South Florida JAZZ Presents Marcus Roberts, Helen Keller Awarded Virtuoso Jazz Pianist, in Concert with his Trio Featuring Jason Marsalis Dec 12 at 8 PM
Fort Lauderdale, FL (PRWEB) December 04, 2015 -- South Florida JAZZ, the area’s premier modern jazz organization, is especially excited to present The Marcus Roberts Trio on Saturday, December 12, 2015 at 8:00 PM. This concert will take place at the Rose & Alfred Miniaci Performing Arts Center on the Nova Southeastern University campus, 3100 Ray Ferrero Jr Blvd, Davie 33314. Tickets are $40 ($10 students with I.D.) and can be purchased from Ticketmaster either by calling 954.462.0222; or online at http://southfloridajazz.org.
A major force in jazz piano since age 21, Marcus Roberts has won the Thelonious Monk Piano Competition, a National Academy of Achievement award, and the Helen Keller Award. Featured on 60 Minutes (CBS) as “The Virtuoso,” Marcus is an American treasure. This appearance is with his well-honed trio of bassist Rodney Jordan and drummer Jason Marsalis.
Last year Marcus Roberts had his life and work featured on a moving segment labeled “The Virtuoso” on the celebrated CBS show 60 Minutes. The program traced Roberts’ life from his early roots in Jacksonville and his studies at the Florida School for the Deaf and Blind to his remarkable career as a modern jazz musician. Roberts is perhaps best known for the development of a unique approach to jazz performance that features nearly unfathomable left and right hand independence in improvisation.
His blind mother's gospel singing and the music of the church became imprinted on Marcus’s musical style. Despite losing his sight at age five, he taught himself to play piano, but did not have a formal lesson until age 12. His talent was obvious. Later he studied classical piano at Florida State University under the tutelage of noted concert pianist and pedagogue Leonidas Lipovetsky. Of the many awards that Roberts ultimately received, the Helen Keller Award for Personal Achievement is the most meaningful to him.
A huge boost to his career occurred at age 21 when Wynton Marsalis asked him to join his band. After six years, however, it was time to become a leader. Roberts’ legacy of recorded music reflects his artistic versatility. His recordings include works for solo piano, duets with other instrumentalists, and conventional trio arrangements of jazz standards; as well as original material for trio, larger ensembles, and even symphonic compositions. He recorded his arrangement of Gershwin's Concerto in F for Piano and Orchestra with the Berlin Philharmonic. Roberts' release of New Orleans Meets Harlem, Volume 1 in 2009 was the first on his own label, J-Master Records. Since then, he has been a prolific player and composer, releasing a very popular holiday recording, Celebrating Christmas; a nonet recording of an original suite, Deep in the Shed: A Blues Suite (Nov 2012); a collaborative CD of the Marcus Roberts Trio with Bela Fleck titled Across the Imaginary Divide (Rounder Records), and in 2013, three critically acclaimed CDs—From Rags to Rhythm, Together Again: Live in Concert, and Together Again: In the Studio. In 2014, Roberts released yet another suite of all-original music entitled Romance, Swing, and the Blues.
Roberts has long dedicated himself to the development of young musicians. In acknowledgment of his many contributions to music performance and education, The Juilliard School awarded him an honorary Doctor of Music degree in 2014.
ARTISTIC PERSONNEL
Marcus Roberts – piano
Rodney Jordan – double bass
Jason Marsalis – drums
This concert is underwritten in part by a generous donation from SFJ Secretary Emerita Mary Ann Boatright.
Funding for this organization is provided in part by the Broward County Board of County Commissioners as recommended by the Broward Cultural Council.
Ronald Weber, M.D., South Florida JAZZ, http://www.southfloridajazz.org, +1 (754) 816-6101, [email protected]
Share this article