Max’s Mainstay All-Stars return for an evening of improvisation on the great jazz classics with guest soloist Adrian Cunningham on sax, clarinet and flute at the Mainstay in Rock Hall, MD at 8:00 p.m. on Thursday November 20. Admission is $20.
This concert is another in the Café Mainstay series founded by the late Max Corzilius. The all-star evening of standards from the Great American Songbook and beyond features the members of the Mainstay house band: Chuck Redd on vibes and drums; Robert Redd on piano; Steve Abshire on guitar, John Doughten on sax and clarinet and Tom Anthony on bass. They will be joined by vocalist Sue Matthews and pianist Dick Durham for some of that famous Mainstay magic. The guest soloist is the Australian multi-instrumentalist Adrian Cunningham.
Adrian Cunningham, a New York Based musician originally hailing from Australia, is one of his home country’s best jazz exports, one of the finest multi-instrumentalists in Jazz. He started his musical career on piano at the age of 16 but since switching to woodwinds has become well known for his ability to swap seamlessly between alto saxophone, tenor saxophone, clarinet and flute.
Since relocating to New York City in 2008 he has performed at some of the Big Apple’s finest clubs: Blue Note, Smalls, Birdland, 55 Bar, Apollo Theatre, Fat Cat, Dizzy’s Club (Lincoln Centre) and the Village Vanguard; with such luminaries as Lew Soloff, Wycliffe Gordon, George Coleman Jr and Bucky Pizzarelli.
Cunningham has recently been performing with the world-class trombonist Wycliffe Gordon, including performances at the Johannesburg Jazz Festival, London Jazz Festival, Bern Jazz Festival (Switzerland); and regular performances in New York at the prestigious clubs Dizzy’s (Lincoln Center) and the Kitano Hotel. He also joined Gordon in a recording in Abbey Road studios alongside Wess Anderson, Reginald Veal and Herlin Riley. Cunningham has appeared on two of Wycliffe’s album releases to rave reviews. Hot House NYC said, “One of the unexpected joys of the album is the rich, woody clarinet of Cunningham.”
Cunningham also has a busy Jazz Festival schedule on his own, often being invited back year after year. Such festivals include North Carolina Jazz Festival, Central Illinois Jazz festival, and also concerts at the famous Gennett studios (Richmond, Indiana) and he has appeared twice at the prestigious Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland.
He has also spent performed often in Japan, notably with the Japanese star Senri Oe, performing to a sell-out audience at Tokyo Jazz festival and also Blue Note Tokyo and Nagoya (2013). He has also toured Japan twice with the Ken Peplowski big band (2011, 2013).
The Mainstay (Home of Musical Magic) is the friendly informal storefront performing arts center on Rock Hall’s old time Main Street. 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 https://www.mainstayrockhall.org.
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