Celebrate International Jazz Day with an evening of swinging improvisational jazz as Max’s Mainstay All-Stars return to the Mainstay in Rock Hall Maryland on Thursday April 30 at 7:30 p.m. Their guest soloist is trumpeter Jon-Erik Kellso from New York. Admission is $20.
This concert is another in the Café Mainstay series founded by the late Max Corzilius. This unrehearsed all-star evening of jazz standards from the Great American Songbook features all 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 for the evening is Jon-Erik Kellso, a star trumpet player on the New York City jazz scene where he is a regular with Vince Giordano’s Nighthawks at Iguana on Mondays and Tuesdays and where he leads the EarRegulars at the Ear Inn on Sundays.
Kellso started playing professionally in and around Detroit, Michigan where he was born in 1964. He began early, played in a big band at age 11, in the International Youth Symphony at age 13, and in a concert alongside cornetist Wild Bill Davison at age 17. He played with a wide variety of groups in the Detroit area including the J.C. Heard Orchestra and then in 1988, joined James Dapogny’s Chicago Jazz Band with whom he’s made appearances throughout North America, concertized on PBS TV, and recorded extensively.
In 1989, he moved to New York City to join Vince Giordano’s Nighthawks and has since performed and recorded with the likes of Dan Barrett, Howard Alden, Milt Hinton, Dick Hyman, Catherine Russell, Linda Ronstadt, Leon Redbone, Levon Helm, Wynton Marsalis, Wycliffe Gordon and Ken Peplowski.
Noted engagements include a week in Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola with Wynton Marsalis celebrating Louis Armstrong’s Hot 5s and 7s; leading the EarRegulars at the Detroit Jazz Fest and Moab Music Fest; various appearances on Garrison Keillor’s “A Prairie Home Companion” live Public Radio International show, including a live cinecast to movie theaters nationwide with Elvis Costello; several jazz fest at sea cruises; concerts at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. with John Lithgow; tours of the U.S. and Japan with Ken Peplowski’s Kingdom of Swing big band; annual appearances in jazz clubs and festivals in New Orleans; and jazz parties, festivals, and concerts all over the world.
In addition to his weekly gigs at Iguana and the Ear Inn, Kellso can also be seen performing at all the great NYC venues, including Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola, Birdland, the Blue Note, the Iridium, the Jazz Standard and Small’s.
He has been part of television and movie soundtracks, including “Ghost World,” “The Aviator,” “The Good Shepherd,” and “Revolutionary Road” with Vince Giordano’s Nighthawks. He was on screen in “Revolutionary Road,” and was seen and heard on the HBO series, “Boardwalk Empire.”
Kellso has recorded over a hundred CDs, including five as a leader and three with Ruby Braff. He pays tribute to Braff on his “Remembering Ruby” CD on Gen-Erik Records. His latest Arbors release, “Blue Roof Blues: A Love Letter to New Orleans,” is dedicated to his friends in the Crescent City and all those affected by Hurricane Katrina.
The Mainstay (Home of Musical Magic) is the friendly informal storefront performing arts center on Rock Hall’s old time Main Street. 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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