A new concert series launching this week at Stony Brook Southampton will bring Grammy-winning artists and nationally recognized jazz musicians to the East End, as the university partners with the Jazz Loft to debut a five-part series at the Avram Theater beginning Thursday, April 24.
The initiative marks the first jazz series at the theater since the university took over management of the venue. The performances aim to bring the spirit and tradition of jazz to the community.
“We're super excited about it,” said Wendy Pearson, vice president for strategic initiatives and executive director of Stony Brook Southampton.
In an interview with the South Shore Press, Pearson said one concert will be held each month through August. Each event will feature a distinct theme curated by Professor Thomas Manuel, founder of the Jazz Loft and Stony Brook’s Jazz Department Endowed Artist in Residence Fellow.
All concerts begin at 7 p.m. Tickets are $36 per show, with discounts available for students and seniors. Tickets can be purchased through the concert series website.
The Avram Theater, located at 39 Tuckahoe Road on the Stony Brook Southampton campus, serves as the venue for most of the series.
“We've just recently started holding campus-sponsored events like this in the Avram Theater,” Pearson said. “It's a beautiful 400-seat theater. We kind of reopened at the beginning of the year when they did the musical called ‘Underground.’ The community loved it; it engaged the schools. So, this is our next event series.”
Pearson said the decision to focus on jazz reflects both artistic and educational goals.
“Personally, I feel like jazz is just the coolest art form…,” she said, noting “the way it comes together through improvisation” makes each performance unique.
The series opens April 24 with “Jazz as Democracy,” featuring music by Duke Ellington, John Coltrane, Mary Lou Williams and Billy Strayhorn. The performance will include The Jazz Loft All Stars and vocalist, composer and pianist Mala Waldron.
The second installment, “The Art of New,” will take place Thursday, May 29, and spotlight emerging jazz talent, including Grammy winners Dan Pugach and Nicole Zuraitis. The performance includes original compositions by an all-star ensemble.
“Long Island Jazz Legends & Local Juke Joints” is scheduled for Thursday, June 19. The program pays tribute to regional jazz figures such as Teddy Charles, Teo Macero, Hal McKusick and The Heath Brothers. The Southampton African American Museum will offer a pre-show lecture on juke joint culture. An exhibit exploring the South Fork’s cultural ties to jazz will also be on display.
The Thursday, July 24, performance, “The Spirit & Soul of Latin Jazz,” will be held under a tent on the Athletics Fields. The concert will feature Carlos Jimenez, Mambo Dulcet and other Latin jazz artists. An exhibit will honor the legacy of Latin jazz violinist Xavier Cugat.
The final concert, “Abstract Angularity,” will take place Thursday, Aug. 28. The event will explore connections between jazz and visual art in collaboration with the Pollock-Krasner Study Center and Duck Creek Arts Center. The Jazz Loft Jazz Orchestra will perform, and artist Kevin McEvoy will present a new work created in honor of the series.
Pearson said the goal is to gauge community interest and lay the groundwork for future programming.
“This is kind of our pilot to see if there’s interest, but I definitely see an opportunity for more rich collaboration around things in jazz, maybe going as far as doing jazz camps in the summer….and maybe even involving the schools more as we develop some of these things….There’s a lot of opportunities for us to have spin-off projects from this series but this is our first go.”