to gospel and funk, began to shape and influence his personal sound. He toured the south playing with Gospel Leviticus and after graduation from Berklee, had the opportunity to play in bands backing R&B greats Patti Austin & James Ingram, Melba Moore, Freddie Jackson and Keith Sweat. But it would be his encounter with saxophonist Najee that would ultimately turn the tide for him. Signed to Orpheus Records, Najee would make the introduction that would result in Alex’s first recording contract.
His first album, Love Season (1989), with the fledgling record label, catapulted the virtual unknown to prominence and set him on his musical course. The album rocketed to number 2 on the R&B charts and was nominated for best jazz album at the Soul Train Awards. In 1991 Alex released his second album for Orpheus, Head Over Heels and like the first, it became a chart topper cementing his position as a radio and fan favorite on the R&B and smooth jazz circuit, earning him Black Radio Exclusive’s, Best New Artist Award.
In 1991, Alex parted ways with Orpheus Records and signed with Epic to record his award-winning third album, 107 Degrees in the Shade (1991) for which he received a Soul Train Award. He would release one more album under the Epic label, the best selling, This Time Around (1993), before signing with RCA for, Tales from the Bright Side (1995), before taking a five-year hiatus from recording.
As the new century began, Alex was also beginning anew. Signed to the Narada/EMI label he resurfaced, with the first of four albums for the label; As Promised (2000) followed by Soul Purpose (2001), Southern Living (2003) and Free (2005).
Then in 2007, a chance meeting with award-winning producer and label founder, Michael Cuscuna, resulted in a comprehensive compilation album, Ultimate Alex Bugnon, featuring cuts from each of his past recordings, and giving Alex a taste of what he had always been in search of – control. The Ultimate Alex Bugnon was released on Michael Cuscuna’s Mosaic label and provided Alex the time needed to give thought to his creative process and allowed him to return to what was important to him as an artist, as a composer and as a musician.
Bugnon continued touring, but used the in-between time to reflect and re-evaluate every aspect of his personal and career journey. The result of this introspective period was his 2010 release, Going Home, recorded under his own label, Xela Records. The album incorporated a traditional sextet format, with trumpet, saxophone and trombone added to his trio, and featured old friends, drummer Poogie Bell and bassist Victor Bailey.
Over these past few decades, Alex Bugnon has built a strong and loyal fan base across the country and around the world. His tour schedule has never eased, even besting the great Dizzy Gillespie’s record of appearances at Washington, D.C.’s Blues Alley. He makes it a point of never missing a day of piano practice or of writing. If he is not composing, he is listening to his favorite artists and biggest influences: Herbie Hancock, McCoy Tyner, Red Garland, Kenny Kirkland, Mulgrew Miller and Keith Jarrett.
Alex has released his 12th album - HARLEM, the second on Xela. HARLEM is a mix of original compositions and his personal take on beloved and well known songs including the classic, A Night in Tunisia, Curtis Mayfield’s Pusherman, Stevie Wonder’s Summer Soft and Burt Bacharach’s A House is Not a Home.
Alex makes his home in the historic village of Harlem, New York, and maintains his connection to his beloved Montreux.