Laughlin, Nevada
1st Annual Laughlin Live 2016 - Smooth Jazz Festival
September 3rd and 4th at the Laughlin Event Center
Info on the Laughlin Event Center website* includes the following performers:
David P. Stevens
A versatile musician, Stevens grew up playing piano, drums and guitar, developing a dynamic performance style. David P. Stevens has headlined alongside stars Najee, Jeff Lorber, Rick Braun, Phil Perry and Alex Bugnon on the 2013 Capital Jazz SuperCruise.
Dirk K
He is an accomplished guitarist, whose career begun in the early 1990s. Releasing 14 CD's as a Recording Artist on Sony, Bellaphon, Fuzzy Music and on his own independent label DIP Records.
Marion Meadows
Marion Meadows is an American saxophonist, composer, and contemporary jazz recording artist. Meadows has released a total of 13 albums to date. Meadows was born in West Virginia and grew up in Stamford, Connecticut. He began playing the clarinet and studying classical music at the age of nine. He started playing tenor sax in high school, and then migrated to soprano sax. His passion for various types of music led him down an eclectic musical path.
Paula Atherton
Here she is once again dancing the funk right off everyone’s dancing shoes: saxtress Paula Atherton. The lady has a new label (Maurice White’s Kalimba Music), some slammin’ contributions from one of the coolest guitarist around, Nick Colionne, lovely trumpeter Cindy Bradley, and the wonderfully talented, equally lovely keyboardist Gail Jhonson. Couple that with that same seductive, crystal clear vocal style that has brought her this far and an album of all new, all original material called Ear Candy.
Ray Obiedo
Contemporary jazz composer and guitarist Obiedo has had an eclectic musical background during his youth spent in the San Francisco Bay Area. The sounds of Miles Davis, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Henry Mancini and the popular sounds of Motown Records influenced his early musical persona.
Will Donato
Will Donato is a smooth jazz composer, alto saxophonist and recording artist whose 2007 release, Will Call is his first with Innervision Records. His earliest musical work was with the mod revivalist band, The Untouchables, who gained a large underground following. Donato has performed with some of the best known musicians of the genre, namely Al McKay of Earth, Wind and Fire, Bruce Conte of Tower of Power and Steve Reid of The Rippingtons; Donato also fronted Reid's Bamboo Forest for four years. He has worked outside the smooth jazz genre as well, most notably with Gerald Levert and Richard Marx. In addition, Donato frequently tours with his own band, The Art of Sax.
Chillie Willie Groove
William Portela, “Chillie Willie Groove”, was born into a musically inclined family. His father was a well-known Latin percussionist in the New York salsa scene and whose mother was a singer. In fact, while Chillie was in his mother’s womb, his father would play Latin rhythms to mother’s womb while baby Chillie kicked and moved her stomach with excitement! Chillie Willie Groove toured all over in the 1980’s with Angela Bofill, Phyllis Hyman, Tom Browne, and also opened up for Spyro Gyra, Chuck Mangion, Tower of Power, El Gran Combo, Marion Meadows, and Poncho Sanchez. Major highlights in Chillie’s music career came when he met and played right beside Tito Puente at the Brian Alden Jazz Festival in Connecticut.
Tickets are available for September 3rd or 4th or a pass for both days. Prices range from $65-$95 for one day or $120 to $380 for the two day pass (plus any fees). See laughlineventcenter.com for details.
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**All times/dates and information are the sole responsibility of the entity/property involved and are subject to change.
Details and picture of performers are from the Laughlin Event Center website.
