Jazz Vespers: Andrea Wolper with Mimi Jones and Jim Ridl
NYC’s unique jazz prayer service, Sundays at 5 since 1964.
About Andrea Wolper (voice)
Singer, songwriter and recording artist Andrea Wolper works “in a milieu that begins with jazz and reaches out to embrace an expressive area that is uniquely her own.” One of the “great jazz singers” in Scott Yanow’s book, “The Jazz Singers: The Ultimate Guide” (Back Beat Books), Andrea appears frequently in her New York home base and tours in the U.S. and abroad. Cadence Magazine calls her “easily superior in the singer/songwriter category,” and she has been awarded a number of composing residencies. Andrea leads several ensembles, was a founding member of TransFormation with pianist Connie Crothers and bassist Ken Filiano and has appeared as a side-person with artists across jazz genres including Jay Clayton, Will Connell, Bob Gluck, Matt Lavelle, Frank London, William Parker, Patricia Nicholson Parker, and in the straight-ahead Heavenly Big Band. Her recordings as a leader, co-leader, and side person have appeared on many Best of Year lists; these include her 3rd release as a leader, “Parallel Lives” (Jazzed Media), “TranceFormation in Concert” (New Artist Records), and Parker’s “Migration of Silence Into and Out of the Tone World” (Aum Fidelity). Andrea teaches vocal technique and coaches jazz singers in her private studio, and teaches clinics and master classes in vocal performance, improvisation, songwriting, and more, including at the California Jazz Conservatory’s Jazz School. “An audacious artist [who] flouts genre limitations, singing songs for the love of it and delivering an inventive, thrilling, appealing musical vision.” (Quotes: International Review of Music, Cadence, Blogcritics).
About Mimi Jones (bass)
Bassist, vocalist, composer, producer, label owner, and now filmmaker Mimi Jones has been active on the New York jazz scene as both a side woman and a leader for more than two decades. Born in New York City, and reared in the Bronx, Jones studied classical bass with Linda McKnight, simultaneously studying at Jazzmobile with Lisle Atkinson. She also studied with jazz masters including Barry Harris, Ron Carter, Milt Hinton, Dr. Billy Taylor, Yusef Lateef, Max Roach, Maria Schneider, and Guillermo Edgehill.
For four years straight Jones has been voted a rising star in the DownBeat polls, holding the top position in 2018. As a Jazz Ambassador for the U.S. State Department, she toured Africa, Europe, Russia, China, South and Central America, and the Caribbean.
Jone’s vast work as a side woman includes gigs with such luminaries as Kenny Barron, Lizz Wright, Beyonce, Dianne Reeves, Tia Fuller, Ingrid Jensen, Roy Hargrove, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Nona Hendricks, Marc Cary, Rachel Z, Sean Jones, Jason Moran, Ravi Coltrane, Ralph Peterson, and Terri Lyne Carrington’s Grammy Award-winning Mosaic Project.
About Jim Ridl (piano)
Jim Ridl is a New York City jazz pianist, composer, teacher, and band leader. Jim performs worldwide with a variety of jazz artists, including The Joe Locke Quartet, The Dave Liebman Big Band, The Paul Jost Quartet, and the Mingus Big Band.
He has toured with the U.S. State Department American Music Abroad program, performing in Russia, South Korea, China, the Philippines, Moldova, Azerbaijan, Slovenia, and Malta. For five years, until its recent closing, he had a residency at the internationally known jazz club, The 55 Bar, where he and his quartet performed his original compositions.
As a composer and leader, Jim has released seven recordings, most recently, Door in a Field, Volume 2. From 1994 — 2004, Jim performed with jazz guitar legend Pat Martino, receiving critically acclaimed reviews of performances around the world, and producing four outstanding recordings: Interchange, Night Wings, The Maker, and Nexus.
Time: 5:00 PM — 6:00 PM EST
Free!
