JAZZ VOCAL SENSATION

SARA DOWLING & DARIO DE LECCE

SATURDAY JANUARY 30

9.00 PM PARIS / 8.00 PM LONDON / 3.00 PM NEW YORK / 12.00PM LA

Sara Dowling - Vocals , Dario Di Lecce - Bass

TICKET PRICE €10.00 / £10.00 / $13.00

Sara Dowling is a jazz singer who is deeply inspired by the repertoire of the classic American songbook, her most important influences are Sarah Vaughan and Betty Carter. And yet, as the clubs who have been booking her regularly in and over the past couple of years – Ronnie Scott’s, the 606 and the Cinnamon Club – have spotted, there really is something different, special and fresh about her. And that she makes audiences want to come back to hear her again. It is not her heritage, although that is unusual: she was born in Muscat / Oman with Jordanian and Irish parents. Nor is it her first career: as a professional cellist. So what is it? First, the fabulous fearlessness with which she approaches the act of singing. And the burning conviction, the irresistible communicative power and jaw-dropping musicality she brings to it. And maybe the fact that she leaves no stone unturned in her preparation. As she says : “I like to learn huge lists of songs that belong to one composer, to get the feel of the composer and his style. There is beauty to be found in all songs if they are written by one of the greats. That’s the beauty of the American Songbook.” She trusts her voice and its range of timbre. She trusts her ability both to convey the emotion of very slow ballads - or to bring joy as she rip-roars and scats through faster songs. And above all she makes a wonderful connection both to the music and to the audience. Sara leads her own group and often guests with the Ronnie Scott’s All Star Band.

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Booking will close 30 minutes before the concert to allow time to process payments and send passwords.

JAZZ MASTER SAXOPHONIST

BOBBY WATSON & ROGER WILDER

SUNDAY JANUARY 31

9.00 PM EUROPE / 8.00 PM UK / 3.00 PM NY / 12.00 PM LA

TICKET PRICE €10.00 / £10.00 / $13.00 

Bobby Watson, alto saxophone Roger Wilder, piano

A saxophonist, composer, arranger and educator, Bobby Watson grew up in Kansas City, Kan. He trained formally at the University of Miami. After graduating, he proceeded to earn his “doctorate” – on the bandstand – as musical director of legendary drummer Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers – frequently referred to as the “University of Blakey” because it served as the ultimate “postgraduate school” for ambitious young players.

After completing a four-year-plus Jazz Messengers tenure (1977-1981) that incorporated more than a dozen recordings – the most of any of the great Jazz Messengers, the gifted Watson became a much-sought after musician, working along the way with a potpourri of notable artists including, but not limited to: drummers Max Roach and Louis Hayes, fellow saxophonists George Coleman and a younger Branford Marsalis, celebrated multi-instrumentalist Sam Rivers and trumpeter Wynton Marsalis (who joined the Jazz Messengers at least in part at the suggestion of Watson). In addition to working with a variety of instrumentalists, Watson served in a supporting role for a number of distinguished and stylistically varied vocalists including: Joe Williams, Dianne Reeves, Lou Rawls, Betty Carter and Carmen Lundy.

Later, in association with bassist Curtis Lundy and drummer Victor Lewis, Watson launched the first edition of Horizon, an acoustic quintet modelled in many ways after the Jazz Messengers but one with its own distinct slightly more modern twist. Watson also led a nine-piece group known as the High court of Swing – a tribute to the music of Johnny Hodges – as well as the GRAMMY-nominated 16-piece, large ensemble Tailor Made Big Band. The lyrical stylist is also a founding member of the well-respected 29th Street Saxophone Quartet, an all-horn, four-piece ensemble.

For more than three decades now Watson has contributed consistently intelligent, sensitive and well-thought out music to the modern-day jazz lexicon. All told, Watson, the immensely talented and now-seasoned veteran, has issued some 30 recordings as a leader and appeared on 100-plus other recordings, performing as either co-leader or in support of other like-minded musicians. His classic 1986 release, Love Remains (Red) has long been recognized by the Penguin Guide to Jazz (Penguin). Having received the publication's highest rating it was then identified in the ready reference book's seventh edition as a part of its "core collection" [i.e. a "must-have"], joining other entries by a number of aforementioned jazz masters as a recording that any jazz aficionado should own. Not simply a performer, the saxophonist has recorded more than 100 original compositions including the music for the soundtrack of A Bronx Tale, which marked Robert DeNiro's 1993 directorial debut.

Pianist Roger Wilder originally from New York, lived in Miami for many years and played with John Bailey, Gary Campbell, Alice Day, Rich Franks, Tom Garling, Alan Harris, Jesse Jones, Dennis Marks, Bill Peeples, Barry Ries, Jon Secada, and Don Wilner, and recorded with Phil Flanigan and Duffy Jackson. Wilder also taught jazz piano at Miami – Dade community College for 4 years.
From 1995 – 2000, he lived in Ossining, NY and worked there with Howie Lawrence, Carmen Leggio, Rob Scheps, Walter Urban, Langston Wertz, Gary Wofsey, and recorded with Glenda Davenport, Jon Doty, and Chuck Zeuren.
In 2000, the Wilder family moved to the Kansas City area, where Wilder has worked with the Boulevard Big Band, Colleen Cassidy, Angela Hagenbach, Sons of Brasil, and the Westport Art Ensemble, among others.

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Booking will close 30 minutes before the concert to allow time to process payments and send passwords.