Ticket proceeds to benefit the Central Florida Jazz Society.
Rodney T. Whitaker, Innovative jazz bassist extraordinaire, internationally renowned Mack Avenue recording artist, Michigan State University distinguished professor of jazz double bass, director of jazz studies, member of the prestigious Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, consultant for Jazz @ Lincoln Center, artistic director for the East Lansing Summer Solstice Jazz Festival, Dr. Phillips Center Jazz Orchestra/Orlando, FL, Gathering Orchestra/Detroit, MI and the MSU Professors of Jazz at Michigan State University, where he has built one of the most distinguished jazz degree programs and performing faculty in the United States of America. Whitaker, with one of the most undeniably distinctive bear-sized bass tones, is one of the leading bass performers and teachers of the jazz double bass in the United States. He received his first national recognition performing with the Harrison/Blanchard Quintet. Expatiating on his Detroit roots and enormous talent, Rodney proceeded to earn an international reputation as one of the world's finest jazz double bass performers. From his acclaim as a bassist with the Roy Hargrove Quintet, Wynton Marsalis Septet and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra bringing forth new energy, mentorship and new audiences to the jazz art form, he has cultivated and developed his talents and his perspectives as a musician, composer, bandleader and educator –– a 21st Century essential of artistic and educational excellence.
He completed seven-year tenure with the Wynton Marsalis Septet and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra and has toured the world over the last thirty-seven years, collaborating and performing with legendary artists such as Ray Charles, Bob James, Dizzy Gillespie, Roy Hargrove, Chick Corea, Pat Matheny, Jimmy Heath, Antonio Hart, Diana Krall, Natalie Cole, Dianne Reeves, Kathleen Battle, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Cassandra Wilson, John Lewis, Cecile McLorin Salvant, Crosby, Stills & Nash and the late greats, Joe Henderson, Donald Byrd, Tommy Flanagan, Marian McPartland, Hank Jones, Frank Morgan, Betty Carter just to name a few. He is featured on more than 150 recordings -- from film to compact discs. Whether you find life-long pioneer, Jazz bassist, composer, recording artist, educator, and mentor performing on stage, conducting a master class, recording in a studio or mapping out plans for the future of jazz with members of the community, Rodney has whole-heartedly embraced the JAZZ legacy life-force with an integral pledge of distinction, integrity, great promise, and musical excellence. He is dedicated to changing the future of jazz in the classroom, in the community, and in the world; with the proclamation of raising 1,000 mentors who will each raise 1,000 mentors.
Joining Rodney are Rockelle Fortin – Vocalist; Leon Anderson – Drums; Markus Howell – Alto Saxophone; Luther Allison – Piano; and Chaz Robinson – Vocalist
For more information, please visit http://www.rodneywhitaker.com/