Experience three different “Jazz Divas” on three different Saturdays at the Classic Wineseller beginning Saturday, July 11, 2015 at 7 p.m.
The series opens with jazz and pop singer, Paula Hanke and partner Tony Godwin (guitar, vocals). Zack Page (bass) and Bill Berg (drums) will be joining them.
Paula Hanke and Tony Godwin have been sharing their fiery yet tender musical chemistry with audiences at private events, house concerts, hotels and coffee houses for several years. From the beginning, they’ve loved creating unique arrangements of familiar tunes, stretching the definition of jazz and popular music and breathing new life into songs from many decades.
From torch ballads to current clever and inspired hits, the music is eclectic, powerfully performed and always intimate. Ms. Hanke and Mr. Godwin are all about the heart and heat and tenderness in the music, in the guitar, and above all, in the human voice.
The second show takes place on Saturday, July 18 at 7 pm with jazz singer Serpentine Arborvitae. Joining Ms. Arborvitae is Steinway Artist and composer Michael Jefry Stevens and bassist Zack Page.
New York transplant Serpentine Arborvitae has a way of bewitching audiences with unusual phrasing, repertoire choices, guttural effects, and syllables, calling to mind ancient languages. She developed her jazz voice in clubs and lofts working with esteemed musicians including pianists Fred Hersch, Anthony Davis, and Kenny Barron. She was discovered and taken under wing by jazz master Ornette Coleman. Arborvitae’s vocal improvisational skills have won her critical acclaim in “Downbeat” and “Musician” magazine.
The Classic Wineseller welcomes jazz vocalist Wendy Jones on Saturday, July 25 at 7 pm for the third show of “Jazz Divas”. Accompanying Ms. Jones will be guitarist Andy Page. From swing to bossas to bebop, the duo will pay tribute to the greatest jazz vocalist/guitar duos of all time including Ella Fitzgerald and Joe Pass, Julie London and Barney Kessel, Peggy Lee and Dave Barbour, and Les Paul and Mary Ford. Enjoy stunning and thoughtful renditions of songs like Cry Me A River, How High The Moon, I Don’t Know Enough About You, and many more standards that you know and love.
Wendy Jones received a B.M. and an M.M. in vocal performance from Appalachian State University, then joined the voice faculty there where she taught for eight years before beginning a full-time, professional singing/acting career. An accomplished Equity actor as well as singer, Ms. Jones was one of nine singers chosen after extensive auditions in North America, Europe, and Australia, to appear at Tokyo Disney in the Broadway review ENCORE! Wendy Jones is a member of The Jazz Education Network, Actors’ Equity Association, The Manhattan Association of Cabarets and Clubs, Sigma Alpha Iota, Pi Kappa Llambda, and Alpha Psi Omega.
On Friday, July 31 award-winning singer-songwriter Aaron Burdett (guitar, vocals) will perform at 7pm. His original Americana music blends folk-rock, bluegrass, and blues into a new sound that presents an intriguing perspective on the world around us, our connections to places and people, and the simple pleasures of life through heartfelt, thoughtfully crafted songs.
If You Go: Show tickets are $44.99 per person and include a four-course dinner. Reservations are required. Classic Wineseller, 20 Church St., Waynesville. Details: 828-452-6000, www.classicwineseller.com.
