Tadataka Unno
In a jazz concert spanning generations, continents, and cultures, Tokyo-born jazz pianist Tadataka Unno pays tribute to his hero, the late Dick Morgan, in a concert with three of Morgan’s sidemen at The Mainstay in Rock Hall Saturday, May 20, at 8 p.m.
The iconic jazz pianist Dick Morgan performed throughout the mid-Atlantic and on the Eastern Shore until his death in 2013 at age 84. His music has lived on in a way no one could have expected. Unbeknownst to Morgan, some of his many recordings with the likes of Cannonball Adderley, Charlie Byrd and other jazz luminaries had made their way into the hands of an up-and-coming pianist in Tokyo named Tadataka Unno. Mesmerized by Morgan’s music, Unno learned to play just like him. Unno eventually moved to New York and became a star in his own right, but he made a pilgrimage to Washington to meet Morgan in 2011, and when he played at Morgan’s funeral in 2013 Morgan’s widow was so startled by the resemblance that she started to cry.
Tadataka Unno
Today, despite touring around the world, Unno takes time to come to Maryland once a year to play tribute concerts to his idol and to celebrate the most unexpected of links between an African-American jazzman born in the Depression in Petersburg, VA and an aspiring young Japanese musician who grew up emulating his style thousands of miles away. The Dick Morgan Tribute Band, led by Tadataka Unno, will include Morgan’s longtime sidemen, Steve Abshire on guitar, David Einhorn on bass, and Nasar Abeday on drums.
Admission is $17 if purchased in advance and $20 at the door. Information and advance ticket sales are available at the Mainstay’s website http://www.mainstayrockhall.org. Reservations to pay at the door can be made by calling 410-639-9133.
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