An Evening of Jazz with the Mandy Gaines Quartet

6620 Montgomery Road,Cincinnati OH 45213

02 June, 2023

Description

Enjoy an evening of jazz with the Mandy Gaines Quartet (Mandy Gaines - vocalist, Brad Myers - guitar, and Jim Leslie - drums) to celebrate the opening of the Cincinnati Jazz Hall of Fame's exhibition titled "All That Jazz." Meet the Mandy Gaines Quartet! Mandy Gaines, a talented, versatile vocalist and entertainer, with more than 30 years of professional experience, entertains and delights audiences throughout the world. Her performances are generally viewed as refreshing, soulful and exciting. From 1988 to the present, she continues to improve and grow through her gifted interpretations of Jazz, Pop, R&B, and Soul classics as well as writing and performing her original works. Mandy began singing at an early age in school and church. She holds a B.A. from the College of Wooster in Speech/Arts. She has continued her studies through private vocal instruction and various workshops emphasizing oral interpretation, jazz improvisation, vocal technique, theatre and broadcasting/media studies. Guitarist Brad Myers began playing music at the age of 6 and decided to pursue transcendence through jazz expression at the age of 13. And that purity of spirit and joy of creativity has been at the core of his artistry throughout his musical life. Brad spent more than 20 years as a much sought after sideman and co-directing a variety of acclaimed ensembles that crossed the boundaries of multiple musical genres before deciding to release, Prime Numbers, the first album released on his own label, Colloquy Records. Brad left his home in the Washington D.C. area in 1994 and moved to Cincinnati to study Jazz Guitar with James E. Smith at the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music on an Honors Scholarship. For all musicians who strive for the profound, Myers knows that education is a never-ending process. Combining his earliest studies on piano and switching to guitar at age 10, maturing under his later inspirations, and catalyzing all of that with his own vast set of personal musical experience, Brad Myers is staying busy and happily engaged in making his own powerful mark on the glorious legacy of jazz. Chris Berg, bassist, holds a Master of Arts in Theory and Composition from Montclair State University, NJ and a Bachelor of Music in Double Bass Performance from Manhattan School of Music in New York City and has enjoyed an active career in jazz for 43 years. He is also active as a composer/arranger and his songs, jazz compositions, and orchestral and chamber pieces have been performed and recorded by many artists. He has also written original music for film & television, musical theatre and video games.He is the inventor of the Berg Bass-in-a-Box, a collapsible semi-acoustic bass. He is assistant professor of Jazz Studies at Central State University, adjunct professor of Jazz Bass at Otterbein University, and a teacher in numerous clinics and workshops throughout the Midwest. The Mandy Gaines Quartet drummer, Jim Leslie, is an active professional musician and the drummer for the Blue Wisp Big Band. Leslie is originally from Warren, Michigan, and a graduate of Central Michigan University, where he studied with Robert Hohner. Leslie is a member of the Cincinnati Contemporary Jazz Orchestra, a 17-member ensemble dedicated to performing, preserving, and teaching Jazz as a living art form. He also plays with the Classic Jazz Stompers, specializing in jazz from the 20s and 30s. Jim Leslie is currently a lecturer in the Department of Music at the University of Dayton, where he has taught since 1999.