Don Vappie & The Creole Jazz Serenaders will open St. James series
New Orleans jazz vocalist Leah Chase performs with band member John James.
The Center for Spiritual Formation at St. James Episcopal Church, 205 N. 4th St., will host the return of Summer Sounds at St. James, a series of musical concerts at 7 p.m. Wednesdays, July 11-Aug. 1.
Admission is $10 per concert. College students with a valid ID will be admitted free. A reception will follow each concert in the Parish Hall parlor, where the St. James Artists’ Guild Summer Show is on exhibit.
The concerts are:
- 7 p.m. Wednesday, July 11, Don Vappie & The Creole Jazz Serenaders with Leah Chase.
Don Vappie & The Creole Jazz Serenaders, one of the area’s premier classic jazz orchestras, return after a well-received program in last year’s Summer Sounds. The group is dedicated to performance and recording of classic and Creole compositions, the “real spirit of early jazz,” when jazz was the pop music.
Vappie’s program this year features guest singer Leah Chase, daughter of acclaimed band leader Dookie Chase and restaurateur Leah Chase. She is an adjunct professor at Loyola and Tulane universities and a self-described balladeer who loves “meaty lyrics.”
Chase has the unique ability to take a familiar song and infuse it with a fresh perspective. She wants the audience to feel as if they have actually “lived” the song along with her.
- 7 p.m. Wednesday, July 18, Chris Thomas King.
King is a Baton Rouge native and son of Tabby Thomas. He has enjoyed a well-traveled career through the United States and Europe. His music is influenced by a variety of styles from blues to hip-hop, which is displayed on his latest album, Antebellum Postcards. King’s performance in the Coen brothers’ film O Brother, Where Art Thou? was the only piece recorded live during filming, and was part of the Grammy award-winning soundtrack.
- 7 p.m. Wednesday, July 25, Steve Masakowski and Mike Esneault.
Jazz guitarist Steve Masakowski will perform with another returning Summer Sounds guest, pianist and award-winning composer Mike Esneault. Masakowski has twice been voted “Best Guitarist,” and three times “Best Contemporary Jazz Group” by Gambit and Offbeat magazine reader polls. He is the Coca-Cola Endowed Chair of Jazz Studies at the University of New Orleans.
Esneault has composed music for television, film, live performance and recordings. Esneault also is an instructor in the East Baton Rouge Gifted and Talented Program, where he has taught for the past 12 years. He also is a professional-artist-in-residence at LSU,where he teaches jazz piano and improvisation.
- 7 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 1, Quiana Lynell & The Lush Life.
Closing out the 2012 season will be Quiana Lynell & The Lush Life. Lynell is a certified Southern girl who infuses her classical training and gospel upbringing with her love for jazz.
For tickets or more information, call (225) 387-5141 or visit http://www.stjamesbr.org
St. James Center for Spiritual Formation