Christie Dashiell
On Saturday, June 29 the Mainstay in Rock Hall welcomes back the soulful jazz piano sounds of Allyn Johnson with his Quartet. Joining them on the program will be D.C. jazz vocalist Christie Dashiell.
Born in D.C., Johnson honed his technical, intuitive and spiritual facilities as the pianist in his uncle’s church. He credits his church experience as nurturing his musical “feel”, what other musicians have referred to as ‘flowing in the Spirit.’
Johnson was mentored by the legendary educator Calvin Jones at the University of the District of Columbia. He subsequently joined the faculty at UDC and went on to serve as director of their jazz program.
A product of jazz’s higher-education world, Johnson also acknowledges its downsides. “I think that jazz in a college atmosphere can only take you so far. If you want to really learn how to play a jazz gig, you must see live music, go to jam sessions, and talk to the jazz masters.”
Johnson asserts that the true essence of jazz is in the blues, and that comes through hard life experience. With every note he plays, the influence of the blues is evident. He might lag behind the beat, stretching out the swing feel into an almost drunken sway. In that, you might hear musical references to a wide range of influences, from Thelonious Monk to Mcoy Tyner to Kenny Kirkland.
Despite many invitations and the career attraction of working in the New York City jazz scene, he has chosen to remain in the D.C area, and consequently has cemented his place as one of the best pianists D.C. has ever heard – and perhaps one of the best the world never has.
Vocalist Christie Dashiell honed her skills at Howard University and later at the Manhattan School of Music. She has performed at the Kennedy Center in NYC, and at the Lincoln Theater in D.C. She is the recipient of DownBeat magazine’s Best College Graduate Jazz Vocalist and Outstanding Soloist awards in the jazz vocal category. She has performed in concert with Esperanza Spalding, Smokey Robinson, and Geri Allen.
Showtime for the Mainstay concert event is 8 pm. Tickets are $20 in advance of the show and can be purchased online at mainstayrockhall.org. Phone reservations are accepted by calling (410) 639-9133 (tickets reserved by phone are $25 when paid at the door). The Mainstay is located at 5753 N Main Street in Rock Hall, Maryland. Its regular calendar of local, regional, and nationally touring artists features a live performance every week of the year (February through December) in a variety of music genres.
The programs of the Mainstay are supported with funds from the Maryland State Arts Council and the Kent Cultural Alliance.
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