Steve Abshire returns to The Mainstay in Rock Hall, Maryland on Friday July 22 at 8:00 p.m for an evening of sparkling jazz standards. He will be joined by Fred Hughes on piano and Amy Shook on bass. Admission is $20. For information and reservations call 410-639-9133.
Information is also available at the Mainstay’s website https://www.mainstayrockhall.org.
Steve Abshire
Steve Abshire’s mainstream style comes from years of study with jazz guitar legends Herb Ellis, Barney Kessel, Joe Pass and rhythm guitarist Steve Jordan. He has appeared in concert with such notable jazz greats as Mundell Lowe, Charlie Byrd, Herb Ellis, and Marian McPartland, to name just a few.
He also has accompanied such legendary vocalists as Della Reese, Rosemary Clooney and Joe Williams. In 1997, he retired from the U.S. Navy Band’s premiere jazz ensemble the Commodores, where he performed as guitarist/featured soloist for 18 of his 24 years in Navy Bands.
Abshire can be found on numerous recordings. His own recordings include his first, “Big Brass Bed Blues”, which received a 4 1/2-star rating from Down Beat Magazine, “Come In From The Rain,” “The Good Stuff“ with Gene Bertoncini, “Two in the Pocket” and “Live at the Mainstay” with guitarist Vince Lewis. “Detour Ahead” with guitarist Paul Wingo is a tribute to their main influences, Herb Ellis and Barney Kessel. “Tis The Season,” the music of Christmas with a little jazz twist is also on the Mainstay Music label. His latest, “Between Friends” is a duo performance with 7 string guitarist Steve Herberman Pianist Fred Hughes can be heard on over 30 recordings and has performed with the Baltimore and Chicago Symphony Orchestras as well as jazz greats Claudio Roditi, Al Cohn, Arturo Sandoval, Roy Hargrove, Bill Watrous, and Toots Thielemans.
As a conductor, he has directed the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, the Atlanta and Grand Rapids Symphony Orchestras, Washington and Chicago Lyric Opera Orchestras, the Los Angeles Philharmonic and was musical director for the Three Mo’ Tenors.
As pianist and soloist for United States Army’s premier touring jazz ensemble, the Jazz Ambassadors, he performed in all fifty states, Canada, Mexico, Japan, Europe and at such prestigious jazz festivals as the Newport, Montreux, Nice and North Sea Jazz Festivals.
Amy Shook is one of the most in-demand acoustic bassists in the mid-Atlantic, coveted for her huge sound and infectious, driving groove. She co-leads the Shook/Russo 5tet, has collaborated with Felicia Carter and performs regularly with the Fred Hughes Trio, as well as the all-woman powerhouse trio the 3Divas.
From 2013-2016, she performed with Sherrie Maricle and the DIVA Jazz Orchestra backing up Maurice Hines in Tappin’ Thru Life in a number of highly acclaimed performances including those at Arena Stage in Washington, DC; the Cleveland Playhouse in Cleveland, OH; Delaware Theatre Company in Wilmington, DE; and New World Stages in New York, NY. In the fall of 2016 she will be with Tappin’ at the Penn’s Landing Playhouse in Philadelphia, PA.
The Mainstay (Home of Musical Magic) is the friendly informal storefront performing arts center on Rock Hall’s old time Main Street.
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