only $15

Describing themselves as “a drinking band with a jazz problem”, the Kings of Crownsville have developed a fun-loving rootsy sound that can take you from the streets of New Orleans out onto old Route 66 picking up influences from nearly every page of the American songbook along the way. Their bluesy sound comes to life with the solid songwriting, lead vocals and guitar of Steve Johnson, John C. Harris on trombone and vocals, Mike McCormick on piano and vocals, Rob Creath on percussion, Pete Miller on bass and Jim Tavener on trumpet. Their good-time music is just the right antidote to the mid-winter doldrums and their New Orleans influenced sound will have you dreaming of Mardi Gras.

The Kings of Crownsville website
Listen to the Kings of Crownsville

only $20

Legendary jazz pianist Dick Morgan has been known to bring audiences to reverent silence with jazz versions of ballads like “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” then excite them minutes later with swinging song renditions reminiscent of Erroll Garner and Oscar Peterson. Still swinging today at age 80, Dick Morgan is a living link to the history of jazz. As a child in Petersburg, Virginia during the Depression, he amazed adults by showing he could play anything he heard. He landed his first radio show at the age of 10. One night as a teenager he found himself performing for Duke Ellington, who had heard of the young pianist’s talents. His first recording on Riverside was arranged by Julian “Cannonball” Adderly and was a jazz piano compilation featuring Morgan along with Thelonious Monk, Bill Evans and Billy Taylor. Today he performs regularly at the Kennedy Center, Blues Alley, and at jazz festivals and cruises. Don’t miss this very special Mainstay performance sponsored by Noteworthy Jazz and Neil Tilghman.

Dick Morgan’s website

only $15

West Coast artists Holly Hofmann and Mike Wofford wowed us in 2008 with their captivating jazz for flute and piano. Hofmann’s sure technique, inventive ideas, secure sense of swing and broad emotional range have earned her recognition among jazz lovers around the world as, “The First Lady of the Flute”. Her robust tone is the result of a rich classical background but she is equally noted for her warm, rich sound, infectious swing and ability to play a bluesy, hard-driving line. She will be performing with her husband, renowned pianist Mike Wofford. Wofford is a brilliant pianist and a sensitive and astute accompanist and composer. His resume includes stints as music director for Sarah Vaughan and Ella Fitzgerald. All About Jazz wrote of Wofford, “His sound reflects a classical touch and a huge technical proficiency mixed with a soulfulness and invention….” Together Hofmann and Wofford create a brilliant, powerful and yet playful mainstream jazz sound. This is another in our jazz series in memory of David Pike.

Holly Hofmann’s website
Mike Wofford’s website
Click here for a video of Holly Hofmann & Mike Wofford

only $20

Alison Brown is a brilliant genre-bending player who takes the banjo and guitar far beyond their Appalachian roots with a rich, exquisite blend of bluegrass, jazz, Celtic and Latin influences that has been described as simply jaw-dropping. She has won and been nominated for several Grammy awards including a nomination this year for Best Country Instrumental Performance and is often compared to another banjo prodigy, Béla Fleck for her unique style of playing. Her first appearance at the Grand Ol’ Opry was as a teenager but then music took a back seat to education while she got a degree from Harvard followed by an MBA from UCLA. After a couple of years as an investment banker, she got back into music playing banjo with Alison Krauss and Union Station and then as musical director for Michelle Shocked in the early 90s. This experience led Brown to develop her own music, a merger of bluegrass with jazz and folk idioms, bringing to mind the fusion styles of Béla Fleck and David Grisman. In 1995, she and her husband Garry West founded Compass Records which has been called “one of the greatest independent labels of the last decade” by Billboard Magazine. The Quartet also includes West on bass, John R. Burr on piano and Larry Atamanuik on drums. Billboard also said, “Like James Taylor’s voice or B.B. King’s guitar, Alison Brown’s banjo is an instrument possessed of a unique sonic signature and an inescapable beauty.”

Alison Brown’s website
Video of Alison Brown Quartet - banjo
Video of Alison Brown Quartet - guitar

only $15

One of the very finest acoustic blues musicians alive today, Toby Walker has won the Best Performer in all categories at the prestigious International Blues Challenge in Memphis, TN. Start with some hot picking (think David Bromberg, Merle Travis or Robert Johnson), add a knack for improvisation (like Buddy Guy, Dickey Betts or Mark Knopfler) and you have Toby Walker: a unique, accomplished fingerstyle guitar virtuoso adept at blues, rags, country picking, a skilled singer, a songwriter and a master storyteller. His passion for the blues and other traditional American music led him to the Mississippi Delta, Virginia and the Carolinas where he tracked down some of the more obscure - but immensely talented - music makers of an earlier era. He learned directly at the feet of Eugene Powell, James “Son” Thomas, Etta Baker, and R.L Burnside, among others. Whether it is telling the humorous and heartwarming tales of these and other masters, talking about his inspirations and his travels, or astounding you with his National steel guitar, his performances are a rich banquet of the blues.

Toby Walker’s website
Video of Toby Walker

only $20

In celebration of Django Reinhardt’s 100th birthday, guitar virtuoso Frank Vignola, a leading proponent of Reinhardt’s gypsy jazz style of playing, has assembled a topnotch quintet for a searing tribute to one of his earliest musical influences. Few jazz legends have a more exotic mystique than Django Reinhardt, the Belgian-born gypsy guitarist who led the legendary Parisian ensemble known as Quintet of the Hot Club of France in the 1930s and 1940s. By the time of his death in 1953 at the age of 43, Django was recognized as one of the most important jazz guitarists in history. Vignola is a Mainstay favorite for his virtuosity and versatility. He is a stunning guitarist who has performed in gypsy jazz tributes to Django at Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall and with the Boston Pops to name just a few. He has all the credentials to lead this centennial tribute to Django Reinhardt

Frank Vignola’s website
Video of Frank Vignola’s Hot Club

only $15

World class jazz bassist and singer songwriter Nicki Parrott has brought a signature sound to every bass part she has played in her work with artists around the globe. She performs regularly at the world’s best Jazz Festivals and for years appeared Mondays at the Iridium Jazz Club in New York City with the late legendary guitarist and inventor, Les Paul. Her recording People Will Say We’re in Love (with Rossano Sportiello, Arbors) was named one of the 10 best jazz releases of 2007 by Steve Futterman in The New Yorker. He says, “Parrott is an exceptional bassist and an endearingly modest singer”.

Nicki Parrott’s website

only $20

This new acoustic blues duo combines the celebrated harmonica playing of Phil Wiggins with the accomplished guitar of Corey Harris. Wiggins played for years with the late John Cephas exploring the African and European elements that co-exist in blues, while Harris’ musical interests have led him on worldwide explorations of the historical and cultural contexts of the blues. Besides being a renowned harmonica player, Wiggins is aa gifted songwriter and singer. Harris’ imaginative compositions explore an adventurous path illuminated by the blues. Together they demonstrate the boundless expressive power of blues music, weaving together traditional styles with elements from jazz, reggae, gospel, and African and Caribbean folk music. Sponsored by a grant from the Maryland State Arts Council.

Video of Phil Wiggins and Corey Harris

Andre Tarantiles

only $15

Mark Snyder (oboe and English horn) presented his New York Recital Debut to critical acclaim in March 2002 at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall as a prizewinner of the Artists International Competition. He has appeared with many regional orchestras and his Broadway credits include Les Miserables, Little Women, Tale of Two Cities, South Pacific, and The Phantom of the Opera. Andre Tarantiles is currently the principal harpist for several regional orchestras, the Philly Pops, and the Casals Festival in Puerto Rico. He has performed on national television and in concert halls in orchestras backing up such international stars as Renée Fleming, Placido Domingo, Ella Fitzgerald, Tony Bennett and Patti Lupone. Reviewers have described their concerts together as “exquisite” and “auditory perfection”.

Mark Snyder’s website
Andre Tarantiles’ website

only $15

Craig Bickhardt is not your everyday singer-songwriter. His songs have been recorded by the likes of Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Trisha Yearwood, Tony Rice, Charlie Louvin, Ray Charles, B. B. King, Martina McBride, The Judds, and Dianne Schuur. He had four Number one hits - “Turn It Loose” and “I Know Where I’m Going” by the Judds, “In Between Dances” by Pam Tillis, and “It Must Be Love” by Ty Herndon during his 24 years as a writer in Nashville. He was also an early member of the legendary songwriters-in-the-round series at Nashville’s storied Bluebird Cafe. Now living in the Philadelphia area, he is concentrating on a performing career. Not only is he a marvelous writer with wonderful songs, he is a terrific live performer with a wonderful voice and great guitar skills.

Craig Bickhardt’s website
Video of Craig Bickhardt
and more video