Café Mainstay jazz returns to the Mainstay in Rock Hall with a reunion of the members of the Mainstay house band, Max’s Mainstay All-Stars on Thursday May 3 at 7:30 pm. Admission is $15. The concert is part of the Mainstay’s David Pike Memorial Jazz Series. For information and reservations call 410-639-9133. Information is also available at the Mainstay’s website
Max’s Mainstay All-Stars were formed to honor the late Mainstay benefactor Max Corzilius who founded, funded and played drums with the house band in the long-running Max n’ Friends jazz series at the Mainstay. The All-Stars are a group of musicians from the region who were part of the Max n’ Friends “house band” that performed many times over the years at the Mainstay, often with a guest artist. The band is Chuck Redd on vibes and drums, Robert Redd on piano, John Doughten on reeds, and Tom Anthony on bass. They will be joined by vocalist Sue Matthews and pianist Dick Durham. In keeping with the format of the Café Mainstay series, the evening features every member of the band in unrehearsed improvisation on jazz standards.
Chuck Redd is an accomplished performer on both drums and vibraphone. He began performing and recording internationally when he joined the Charlie Byrd Trio at the age of 21. He has toured in Europe and Japan with the Barney Kessel Trio, Ken Peplowski, Terry Gibbs and Conte Candoli, was featured vibraphonist with the Mel Tormé All-Star Jazz Quintet and was artist-in-residence at the Smithsonian Jazz Café for several years.
Robert Redd started playing trumpet at the age of twelve and switched to piano age twenty-three. He was a member of the Keter Betts Trio, pianist and musical director for singer/songwriter Kenny Rankin, plays regularly with Brooks Tegler’s combos and big bands and has performed with Ethel Ennis, Melba Moore, Bud Shank, Houston Persons, Ken Peplowski , Warren Vache, Scott Hamilton, Howard Alden, Gene Bertoncini, The Harry James Big Band, The Artie Shaw Big Band (w/Dick Johnson) and the Duke Ellington Orchestra.
John Doughten’s style on clarinet and saxophone is firmly rooted in the swing tradition and influenced by Benny Goodman. He started playing clarinet at the age of 12 and at 15 joined the Lee Paige Quintet. He soon picked up the tenor saxophone as well and played with Paige for the next 19 years, playing throughout Delaware, Maryland’s Eastern Shore, and Southeastern Pennsylvania. Since then he has worked primarily as a free-lancer with groups in Delaware and Pennsylvania and continues to do so today.
Sue Matthews’ silky smooth voice, smoldering delivery and lyrical phrasing are always a hit at the Mainstay. She has a well-deserved reputation as a superb singer with an intimate style, flawless delivery, exquisite phrasing and a passion for getting to the heart of a song. Her most recent CD is Live at the Mainstay.
Dick Durham is a composer, arranger and piano genius who makes his home in Church Hill. He has a Masters in Music and is known for dazzling audiences with his improvisations on familiar themes and with his own compositions. In describing Durham’s sparkling approach to the piano, John Wilson of the New York Times said, “Dick Durham has managed to expand the usual concept of a jazz pianist into something approaching a quintet.”
Tom Anthony is known to many Kent County residents as the bass player in bands such as Guys & Doll, Big Hats & No Cattle, Chesapeake Scenes and the Mainstay’s house band Max n’ Friends. He is also a fine classical guitar player who teaches at Washington College.
This concert is part of the Mainstay’s David Pike Memorial Jazz Series. Pike was a highly respected legal journalist covering the Supreme Court who caught the jazz bug early and by high school he had 40 guitar students and was working at after-hours clubs in his home town of Cleveland as well as working at the Cleveland Press. He paid his way through college with journalism and jazz, but ultimately chose journalism as a career He kept his guitar handy and became a very knowledgeable jazz fan with an impressive collection of recordings. In retirement, he again took up the guitar, playing for himself, improvising on the guitar while listening to radio or CD and at the Open Mic Night at Andy’s in Chestertown.
The Mainstay (Home of Musical Magic) is the friendly informal storefront performing arts center on Rock Hall’s old time Main Street. It is a 501(c)(3), non profit dedicated to the arts, serving Rock Hall, MD and the surrounding region. It is committed to presenting local, regional and national level talent, at a reasonable price, in an almost perfect acoustic setting. Wine, beer, sodas and snacks are available at the bar.
The Mainstay is supported by ticket sales, fundraising including donations from friends and audience members and an operating grant from the Maryland State Arts Council.
For information and reservations call the Mainstay at 410-639-9133. More information is also available at the Mainstay’s website .
Upcoming Mainstay performances include:
May 3 Max’s Mainstay All-Stars Reunion
May 10 Ramblin’ Jack Elliot
May 12 Verroneau
May 26 Honey Dewdrops
June 1 Tribute to Pete Seeger: Betty and the Boomers
June 2 Tribute to Pete Seeger: Tom Paxton
June 9 Guy Davis
June 16 Red Mountain (free outdoor concert)
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