The Deep Blue C Studio Orchestra is returning to the Firehouse Performing Arts Center and will present a concert entitled, A Christmas to Remember. The 17-piece orchestra will be playing the Christmas songs that you most love.
You will hear favorites such as, Do You Hear What I Hear, The Most Wonderful Time of the Year, A Grown Up Christmas List, White Christmas, Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree, and many more. The DBCSO is made up of woodwinds, brass, percussion, and strings as in a symphony orchestra. It also includes a rhythm section of guitar, bass, keyboards, percussionist, and drum set as in a jazz combo or show orchestra. The orchestra also includes four outstanding vocalists!
When classic Christmas songs are dipped in the sweet, luscious swing of jazz music, the results are always as warm and soothing as hot cocoa and chestnuts. Top that with a vocal performance from an artist who has perfected the art of songbook standards, and you've got all the ingredients for holiday delight.
A celebrated New England saxophonist, flutist, and composer, Greg Abate has an impressively diverse international career, including playing for the Ray Charles Orchestra and the Artie Shaw Orchestra. With over 24 recordings and collaborations with jazz greats like Phil Woods and Kenny Barron, Abate is a significant force in jazz, touring extensively and teaching. He was inducted into the Rhode Island Music Hall of Fame in 2016 and recently ranked in the Downbeat Readers Poll. The quartet for this show includes Kent Hewitt on piano, Paul Del Nero on bass, and Gary Johnson on drums. The performance will feature selections from the American songbook, jazz standards, popular tunes, and Abate’s original compositions. “It will be swinging,” Abate said.
Saxophonist Branford Marsalis is one of the most influential and revered figures in contemporary music. The NEA Jazz Master, Grammy Award winner, and Tony and EMMY Award nominee is equally at home performing concertos with symphony orchestras and sitting in with members of the Grateful Dead, but the core of his musical universe remains the Branford Marsalis Quartet, formed in 1986, featuring pianist Joey Calderazzo, bassist Eric Revis, and drummer Justin Faulkner.
Vance Gilbert: “If Joni Mitchell and Richie Havens had a love child, with Rodney Dangerfield as the midwife, the results might be something close to the great Vance Gilbert", says Richmond Magazine.
Considered by many to be an integral part of the national folk scene - and one of the originators of the finally recognized R&B/Folk/Jazz crossover-sub-genre - this Boston-based stalwart was born and raised in the Philadelphia area. In 1992, Shawn Colvin invited him to be special guest on her Fat City tour. “With the voice of an angel, the wit of a devil, and the guitar playing of a god...”, swooned The Fort Worth Star-Telegram about one of those shows.