JJ Roth Design

Noah Jackson & Full Circle: Residency & Session
2022-08-17 19:30 - 23:00, 2022-09-07 19:30 - 23:00, 2022-09-14 19:30 - 23:00, 2022-09-21 19:30 - 23:00, 2022-09-28 19:30 - 23:00, 2022-10-05 19:30 - 23:00, 2022-10-12 19:30 - 23:00, 2022-10-19 19:30 - 23:00 (America/Detroit) and 2 more dates
Showtimes are at 7:30p & 9:30p for this performance.
(Doors open at 5pm for dinner/Seating begins at 6:15p for the first show & 9:00p for the second show)
**************************************************************************************************
Musicians pay no cover when they bring their instrument.
A Detroit original, Noah Jackson is a bassist, cellist, and composer specializing in black american music and classical music. Aimed with a curiosity to where sound could touch audiences from within, he has both written and performed music for large international audiences since 2010. A graduate of Michigan State University (B.M.), and Manhattan School of Music (M.M.), Noah has performed with world renowned artists such as NEA Jazz Master Abdullah Ibrahim, Branford Marsails, Jason Marsalis, The Marsalis Family, Hugh Masekela, Nnenna Freelon, Kenny Garrett, Wizard Harper, George Burton, Jazzmeia Horn, and Christian Sands. Additionally, he’s performed in many prominent venues and jazz festivals including Radio City Music Hall, Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola, Jazz @ Lincoln Center, Blue Note Jazz Club (New York City and Milan), Royal Albert Hall, Victoria Hall (Geneva), Jazz in Marciac (Marciac, France), The Library of Congress, The Kennedy Center, SFJAZZ, The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, London Jazz Festival, Montreal Jazz Festival, and North Sea Jazz Festival. Noah Jackson also performed as part of the ceremony for the NEA Jazz Masters Award in 2019. He also recorded bass and cello on The Balance with Abdullah Ibrahim which reached #3 on the Billboard Jazz Charts (June 2019).
As a band leader, Noah had put on performances of original creative work with his band Full Circle. In 2011, he made his self-produced debut album, Contemplations- A Suite to critical acclaim and led Full Circle in the Detroit Jazz Festival in 2012. Since then, Noah has collaborated with a wide variety of artists across the jazz spectrum. In 2017, he has worked in collaboration with the American Ballet Theater with his string quartet Asè at Grace Farms in New Canaan, CT. Noah, along with vocalist and co-producer Candice Hoyes, were named recipients of grants for a double jazz and string quartet project: Ellington to the World: Generational Power in Black Culture and Spaces from the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council and the New York Council of the Arts. The work premiered at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in September 2019 and was performed to a sold out audience in The CUBE @ DSO in February 2020. As of March 2021, Noah has joined Cliff Bell’s in Detroit as Curator and Artist-in-Residence where he will perform with his group Full Circle and host sessions as well as bring in world-class talent to perform on it’s stage.
Noah is endorsed by Aguilar Amps, David Gage REAList LifeLine pickups, and NOAH Guitars of Italy. Noah currently resides in Detroit, Michigan.
Find out more about Noah here!

Trunino Lowe Quartet
2022-08-20 19:30 - 23:00, 2022-08-21 19:30 - 23:00
Showtimes are at 7:30p & 9:30p for this performance.
(Doors open at 5pm for dinner/Seating begins at 6:15p for the first show & 9:00p for the second show)
**************************************************************************************************
Trunino Lowe is one of Detroit’s young promising musicians. Born & raised on Detroit’s
Eastside. Trunino is a proud graduate of Detroit Public Schools where his love for music began.
It wasn’t until he attended the Detroit School of Arts where he began to pursue his career as a
professional musician. Trunino now serves as a bandleader, Sideman, Composer, and mentor.
Mentored by Detroit Trumpeters Kris Johnson, Dwight Adams, Rayse Biggs, and John Douglas.
He’s a part of the jazz lineage of Detroit and strongly believes in continuing the Legacy.
Trunino has performed with some of the finest musicians the world has to offer. He’s
played with the likes of Marion Hayden, Wendell Harrison, Marcus Elliot, Rodney Whitaker,
Sean Dobbins, Ralphe Armstrong, Karriem Riggins, Russell Hall, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Terri
Lynn Carrington, Emmet Cohen, Maurice Brown, & others. Performed on some very prestigious
stages such as, Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola (NYC), Jazz Showcase (CHI), Detroit Jazz Festival,
Baker’s Keyboard Lounge (DET). He’s Also performed internationally in France, Germany, and
Denmark.

Randy Napoleon Quartet
2022-08-27 19:30 - 23:30, 2022-08-28 19:30 - 23:30
Showtimes are at 7:30p & 9:30p for this performance.
(Doors open at 5pm for dinner/Seating begins at 6:15p for the first show & 9:00p for the second show)
**************************************************************************************************
Known as a forward-thinking musician with a passion for the jazz tradition, guitarist Randy Napoleon is an Associate Professor at Michigan State University. He is currently touring as a leader after twenty years of road apprenticeship with some of the most celebrated musicians and groups of our time.
Napoleon cut his teeth touring with pianist Benny Green, The Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra, Michael Bublé, and a thirteen year tenure with Freddy Cole. He has also performed with artists across the jazz spectrum such as Bill Charlap, Natalie Cole, Monty Alexander, Rodney Whitaker and John Pizzarelli.
Napoleon has performed or arranged on over seventy records. He arranged as well as performed on Freddy Cole’s seven most recent records including the Grammy-nominated releases, Freddy Cole Sings Mr. B and My Mood Is You. He performed on The Clayton Hamilton Orchestra: Live at MCG. Napoleon is featured on Buble’s Grammy-nominated CD/DVD Caught in the Act.
Napoleon has played on The Tonight Show, Late Night With David Letterman, The View, The Today Show, and The Ellen DeGeneres show as well as TV shows in South America, Europe and Asia. He has performed across the globe at notable venues including Royal Albert Hall, The Sydney Opera House, The Hollywood Bowl, and Lincoln Center.
Guitarist George Benson calls Napoleon “sensational.” Detroit Free Press critic Mark Stryker says Napoleon “plays with a gentle, purring tone that makes you lean in close to hear its range of color and articulation.” Washington Post critic Mike Joyce praises his “exceptionally nimble finger-style technique.” Comparing him to Wes Montgomery, music critic Michael G. Nastos says, “he displays an even balance of swing, soul, and single-line or chord elements that mark an emerging voice dedicated to tradition and universally accessible jazz values.”
Napoleon has four records as a band leader with a fifth, Common Tones, released Oct 4, 2019 on the Detroit Music Factory label.

Detroit Jazz Festival Special: Rodney Whitaker Quartet
2022-09-03 19:30 - 23:30
Showtimes are at 7:30p & 9:30p for this performance.
(Doors open at 5pm for dinner/Seating begins at 6:15p for the first show & 9:00p for the second show)
*******************************************************************************************
Internationally renowned bassist and Mack Avenue recording artist, Rodney Whitaker, currently holds the titles of Professor of Jazz Bass and Director of Jazz Studies at Michigan State University where he has built one of the leading jazz degree programs and performing faculty in the United States of America. He is considered one of the leading performers and teachers of the jazz double bass in the United States. Whitaker has performed and toured with over 100+ legendary performing jazz artists over the past 25+ years. Featured on more than 100+ recordings – from film to compact discs – Whitaker’s film scores, China, directed by Jeff Wray, was released on PBS Fall 2002 and Malaria and Malawi, released on PBS Fall 2010. Also, Whitaker has a DVD release featuring Michigan State University’s Jazz Department entitled, “Inside Jazz” and three new compact discs entitled, “Get Ready” & “Work To Do”—both on Mack Avenue Records and “Better Than Alright” by Michigan State University College of Music.

Please join us for phenomenal experiences and surprise encounters during the Detroit Jazz Festival this Labor Day Weekend.

http://www.rodneywhitaker.com/

Labor Day Weekend Special: Jazz Afterhours
2022-09-03 23:30 - 2022-09-04 01:30
Set begins at 11:30pm
Free for musicians, artists, and credentialed personnel.
________________________________________________________________
This weekend is a special one in Detroit- home to the largest free jazz festival in the world. Artists from around the world will gather Labor Day weekend to celebrate the music we love and carry year-round. We are in the center of it all and you can be a part of the energy of Detroit! Have a craft cocktail and enjoy being transported in time in our unique space. You’ll never know who you’d might run into!
The host band will perform a great set for you and a jam session will occur well into the night to continue a vital part of jazz culture.
Friday 9/2/2022-
Marion Hayden – Bass
Cliff Monear – Piano
Louis Jones – Drums

Saturday 9/3/2022

Himiko Kikuchi – Piano
Masatsugu Matsumoto – Guitar
Shun Katayama- Flute
Trevor Lamb- Bass
Nate Winn – Drums

Andrew Rathbun
2022-09-11 19:30 - 23:30
Showtimes are at 7:30p & 9:30p for this performance.
(Doors open at 5pm for dinner/Seating begins at 6:15p for the first show & 9:00p for the second show)
**************************************************************************************************
Saxophonist, composer, bandleader and Toronto native Andrew Rathbun has achieved a rare depth of lyricism, authoritative swing and compositional intelligence in nearly 20 years as a recording artist. His work is rooted in modern jazz but also deeply informed by classical composition — his recordings have included adaptations of Ravel, Mompou and Glück, among others. He has written big band commissions for the Danish Radio Jazz Orchestra, the Brussels Jazz Orchestra, the Metropole Orkest and other ensembles, and performed and composed commercial music for roughly 10 years as well.
Another of Rathbun’s inspirations is poetry: his recordings Jade and True Stories set to music the verse of Cathy Song and Margaret Atwood, respectively (both albums featured acclaimed Brazillian vocalist Luciana Souza). His 2002 release Sculptures featured trumpet legend and Toronto native Kenny Wheeler in a set that “cloak[s] subtle avant-garde proclivities in soft light and open air” (JazzTimes).
Rathbun has also tackled political subjects with his large-ensemble work “Power Politics Suite” and his 2007 quintet session Affairs of State. His other recordings of note are Renderings (duo with pianist George Colligan), Days Before and After (co-led with drummer Owen Howard), Shadow Forms (featuring George Garzone), Where We Are Now (featuring Billy Hart), The Idea of North and Numbers & Letters.
Rathbun earned a Masters in Performance from Boston’s New England Conservatory, where he studied with George Garzone, Jimmy Giuffre and George Russell. He became a fixture on the New York jazz scene during his years in Brooklyn, helping to shape the sound of the music in the new millennium as he earned a Doctorate in Jazz Arts from Manhattan School of Music. He is currently Professor of Saxophone and Jazz Studies at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, where he lives with his family. He continues to perform in New York and internationally

Ember Trio
2022-09-25 19:30 - 23:00
Showtimes are at 7:30p & 9:30p for this performance.
(Doors open at 5pm for dinner/Seating begins at 6:15p for the first show & 9:00p for the second show) **************************************************************************************************
The Brooklyn, NY based collaborative trio Ember (previously Curtis+Garabedian+Sperrazza) finds itself at the crossroads of musical and personal exploration resulting in true band-hood and non-hierarchical playing. Each of the members – Caleb Wheeler Curtis (stritch, trumpet), Noah Garabedian (bass), and Vinnie Sperrazza (drums) – are integral parts of the NY creative music community as leaders, collaborators and instigators. The music in this trio is organized but open and expressive. Their music opens up the true freedom of improvisation, exploration, and creativity.
Caleb Wheeler Curtis – stritch, trumpet
Noah Garabedian – bass
Vinnie Sperrazza – drums
Their latest release, “No One Is Any One” with Orrin Evans on piano, is available everywhere Sunnyside Records.
“music that’s as pure in spirit as it is honest to the improviser’s art.”
All About Jazz
“Chamber-like rapport”
Nate Chinen WBGO
“Draw[ing] on both the post-1970s Chicago and New York downtown scenes exploring the blues-based and alt. Rock as well as the free jazz aspects of the sounds coming from those highly significant jazz niches.”
Jazzwise
“Often the label experimental is used to denote a sound that defies convention or category. And maybe that word is too small to capture what is going on with No One Is Any One.”
DownBeat

The Vincent Chandler Experience
2022-10-01 19:30 - 23:30, 2022-10-02 19:30 - 23:00
Showtimes are at 7:30p & 9:30p for this performance.
(Doors open at 5pm for dinner/Seating begins at 6:15p for the first show & 9:00p for the second show)
**************************************************************************************************
Vincent Chandler is a trombonist, educator, composer, scat singer, band leader and mentor from Detroit, MI. While in High School, Vincent worked with a local Blues and Salsa Band of which flourished into work with Detroit’s local and international heroes, including Kenn Cox, Donald Walden, Harold McKinney, Wendell Harrison, Marcus Belgrave, Rodney Whitaker, Regina Carter, Marion Hayden, Robert Hurst and James Carter. Vincent has performed nationally with Roy Hargrove, Joe Henderson, Stefon Harris, J@LC feat.Wynton Marsalis, Geri Allen, JD Allen, The Oliver Lake Big Band and The Ambrose Akinmusire Big Band. He was a featured artist on the 2009 Playboy Jazz Festival, where he performed with Marcus Miller, Herbie Hancock and Keb’ Mo. He was a featured soloist on Roy Hargrove’s only Big Band CD, called “Emergence.”
He earned his Undergraduate and Graduate degree from the University of Michigan. Vincent held teaching positions at the University of Michigan, Michigan State University, Claflin University, South Carolina State University and he is currently a Lecturer of Jazz Studies at Wayne State University and the Director of the DSO Civic Jazz Orchestra.

Straight Ahead
2022-10-08 19:30 - 23:30, 2022-10-09 19:30 - 23:00
Showtimes are at 7:30p & 9:30p for this performance.
(Doors open at 5pm for dinner/Seating begins at 6:15p for the first show & 9:00p for the second show)
**************************************************************************************************
Born in Detroit, MI, a crucible of jazz, Marion Hayden is one of the nation’s finest proponents of the acoustic bass. Mentored by master trumpeter Marcus Belgrave, Hayden began performing jazz at the age of 15. She has performed with such diverse luminaries as Bobby McFerrin, Nancy Wilson, Geri Allen, Regina Carter, Steve Turre, Lester Bowie, David Allen Grier, James Carter, Dorothy Donegan, Joe Williams, Lionel Hampton, Frank Morgan, Jon Hendricks, Hank Jones, Bobby Hutcherson, Larry Willis, Vanessa Rubin, Sheila Jordan, Mulgrew Miller, Annie Ross and many others. She is a co-founder of the touring jazz ensemble Straight Ahead- the first all woman jazz ensemble signed to Atlantic Records. She is a member of the Detroit International Jazz Festival All-Star Ambassadors touring ensemble.
Widely recognized as a standard bearer of culture and artistic history, Hayden received a 2019 Art X Grant and a Creators of Culture Grant for original musical works. She was Artistic Director for a 2018 Knight Arts Foundation Grant encouraging young women in jazz. In 2016 Hayden was honored for her work as a performer and educator with the prestigious Kresge Artist Fellowship- a 1 year fellowship and grant award given an elite group of creative artists. She was the recipient of a 2016 Jazz Hero Award.- a national award given by the Jazz Journalists Association- recognizing people who have made a significant contribution through their artistry and community engagement.
Find out more here!

Zen Zadravec Quartet
2022-10-15 19:30 - 23:30, 2022-10-16 19:30 - 23:30
Showtimes are at 7:30p & 9:30p for this performance.
(Doors open at 5pm for dinner/Seating begins at 6:15p for the first show & 9:00p for the second show)
**************************************************************************************************
Zen Zadravec, jazz pianist, saxophonist, and composer views all music as a form of creative communication. The goal is to create music based on human experience. It is also to absorb as much music as possible to develop through the lens of Humanism based on the philosophies of Nichiren Buddhism. Ultimately, Zadravec strives to create music that inspires, encourages, and touches people’s hearts.
Zadravec is a musical chameleon. Whether it is jazz, R&B, funk, rock, or pop, he plays each with a freshness and confidence rarely found in someone so young. Born in Winnipeg, Canada, in 1974, Zadravec studied classical piano from the age of five. At eleven, he began studying the saxophone and the flute. Hearing Miles Davis transformed his life and influenced his decision to become a jazz musician. In 1992, Zadravec attended York University’s Jazz Program, and in 1997 he graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts. During his time at York, Zadravec was also the recipient of two Oscar Peterson Awards for excellence as a jazz pianist. In 2000, he earned a Graduate’s Degree in Jazz Performance at Rutgers University.
Zadravec also has studied with some of the biggest names in jazz, such as Kenny Barron, Don Thompson, John Gittens, Vic Juris, Ted Dunbar, and Ralph Bowen. A natural innovator and leader, he runs two of his own bands: the Zen Zadravec Quartet and his fusion group Human Revolution. Zadravec has also performed or recorded with: Ron Carter, Louis Hayes, Karriem Riggins, Ali Jackson, Mike Pope, Mark Whitfield Jr., Bijon Watson, Mark Gross, Derrick Gardner, Vincent Gardner, Todd Bashore, Kenny Davis, Steve Turre, Ralph Bowen, Sean Jones, Conrad Herwig, Freddie Hendrix, Don Thompson, Lorne Lofsky, Charles Fambrough, Valery Ponomarev, Dave Watson, Darryl Dixon, Gloria Gaynor, Joan Rivers, Bob Newhart, Sally Kellerman, among others.
Versatile, creative, energetic, and dynamic, Zadravec is continuously experimenting and refining his sound and musical conception through concerts, recordings, and education. His music is always exploring beautiful melodies, interesting chord progressions, and rhythmic diversity. Zadravec’s latest CD release titled Human Revolution is a musical work supported by the Canadian Grant Organization called Factor or (The Foundation Assisting Canadian Talent on Recordings).

Fareed Haque & His Funk Brothers
2022-10-21 19:30 - 23:30
Showtimes are at 7:30p & 9:30p for this performance. (Doors open at 5pm for dinner/Seating begins at 6:15p for the first show & 9:00p for the second show) *******************************************************************************************
Fareed Haque is a modern guitar virtuoso. Steeped in classical and jazz traditions, his unique command of the guitar and different musical styles inspire his musical ventures with tradition and fearless innovation.
Since 2011 Haque has returned to his first loves, jazz guitar and classical guitar. He’s been busy performing and recording with his trio featuring legendary B3 virtuoso Tony Monaco, his own trio and jazz quartet, as well as his larger world music group the Flat Earth Ensemble.
Recent releases include the critically acclaimed Out of Nowhere featuring drummer Billy Hart and bassist George Mraz, The Flat Earth Ensemble’s latest release Trance Hypothesis, and The Tony Monaco/Fareed Haque release Furry Slippers, reached the top 10 in Jazz Radio Airplay.
In addition, Fareed has performed at the Chicago, Detroit and Java Jazz festivals and was featured as part of the Made in Chicago Series performing with his numerous groups at Millennium Park’s Pritzker Pavilion in Chicago. He also performed and arranged numerous classical programs as 2013 artist-in-residence for The Chicago Latin Music Festival, was featured on WBEZ as well as WFMT’s Fiesta! radio programs, and has recorded his arrangement of Piazzolla’s 5 Tango Sensations, El Alevin by Eduardo Angulo Leo Brouwer’s Quintet for Guitar and String Quartet with the critically acclaimed Kaia String Quartet. Haque continues to tour and record extensively along with documenting his unique teaching methods in a series of best selling interactive video courses through TrueFire.

Esthesis Quartet
2022-10-23 19:30 - 23:00
Showtimes are at 7:30p & 9:30p for this performance.
(Doors open at 5pm for dinner/Seating begins at 6:15p for the first show & 9:00p for the second show) *******************************************************************************************
Esthesis Quartet was formed in the Spring of 2021 with pianist Dawn Clement, flutist
Elsa Nilsson, drummer Tina Raymond, and bassist Emma Dayhuff. What started as a
composition support group to keep the creative juices flowing on zoom, became a
dedicated writing and recording project. They played their first show together in LA at
Sam First in August of 2021 and plan to release their first album on May 27th 2022.
Esthesis Quartet plays original jazz with a reckless abandon that shakes the
preconceptions of traditional instrumentation roles. They treat each other’s
compositions with understanding, respect and a treacherous amount of freedom,
leading to musical explorations that resolve in unexpected directions. Esthesis Quartet
was formed during a time when we couldn’t touch each other, and the name of the
band reflects this. Esthesis means elementary sensations of touch, a reference to the
missed human contact and how much music represented and strengthened these
connections in lockdown.
Each member of the Esthesis Quartet are dedicated performers, composers and
educators, and they each live in one of the four time zones of the US. Pianist Dawn
Clement has established herself as one of the most sought-after musicians working
today. With her joyful presence, consummate technique and distinctive sound,
Clement has gained the attention and respect of musicians, critics, and fans through
the US and abroad. Dawn is based in Denver, Colorado where she holds the role of
Assistant Professor and Area Coordinator of the Jazz and American Music
Department at Metropolitan State University of Denver. Flutist Elsa Nilsson is
originally from Gothenburg, Sweden but now based in New York City where she
plays regularly at the many jazz clubs and is an adjunct professor at The New School.
Paul Rauch of All About Jazz has said about her: “She is the logical choice to provide
a next step for her instrument in the world of jazz and improvised music”. Bassist
Emma Dayhuff is the most recent bassist to graduate from the Herbie Hancock
Institute of Jazz Performance and is the fifth woman to ever participate in the
prestigious program. She is currently based in Chicago where she is pursuing a DMA
at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. Drummer Tina Raymond is based in Los
Angeles, CA, where she is the director of Jazz Studies at California State University,
Northridge. A unique voice in the Los Angeles contemporary improvised music
scene, Raymond blends traditional jazz vocabulary with African polyrhythm and
classical percussion technique. She performs, adjudicates, and presents workshops
worldwide.

Marcus Elliot Quartet
2022-10-29 19:30 - 23:30, 2022-10-30 19:30 - 23:00
Showtimes are at 7:30p & 9:30p for this performance.
(Doors open at 5pm for dinner/Seating begins at 6:15p for the first show & 9:00p for the second show)
*******************************************************************************************
Marcus Elliot (Marcus Elliot Miller) is a saxophonist, composer, improviser, and educator based in Detroit, Michigan. Marcus is a 2020 Kresge Artist Fellow, awarded by Kresge Arts in Detroit. His compositions and improvisations have been described by the New York Times as “convincing and confident, evolved in touch and tone…”, and the Detroit Free Press has said, “Marcus Elliot represents next generation of jazz”. Elliot leads and co-leads many different Detroit based bands including the Marcus Elliot Quartet, Clockwork, Balance, Beyond Rebellious, and Lanula. Elliot performs in the Shigeto Live Ensemble. He is a Fellow of the Geri Allen Gathering Orchestra. He co-founded the nonprofit Polyfold Musical Arts Collective. Elliot is the director of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra’s Civic Jazz Ensembles. Elliot received his master’s degree in improvisation from the University of Michigan.
Elliot is a disciple of the Detroit music scene. His mentors include Rodney Whitaker, Marcus Belgrave, Robert Hurst, Donald Walden, Bennie Maupin, Marion Hayden, and Karriem Riggins. After graduating with a bachelors degree in Jazz Studies from Michigan State University, Marcus began to curate weekly performances in Detroit, showcasing some of Detroit’s young jazz musicians. Marcus self-released three albums with his ensemble, the Marcus Elliot Quartet and co-released an album with his duo project with Michael Malis, Balance.
As a Sideman, Marcus has performed with Bob Hurst, Karriem Riggins, James Carter, Jimmy Cobb, Marcus Belgrave, Johnny O’Neal, Jimmy Heath, Shigeto, Thaddeus Dixon, Ettiene Charles, Mulgrew Miller, Rodney Whitaker, Talib Kweli, and many others.
Marcus was a co-founder of Polyfold; a collective of musical artists who have joined together to develop, and present creative works. Founded in Detroit, Polyfold produces concerts and recordings, hosts outreach events and educational workshops, and fosters creative community in Detroit and beyond.
Marcus has received his Masters of Music degree at the University of Michigan, where he was awarded a graduate assistantship. He is active in the Detroit music community, collaborating with musicians in jazz, free-improvised music, techno, hip-hop, r&b, and classical music.
,

Leslie DeShazor
2022-11-12 19:30 - 23:30, 2022-11-13 19:30 - 23:00
Showtimes are at 7:30p & 9:30p for this performance.
(Doors open at 5pm for dinner/Seating begins at 6:15p for the first show & 9:00p for the second show)
***********************************************************************************************
2021 MPower Grant Recipient and 2021TedX speaker Leslie DeShazor was named one of thirty Professional Movers and Shakers in the Performing Arts by Musical America in 2019. Violist, violinist, composer and arranger Leslie DeShazor is in demand as a soloist, teacher and recording artist. Though classically trained, Mrs. DeShazor is a talented and diverse musician. As a soloist, she has performed with the Toledo Symphony. She is a freelance artists who performs and has performed with The Sphinx Symphony Orchestra, Michigan Opera Theatre Orchestra, Michigan Sinfonietta, CutTime Simfonica, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Flint Symphony, The River Raisin Ragtime Revue and Ann Arbor Symphony as well as jazz ensembles, Leigh Daniels Ensemble the Detroit-based, Musique Noire and Straight Ahead.
She has performed and recorded with international, Grammy award winning R&B stars, Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson, and Aretha Franklin and Grammy award winning gospel artists Fred Hammond, Michael W. Smith and Donnie McClurkin. She has also had the pleasure of performing with jazz greats such as Roy Hargrove, Steve Wilson, Pat Metheny, Sheila Jordan, Diane Schuur, Regina Carter, Xavier Davis and Marcus Belgrave. She has recently expanded her versatility musically playing both viola and violin as a part of award winning hit musicals Hamilton and Hello Dolly.
An experienced instructor, she currently teaches students of Detroit with instructional music programs offered through the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, the Sphinx Organization and her own private studio.. A native of Michigan, Mrs. DeShazor holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan.
