(BEND, Ore.)— Following a successful inaugural year of “Jazz at the OXFORD,” during which 100% of available tickets were sold, Bend Oregon’s OXFORD hotel announced today that the series will expand to six weekends, with a lineup anchored by two time Grammy winning vocalist Diane Schuur and legendary saxophone player Bobby Watson.
Each weekend will feature three performances, with Friday night shows from 8:00-10:30pm and two shows on Saturdays, from 5:00-7:30pm and 8:00-10:30pm. Each performance will feature two full sets of jazz in a very special intimate club setting in the hotel’s lower level. Sound quality, staging, lighting and atmosphere are on par with other great jazz clubs. Seating capacity is limited to 105 people and performances are open to all ages. 10below, the hotel’s restaurant and bar, will offer a special food and beverage menu during each show.
For the first time, the full Jazz at the OXFORD series will be exclusively available from October 3rd to the 23rd. Single-show tickets will go on sale Monday, October 24th.
Patrons who purchase full series passes will receive a $30 discount below the cost of single-performance tickets, a 15% discount on any food & beverage purchases at the hotel’s 10below restaurant and concert food and beverage from Nov 1st 2011 to May 30th 2012. Additionally, all Series ticket holders will receive a 15% discount on hotel rooms for the same time period (November 1, 2011 – May 30, 2012) and be invited to private pre-show reception with the artists before each performance.
Each jazz artist coming to Bend has a significant following on an international level, both via recordings and live performances. The artists and dates announced for 2011-12 are:
-
- Thanksgiving Weekend – November 25-26An Evening with the Incomparable Diane SchuurWorld-renown and two time Grammy winner vocalist/pianist Diane Schuur, affectionately known as “Deedles,” will make a very rare small club appearance – giving fans a chance to hear one of the greatest living singers up close and personal. In a recording career spanning three decades, Ms. Schuur has received two Grammy Awards and three Grammy nominations, with music that has explored nearly every corner of the 20th century musical landscape. Diane Schuur and the Count Basie Orchestra, released in 1987, spent 33 consecutive weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard jazz charts. Ms. Shurr’s appearance will include a fantastic band, including Portland’s popular saxophonist Patrick Lamb, who has toured regularly with Ms. Schuur for several years.
-
- Christmas Week – December 22-23Tom Grant Christmas, featuring Shelly Rudolph & Jackie NicoleMaster pianist, accomplished singer and smooth jazz pioneer, Portland’s Tom Grant returns to Jazz at the Oxford, but this time to celebrate the joys of Christmas (as well as several of his hits). Mr. Grant has had four No. 1 albums on adult contemporary and smooth jazz charts. Tom will be accompanied by two amazing vocalists – the sultry Shelly Rudolph, a soulful and accomplished singer/songwriter, and Jackie Nicole, a young singer with a superstar future. Tom is known for warm and upbeat shows around the holidays. This will be a Christmas to remember – a perfect outing for the entire family.
- MLK Weekend – January 13-14Smokin’ Blues, Jazz & Soul with Mel Brown’s B-3 Organ GroupThe iconic “Gentleman of Jazz,” superstar drummer Mel Brown returns to Jazz at the Oxford with an all-star band anchored by the Hammond B-3 organ and its master player, Louis Pain, a veteran of the Bay Area music scene, super-hot saxophonist Renato Caranto and versatile master guitarist Dan Balmer. Mr. Brown started his career as a Motown house drummer, where he accompanied the Temptations, Smokey Robinson and the Supremes and touring for years with Diana Ross. If you haven’t heard Mel’s B-3 Organ Group, you will literally be blown away!
- President’s Day Weekend – February 17-18Piano Adventures with Darrell Grant
Featuring drummer extraordinaire Brian Blade & Special GuestsPortland-based PSU music professor and world renowned Darrell Grant enjoys an international reputation as one of the most gifted pianists and composers in the country. Although rooted in jazz, Mr. Grant explores a range of genres, plays with high energy and is a master soloist. Mr. Grant has appeared on some of the most important concert stages, including Carnegie Hall, and the Monterey, Telluride and San Francisco Jazz Festivals, and has toured with many jazz legends. Mr. Grant will make a rare public appearance at Jazz at the Oxford, where he will be joined by special guests including drummer extraordinaire Brian Blade.
Blade is a multi-talented young “veteran” who is widely respected in the world of jazz as the drummer/composer/leader of Brian Blade and the Fellowship Band. However, Blade’s talents stretch across genres, as he is also is the drummer for such greats as Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, Wayne Shorter, Bill Frisell and Emmylou Harris. An appearance by Blade is a very special treat, especially in the intimate club environment of Jazz at the Oxford. - Spring Break Weekend – March 16-17Legendary Saxophonist Bobby WatsonFormer musical director of Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers, saxophonist Bobby Watson has achieved legend status over a distinguished career. While with the Jazz Messengers, Watson shared the bandstand with the great trumpeter Wynton Marsalis. After 25 years based in New York City, Mr. Watson became the recipient of the first endowed chair at the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory of Music and Dance in 2000, he continues to serve as the Conservatory’s Director of Jazz Studies. Mr. Watson has issued some 30 recordings as a leader and appeared on over 100 other recordings. Mr. Watson has recorded over 100 original compositions, including the soundtrack of A Bronx Tale, Robert DeNiro’s 1993 directorial debut. Numerous Watson compositions have become classics, including “Time Will Tell,” “In Case You Missed It” and “Wheel Within A Wheel.” In Bend, Mr. Watson will be accompanied by a
Portland-based rhythm section led by the great Mel Brown, pianist Gordon Lee, bassist Ed Bennett and trumpeter Derek Sims. - April 13-14Michael Allen Harrison Superband featuring Julianne JohnsonThe 2011-12 season of Jazz at the Oxford culminates with an intimate performance from Portland’s popular Michael Allen Harrison, who will be joined on stage by the talented vocals of Julianne Johnson and the masterful saxophone of Renato Caranto. Mr. Harrison unique brand of music covers a broad range of styles, from jazz, smooth jazz, fusion, new age and adult contemporary. Mr. Harrison is well known for his acclaimed Ten Grands, as the primary platform to raise funds for The Snowman Foundation, which has donated over $2 million for music education throughout Oregon. Mr. Harrison is also a noted composer and arranger, including an annual presentation of a new composition with the Portland Festival Symphony. Although Mr. Harrison has performed occasionally in Bend, never before has he appeared on an intimate club stage, so this promises to be a very special event showcasing his talents and versatility.
Full series tickets are exclusively available through October 14th via www.bendtickets.com and www.oxfordhotelbend.com/jazz-at-the-oxford.htm. Series ticket purchasers will be contacted by an OXFORD hotel concierge who will assist them with their choice of performances during each weekend. Each patron will receive a Jazz at the OXFORD VIP pass which can be used to obtain the applicable discounts, as well as to gain admittance at their selected performances. Single performance tickets will go on sale October 24th. Pre or post-show Jazz reservations and well as special lodging packages for out-of-town guests available by calling the OXFORD hotel directly at 877-440-8436.
All shows will also be all ages, enabling families to expose younger generations to jazz music.
―We are really excited about this year’s lineup,‖ said G2 Strategic CEO Marshall Glickman, whose company is responsible for artist booking and coordinating other aspects of the shows. ―To get artists of the stature of Diane Schuur and Bobby Watson to perform at our small club in Bend is a coup. I think it speaks to the buzz that the Jazz at the OXFORD series has begun to generate locally and regionally, not only with jazz fans but also with people who appreciate the very best musical talent.
Glickman added, ―I am also pleased that we are bringing back Tom Grant and Mel Brown, but both with entirely different performances from what they did last year. Tom’s Christmas show is wonderful, and both Shelly and Jackie are outstanding singers. This will be a perfect family event, just days before Christmas. And Mel’s B-3 Organ group is one of the hottest sounds I have ever heard. Michael Allen Harrison is well known to Oregonians, but for our series, he is putting together a very hot jazz show, so it will be something new for his many fans. And, finally, Darrell Grant is truly one of the best pianists in the country – very well known and respected in jazz circles – who is bringing one of the greatest all-around drummers in the world, Brian Blade.
―Last year, we launched Jazz at the OXFORD to see if we could attract a new audience to downtown Bend,‖ said OXFORD Hotel Group Regional Manager Ben Perle. ―We weren’t sure how it would go, so you can imagine how thrilled we were when the tickets were sold out for every show. It shows that Bend is not only populated by elite athletes, but also by people who want to enrich their lives with world-class culture. We think Jazz at the OXFORD offers a big city experience and raises the bar for quality.‖ Perle added, ―As Bend’s reputation continues to grow nationally, and as we become an increasingly viable business travel destination, these jazz weekends fit right into our strategy to be great community partners and build cultural events for all generations‖ said Ben Perle, general manager of the OXFORD hotel.
Jazz at the OXFORD is presented by the OXFORD hotel, in collaboration with G2 Strategic, The Source Weekly, Combined Communications, Saxon’s Fine Jewelers and Subaru of Bend.
As the flagship hotel of the family-owned OXFORD Hotel Group, a Bend-based hotelier that has been in the hospitality business since 1955 and currently manages a portfolio of 17 properties in Oregon, Washington, Idaho and California, the OXFORD hotel is the culmination of nearly 55 years of history creating unique and memorable experiences for business and leisure travelers.
Find out more information about the artists and the concert series at: http://www.oxfordhotelbend.com/jazz-at-the-oxford.htm
About the OXFORD Hotel Group:
The OXFORD hotel is owned and operated by the OXFORD Hotel Group, a Bend-based family-owned hotelier that currently manages a portfolio of 17 properties throughout the West under the OXFORD Suites, OXFORD Inns, Cimarron Inn and OXFORD Hotel brands. OXFORD Hotel Group has been in the hospitality business since 1955 and opened its first OXFORD Suites property in 1989. Today, OXFORD Hotel Group properties can be found in Oregon, Washington, Idaho and California.
For more information visit www.oxfordhotelgroup.com.
About G2 Strategic:
G2 Strategic, LLC provides global sports business solutions, addressing a broad range of issues and opportunities faced by the sports and entertainment industries. G2 stands for ―Glickman Global, an acronym of its founder and CEO, Marshall Glickman, and the firms focus on its international client base. G2 was launched in June, 2004 in Boston, Massachusetts and is now based in Bend, Oregon.
Since 1995, G2 has served a range of clients and participated in several major development projects, including sports franchises (Indiana Pacers, Miami Heat, Toronto Raptors, CSKA Moscow, Asvel Basket), federations (French Tennis Federation, Tennis Canada), developers (SPSM, Bechtel), construction companies (Clark Construction Group, leagues (Euroleague Basketball, Turkish Basketball League), financiers (GSO Capital Partners), architects (Ellerbe Becket, NBBJ) and food service companies (Compass Group France/Eurest). Glickman has overseen or participated in several major arena and stadium developments, including the Moscow Sports & Entertainment Project, the Rose Quarter (Portland, Oregon), PGE Park (Portland, Oregon) and American Airlines Arena (Miami, Florida). G2 is currently orchestrating the development of a new indoor 12,000-seat multi-purpose arena in Lyon, France, is an advisor to the French Tennis Federation regarding the renovation of Court Philippe Chatrier, the ―center court at Roland-Garros and is involved in venue development in China.
For artist bios, or more information, please contact:
Dominic Donatoni, General Manager, 541-382-8436, Dominicd@oxfordhotelbend.com
Marshall Glickman, CEO, G2 Strategic, 541-633-7088, marshall@g2strategic.net
Ben Perle, Regional Manager, 541-382-2188, benp@oxfordhotelbend.com