The Century Room November Highlights + Show Time Change

Tucson, AZ (November 6, 2024) — Since opening, the Century Room has presented two and sometimes three separate shows a night to listeners in an intimate setting. Starting November 1st, those shows will be starting 30 minutes earlier to accommodate even more audience members! The small capacity jazz club is moving to 6:30pm, 8:30pm and 10pm show times on Friday and Saturday and 6:30pm and 8pm set times on weeknights. This is just in time for people to enjoy some of the biggest shows of the year!

A major highlight of the Century Room’s fall season is Blue Note Recording Artist, pianist, and composer Nduduzo Makhathini performing November 9^th presented with Arizona Arts Live. Makhathini is known for his spiritual approach to jazz and is bringing his piano trio all the way from South Africa for this special performance! He was the first artist signed to the Blue Note Africa imprint. Just a few days later, pianist Randy Ingram brings his piano trio from NYC that features drum legend Joe LaBarbara. LaBarbara was the drummer in Bill Evans’ iconic final trio, and he brings the same sensitivity and sense of exploration to Ingram’s music. The band is touring Ingram’s latest album “Aries Dance.”

Another highlight is the Grammy nominated organist Pat Bianchi performing with his trio for a two night residency on Thursday and Friday November 21 and 22. Bianchi was instrumental in helping the Tucson Jazz Music Foundation to secure a Viscount Soul organ, which led to the Century Room’s Thursday “Soul Jazz Lounge” programming and other jazz organ programming. Come hear a true organ master put our new instrument on display!

Other highlights include a special Sunday matinee performance by pianist Larry Fuller, who will be performing a tribute to his old boss Ray Brown with his own trio on November 23, and saxophonist Rob Schepps performing with Jason Carder on November 30. Lots of amazing local talent rounds out the programming including the Monday night Century Room Jazz Orchestra, Thursday night spotlights and Soul Jazz Lounge, Sunday night jam sessions and weekend Late Nights. Accompanying the Late Night shows is an expansion of the Century Room’s Late Night menu, which features $10 drink specials available after 10pm! Come check out the Century Room for a night out of authentic swinging jazz and amazing drinks! For tickets and information on all shows at the Century Room visit centuryroomtucson.com.

WEEKLY SCHEDULE:

Mondays: The Century Room Jazz Orchestra
Tuesdays: Special Events
Wednesdays: Hot Club of Tucson / James Williams & Swamp Donkeys West
Thursdays: Local Spotlight & Soul Jazz Lounge
Fridays: Signature Concerts & Late Night
Saturdays: Signature Concerts & Late Night
Sundays: Matinees & Jazz Jam with Max Goldschmid

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER SHOW HIGHLIGHTS

November 8 | The Redhouse Family Jazz Band

($20-$30 tickets | 6:30pm & 8:30pm shows) The Redhouse Family Jazz Band makes their Century Room debut and their first public performance in over 20 years! The Redhouse Family is known as Arizona’s Native American first family of jazz. Their music is influenced by Latin, fusion, and contemporary jazz, as well as R&B, funk, folk, and traditional Native American sounds and spirituality. Members of the band have been nominated for Grammy awards and have received Native American Music Awards.

Larry Redhouse (piano) Lenny Redhouse (drums) Mary Redhouse (bass, vocals) Tony Redhouse (congas, percussion) Duane Reilley (tenor sax, flute)

November 9 | Nduduzo Makhathini: uNomkhubulwane

($30-$40 tickets | 6:30pm & 8:30pm shows) Blue Note Recording Artist, pianist and composer Nduduzo Makhathini makes his debut appearance in the Century Room, presented with Arizona Arts Live! Known for his spiritual approach, the South African musician brings his group for a very special night of South African jazz. Featuring Nduduzo Makhathini (piano) Zwelakhe Duma Bell le Pere (bass) Kabelo Boy Mokhatla (drums)

Nduduzo Makhathini grew up in the lush and rugged hillscapes of umGungundlovu in South Africa, a peri-urban landscape in which music and ritual practices were symbiotically linked. The area is significant historically as the site of the Zulu king Dingane kingdom between 1828 and 1840. It’s important to note that the Zulu, in fact the African warrior code, is deeply reliant on music for motivation and healing. This deeply embedded symbiosis is key to understanding Makhathini’s vision.

The church also played a role in Makhathini’s musical understanding, as he hopped from church to church in his younger days in search of only music. The legends of South African jazz are deep influences as well, including Bheki Mseleku, Moses Molelekwa, and Abdullah Ibrahim. “The earlier musicians put a lot of emotions in the music they played,” he says. “I think it may also be linked to the political climate of those days. I also feel there is a uniqueness about South African jazz that created an interest all around the world and we are slowly losing that too in our music today. I personally feel that our generation has to be very conscious about retaining these nuances in the music we play today.”

November 12 | Pete Swan Presents: Facundo Martinez & Ignacio Mondaca with Andaluz
($15-$20 | 7pm show) Join us for an evening of Latin American music performed by Ignacio Mondaca from Mexico and Facundo Martinez from Argentina. Both are award-winning classical guitarists with an exciting and varied repertoire, and, on this occasion, we have as our guest the wonderful Ukrainian flutist Viktoriia Vostrykova, recently arrived from Spain.

On this evening you will hear music by great composers such as Astor Piazzolla, Leo Brouwer, Antonio Lauro and Sergio Assad, wonderful works that capture the essence of South American culture, music full of life and tradition including the opening set, Andaluz the original flamenco compositions of Nathaniel Burnside with Pete Swan on percussion and other special guests!

November 14 | Randy Ingram, Billy Mohler & Joe LaBarbera: Aries Dance
($20-$30 | 6:30pm & 8:30pm Shows) “Hailed by The New Yorker as “a pianist of taste and resourcefulness”, Pianist and composer Randy Ingram’s artistry is on full display with his upcoming album Aries Dance. Ingram makes his Century Room debut with an album release concert that features rising star bassist Billy Mohler, and drum legend Joe LaBarbera.

Pianist/composer Randy Ingram has been hailed as “a pianist of taste and resourcefulness” (The New Yorker) and “a formidable composer” (The San Francisco Chronicle) “A pianist drawn to contemporary harmony and a sleek rhythmic sensibility… Astute, self-possessed” (The New York Times). Ingram’s artistry is on full display on his new album “Aries Dance”, which features NEA Jazz Master Billy Hart on drums. For this show at the Century Room, he taps Bill Evans veteran drummer Joe LaBarbara to join the trio, lending his subtle musicality to the group’s sound.

Originally from California, Ingram attended the New England Conservatory of Music before moving to Brooklyn, NY in 2003. He has played with leading musicians including John Patitucci, Jeff Tain Watts, Curtis Stigers, Tierney Sutton, Ingrid Jensen, Kendrick Scott, Lage Lund and the late Billy Higgins. Ingram made his acting debut in 2013, portraying one of his heroes, Bill Evans, in the Swedish biopic “Monica Z”, about the vocalist Monica Zetterlund.

November 15 | Adi Meyerson & Dark Matter
($25-$35 | 6:30pm & 8:30pm shows) Israeli born, NYC-based bassist, bandleader and composer Adi Meyerson brings her Dark Matter project to the Century Room for an evening of adventurous contemporary jazz featuring Julian Knowles (trumpet) Christopher McBride (alto) and Connor Sample (drums).

The idea behind “Dark Matter” is kind of a push and pull between free improvised music to more structured music, with kind of a focus on what’s not written on the page and what ends up being created from the lack of information given, It’s all about tension and release. The music is composed as a kind of space and time travelogue, creating tension and exhalation in silence and cacophony. The intention with Dark Matter is to offer the listener a place for calm reflection on our immediate moment through the synthesis of lyricism and more abstract sound.

As a bass player, Meyerson finds herself constantly gravitating towards linear melodies, while always knowing where we are within the sonic and harmonic language. With this project since there is no harmonic instrument, the focus is on melodic the & rhythmic aspects of the music, themes, motifs, and creation of energy within the ‘hidden’ harmony the contrapuntal lines are creating.

November 16 | DARUMA
($20-$30 | 6:30pm & 8:30pm shows) Denver-based contemporary jazz group DARUMA makes their first appearance at the Century Room!

DARUMA is a fresh contemporary jazz group featuring some of Denver’s finest young talent. Their music reinterprets the jazz aesthetic for the 21st century, taking audiences from deep grooves to intimate ballads to Coltrane-inspired swing, drawing from the jazz tradition, rock, film music, and neo-soul. The band has toured the U.S., selling out venues and outdoor festivals from Texas to Chicago, and has received the South Arts Jazz Road touring grant. They have been featured on KUVO Jazz 89.3 (PBS), NPR radio, and CBS broadcast TV. Members have performed with leading artists like Billy Childs, Theo Croker, Rufus Reid, Tia Fuller, and Big Gigantic, at notable venues including Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Blue Note Amsterdam, and Birdland, and have won ASCAP and Downbeat awards. DARUMA continues to grow its national audience with shows scheduled from Arizona to Seattle for their second U.S. tour in November 2024. They will release singles on Monk Music in anticipation of their debut studio album.

November 21 & 22 | Pat Bianchi Organ Trio
($20-$30 | 6:30pm & 8:30pm shows) Join Century Room in welcoming Grammy nominated jazz organist Pat Bianchi and his trio for a very special two residency! Guitar wizard Paul Bollenback and drummer Byron “Wookie” Landham help stoke the fire in Bianchi’s burning B3 trio.

Grammy nominated organist Pat Bianchi has established himself as one of the premier organists on the international scene today. Bianchi is the winner of Downbeat Magazine’s 2016 rising star poll, Hot House 2019 poll and nominee of the 2024 Jazz Journalists Association as Keyboardist of the year. His command of the instrument, harmonic prowess, rhythmic intensity and versatility are rivaled by few.

In addition to leading his own groups, Pat Bianchi also enjoyed tenured memberships in the bands of some of the most highly revered artists in modern jazz, including Pat Martino, Lou Donaldson, Joe Locke, Ralph Peterson Jr. and Chuck Loeb. Bianchi has released nine CDs as a leader and is also a featured artist on over 35 recordings. While maintaining an active performance schedule, Bianchi is also the host of the weekly Sirius XM Radio show “Organized” and is currently on faculty at Berklee College of Music.

November 23 | Alex Hahn: Childhood Melodies

($25-$35 | 6:30pm & 8:30pm shows) Grammy Award Winning saxophonist, composer and educator Alex Hahn performs at the Century Room as a part of his Childhood Melodies Album Release Tour! Featuring Michael Ragonese (piano), Colin McIlrath (bass) and Arthur Vint (drums).

Alex Hahn is a Grammy Award Winning saxophonist and composer based in Los Angeles, California. Still early in his career, Hahn has had the opportunity to perform with many renowned artists such as Herbie Hancock, Esperanza Spalding, The Grammy Award Winning John Daversa Progressive Big Band, Bob Mintzer, Gordon Goodwin’s Big Phat Band, Peter Erskine, John Beasley, Patrice Rushen, The Kyle Athayde Dance Party and many others. He also recorded on Michael Bublé’s last three Grammy Nominated studio albums. In addition, Hahn has performed and taught all over the world including the Panama Jazz Festival, Sitka Alaska Jazz Festival, and at International Jazz Day in Havana, Cuba and St. Petersburg, Russia.

Hahn is a 6-Time Downbeat Magazine Award Winner, 3-Time Next Generation Jazz Festival Outstanding Soloist, 1st Place Winner in the North American Saxophone Alliance Jazz Saxophone Competition, and winner of the 2015 Perform with Mintzer International Saxophone Competition. In 2019, he won 1st Place in the Michael Brecker International Saxophone Competition held at the Red Sea Jazz Festival in Eilat, Israel.

November 24 | Larry Fuller Trio: A Tribute to Ray Brown
($20-$30 | 4:30pm & 6:30pm shows) Based out of NYC, Larry Fuller is an internationally acclaimed, Yamaha-endorsed pianist known to ‘swing like a beast!’. Fuller has collaborated with the giants of jazz – serving as pianist in The Ray Brown Trio, Jeff Hamilton Trio, John Pizzarelli Quartet, and musical director/pianist for vocal legend Ernestine Anderson. He brings his trio of Lorin Cohen (bass) and Carmen Intorre Jr (drums).

Harnessing these extraordinary bandstand experiences, Fuller leads The Larry Fuller Trio. He presents a musical program consistently praised for its emotive, swinging style, monster technique, and program versatility. For The Century Room, Fuller will pay a special tribute to his hero and former boss, bass legend Ray Brown. This unique program is inspired by Fuller’s years on the road with the Ray Brown Trio. Larry Fuller’s special appearance at The Century Room is simply not to be missed! To quote the critics on Larry Fuller’s live performances: “For anyone steeped in jazz, it just can’t get much better” ~ Downbeat writer, Mark Sheldon

November 29 | Eric Nakanishi & Aria Ratcliff play Cannonball Adderley & Nancy Wilson
($20-$30 tickets | 6:30pm & 8:30pm Shows) Join alto saxophone superstar Eric Nakanishi and beloved up-and-coming vocalist Aria Ratcliff as they play through Nancy Wilson and Cannonball Adderley’s legendary 1962 album! Featuring Max Goldschmid (trumpet) Angelo Versace (piano) Joshua Carruthers (drums) and Rafe Centuori (bass)

Originally released in 1962 on Capitol Records, the album became an almost instant-classic, launching Nancy’s career into the stratosphere. The press noted at the time: “One night about four years ago in Columbus, Ohio, a willowy young singer took a busman’s holiday from her job as vocalist with Rusty Bryant’s band to join friends for an evening at the 502 Club-a local jazz emporium where a rather remarkable, up-and-coming alto saxophone player and his swinging combo were appearing.

The girl was Nancy Wilson, and the young man with the horn was Julian ‘Cannonball’ Adderley. Their chance meeting that night will always be well-remembered by both. ‘Nancy did some tunes with the band that night,’ Cannonball reflects, ‘unrehearsed, off-the-top-of-the-head stuff. Even then, this young kid had so much to offer-tone, style, confidence-I felt she just had to go a long way.’ Today Nancy Wilson is in every way a big-leaguer, a fast-rising young singing star who is just beginning to realize her full potential as an in-person performer as well as a top recording artist for Capitol Records.”

November 30 | Rob Scheps/Jason Carder Quintet
($20-$30 tickets | 6:30pm & 8:30pm shows) Saxophone legend Rob Scheps returns to the Century Room and teams up with master trumpeter Jason Carder for an incredible night of music.

Oregon native Rob Scheps began playing tenor sax at age nine. After studying at the New England Conservatory, he led groups like the True Colors Big Band and Rob Scheps Core-tet. Moving to NYC in 1988, he expanded his career, playing with the Gil Evans Orchestra and the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra. He has worked across jazz, classical, theater, and pop music, recording over 35 albums, including his acclaimed releases “Comencio” and “Live at Smalls”. Rob Scheps often garners comparisons to Wayne Shorter and John Coltrane, but as a composer, arranger, and player, Scheps has his own sound.

Trumpeter Jason Carder’s dynamic personality and nimble talent allow him to move fluidly from intimate jazz clubs to concert stages before audiences of thousands. Trumpeter Jason Carder’s dynamic personality and nimble talent allow him to move fluidly from intimate jazz clubs to concert stages before audiences of thousands. Jason studied music at University of Miami, Interlochen Arts Academy, Banff Center for the Arts, and Aspen Music Festival. He chaired the International Trumpet Guild Jazz Improvisation Competition from 2015-2020 and now holds a position at the UA School of Music as the Assistant Professor of Trumpet.

December 6 & 7 | Brian Bromberg Trio feat. Special Guests
($30-$40 | 6:30pm & 8:30pm shows) Brian Bromberg returns to the Century Room with his trio for a very special two-night residency featuring Tom Zink (piano) and Charles Ruggiero (drums) with special guest saxophonists each night. Born into a family of musicians in Tucson, Arizona, Brian Bromberg began his journey as a drummer at just two years old. By age 13, he was playing professionally and later discovered his passion for the bass in junior high. After years of dedicated practice, he caught the attention of jazz great Stan Getz, joining his quintet at 19 and touring the world.

Brian’s solo career began in 1986 with A New Day, followed by several successful albums, including Magic Rain and BASSically Speaking, which solidified his reputation as a virtuoso bassist and composer. He seamlessly blends genres, from straight-ahead jazz to smooth and funky grooves, gaining recognition for both his innovative bass techniques and captivating compositions. With numerous chart-topping albums, Bromberg remains a dynamic force in jazz, continually pushing musical boundaries.

December 13 | The Henry Mancini Centennial Celebration: Matheny plays Mancini with the Pete Swan Quartet
($20-$30 tickets | 6:30pm & 8:30pm shows) The Pete Swan Quartet featuring visiting artist Dmitri Matheny honors Henry Mancini’s 100th birthday with new arrangements of his classic hits Charade, Days of Wine & Roses, Dreamsville, Moment to Moment, Moon River, Mr. Lucky, Peter Gunn, Pink Panther, Royal Blue, Slow Hot Wind, Two For The Road, and more!

“Mancini is my hero,” says Matheny, “not just for his award-winning scores and orchestrations, but because of his unparalleled gift for songcraft. There’s nothing like a Mancini melody! Wistful, whimsical, romantic, or sinister, his songs always deliver.”

According to All About Jazz, the Dmitri Matheny Group is “an all-star jazz band featuring some of the most accomplished musicians in the western United States.”

Flugelhornist Dmitri Matheny has been lauded as “one of the most emotionally expressive improvisers of his generation” (International Review of Music). An honors graduate of Berklee College of Music, Dmitri Matheny vaulted onto the jazz scene in the 1990s as the protégé of jazz legend Art Farmer. Since then, he has garnered critical acclaim and a loyal international following, releasing twelve CDs and touring extensively throughout the United States, Europe and Asia. The San Francisco Chronicle calls Matheny “one of the jazz world’s most talented horn players.”