>Home
>Venues
The opera house, our splendid shrine to all things mighty and artistic. Relevant to jazz is Da Camera of Houston's jazz series. They've brought such names as McCoy Tyner, Betty Carter, Sun Ra, Jason Moran, SFJAZZ Collective, and many more to town.
Address: 500 Texas Avenue, Houston, Texas
Phone: (713)227-ARTS
Web Site: http://www.houstontx.gov/worthamcenter/index.htm
Known for her way with jazz standards, vocalist Tierney Sutton has received two Grammy nominations for Best Vocal Jazz Album, a JazzWeek Award for Vocalist of the Year and consecutive nominations for Jazz Journalists Association Awards. Her CDs regularly hit the #1 spot on jazz radio playlists and garner critical praise throughout the world.
In her first Houston appearance, clarinetist and saxophonist Anat Cohen celebrates the music of The King of Swing. Cohen exploded on the jazz scene with two critically acclaimed records and multiple Downbeat critic’s poll awards. A Jazz Journalists Association Up and Coming Musician of the Year, Cohen has established herself as one of the primary voices of her generation.
“In many ways she’s an ideal: well prepared, passionately literate in music far outside her local circle, an improviser with gusto. She understands how dance rhythms leaven and quicken jazz…a full, even tone, especially on the clarinet, an instrument that could use another distinctive voice in jazz.” -- Ben Ratliff, The New York Times
For tickets, call 713-524-5050 or go to www.dacamera.com.
January 22, 2011: Da Camera: Stefon Harris and Blackout 8:00 PM
Vibraphonist Stefon Harris is heralded as “one of the most important young artists in jazz” by The Los Angeles Times. Harris’ passionate artistry, energetic stage presence and astonishing virtuosity have propelled him into the forefront of the current jazz scene.
Harris' latest CD Urbanus features Blackout, a scintillating ensemble as versed in modern jazz as it is in the rhythms, melodies and soundscapes of R&B, pop, hip-hop and funk. Blackout is Marc Cary, keys; Derrick Hodge, bass; Terreon Gully, drums; Casey Benjamin, sax and Stefon Harris, vibes.
“Blackout is a band of serious practitioners of the benevolent dark arts, and it’s reintroducing urban culture into the jazz tradition. Jazz needs more signifiers of streetwise indirection like this.” – NPR Music
“His music needs no labels like ‘postmodern’ or ‘cutting edge’. It is Stefon Harris music, as Charles Mingus, he insisted, was Mingus music.” - Nat Hentoff, Jazz Times Magazine
For tickets, call 713-524-5050 or go to dacamera.com.
February 05, 2011: Da Camera: Lionel Loueke Trio 8:00 PM
Originally from the West African nation of Benin, guitarist Lionel Loueke has enjoyed a meteoric rise over the past several years. Praised by his mentor Herbie Hancock as “a musical painter,” he has appeared on numerous standout recordings such as Hancock’s River: The Joni Letters and Terence Blanchard’s Flow. Loueke’s Blue Note debut, Karibu, established him as one of the brightest new stars on the scene.
Loueke combines harmonic sophistication, soaring melody, a deep knowledge of African music, and conventional and extended guitar techniques to create a warm and evocative sound of his own. JazzTimes wrote "Loueke's lines are smartly formed and deftly executed. His ear-friendly melodicism draws both from traditional African sources and a lifetime of closely studying the likes of Jim Hall and George Benson, and his rhythmic shifts come quickly and packed with surprises."
“A startlingly original voice…one of the most striking jazz artists to emerge in some time.” —The New York Times
For tickets, call 713-524-5050 or go to dacamera.com.
March 19, 2011: Da Camera: Geri Allen Trio with Gary Bartz, saxophone 8:00 PM
Pianist Geri Allen makes her long-awaited first appearance on Da Camera’s jazz series. Allen has released two new recordings in 2010: the jazz trio with tap dance recording Live, featuring her Timeline group, and Flying Toward The Sound, her ambitious and critically lauded solo piano project.
“Her voicings were rich, resonant and complex; her touch was declarative but supple… genuinely steeped in a spirit of exuberance” – The New York Times
"The resurrgence of Bartz, an alto and soprano saxophonist who made his mark three decades ago, is cause for celebration...the soul of a modern master." -- Entertainment Weekly
For tickets, call 713-524-5050 or go to dacamera.com.
April 08, 2011: Da Camera: WATTS feat. Watts, Payton, McBride and Sanchez 8:00 PM
Called a “rhythmic juggernaut” by NPR Music, drummer Jeff “Tain” Watts combines forces with Nicholas Patyon on trumpet, David Sánchez on saxophone and Christian McBride on bass.
For tickets, call 713-524-5050 or go to dacamera.com.
Wortham Center
The opera house, our splendid shrine to all things mighty and artistic. Relevant to jazz is Da Camera of Houston's jazz series. They've brought such names as McCoy Tyner, Betty Carter, Sun Ra, Jason Moran, SFJAZZ Collective, and many more to town.
Address: 500 Texas Avenue, Houston, Texas
Phone: (713)227-ARTS
Web Site: http://www.houstontx.gov/worthamcenter/index.htm
Upcoming Shows at Wortham Center
October 29, 2010:
Da Camera: Tierney Sutton Band
7:30 PM
Known for her way with jazz standards, vocalist Tierney Sutton has received two Grammy nominations for Best Vocal Jazz Album, a JazzWeek Award for Vocalist of the Year and consecutive nominations for Jazz Journalists Association Awards. Her CDs regularly hit the #1 spot on jazz radio playlists and garner critical praise throughout the world.
“Ms. Sutton is a pure jazz spirit who respects a song. Even when going out on an improvisatory limb, she never lets its essence slip away. The singer and her trio with whom she has worked for years…have refined the kind of rapport that could only be achieved over time.” -- The New York Times
“Her scatting boasts a clean airborne quality, and the lady can swing. A big asset is the assured assist from her trio, which has been with Sutton long enough to bond with an uncanny display of spirit and unity.” -- Variety
For tickets, call 713-524-5050 or go to www.dacamera.com.
December 04, 2010: Da Camera: Anat Cohen Quartet 8:00 PMIn her first Houston appearance, clarinetist and saxophonist Anat Cohen celebrates the music of The King of Swing. Cohen exploded on the jazz scene with two critically acclaimed records and multiple Downbeat critic’s poll awards. A Jazz Journalists Association Up and Coming Musician of the Year, Cohen has established herself as one of the primary voices of her generation.
“[Cohen’s CD] Notes From The Village is a resounding confirmation; yes, she is the real deal.” – The New York Times
“Cohen makes it seem easy, mixing a gift for melody and an improvisational fluidity that has few peers today.” – Downbeat“In many ways she’s an ideal: well prepared, passionately literate in music far outside her local circle, an improviser with gusto. She understands how dance rhythms leaven and quicken jazz…a full, even tone, especially on the clarinet, an instrument that could use another distinctive voice in jazz.” -- Ben Ratliff, The New York Times
For tickets, call 713-524-5050 or go to www.dacamera.com.
January 22, 2011: Da Camera: Stefon Harris and Blackout 8:00 PM
Vibraphonist Stefon Harris is heralded as “one of the most important young artists in jazz” by The Los Angeles Times. Harris’ passionate artistry, energetic stage presence and astonishing virtuosity have propelled him into the forefront of the current jazz scene.
Harris' latest CD Urbanus features Blackout, a scintillating ensemble as versed in modern jazz as it is in the rhythms, melodies and soundscapes of R&B, pop, hip-hop and funk. Blackout is Marc Cary, keys; Derrick Hodge, bass; Terreon Gully, drums; Casey Benjamin, sax and Stefon Harris, vibes.
“Blackout is a band of serious practitioners of the benevolent dark arts, and it’s reintroducing urban culture into the jazz tradition. Jazz needs more signifiers of streetwise indirection like this.” – NPR Music
“His music needs no labels like ‘postmodern’ or ‘cutting edge’. It is Stefon Harris music, as Charles Mingus, he insisted, was Mingus music.” - Nat Hentoff, Jazz Times Magazine
For tickets, call 713-524-5050 or go to dacamera.com.
February 05, 2011: Da Camera: Lionel Loueke Trio 8:00 PM
Originally from the West African nation of Benin, guitarist Lionel Loueke has enjoyed a meteoric rise over the past several years. Praised by his mentor Herbie Hancock as “a musical painter,” he has appeared on numerous standout recordings such as Hancock’s River: The Joni Letters and Terence Blanchard’s Flow. Loueke’s Blue Note debut, Karibu, established him as one of the brightest new stars on the scene.
Loueke combines harmonic sophistication, soaring melody, a deep knowledge of African music, and conventional and extended guitar techniques to create a warm and evocative sound of his own. JazzTimes wrote "Loueke's lines are smartly formed and deftly executed. His ear-friendly melodicism draws both from traditional African sources and a lifetime of closely studying the likes of Jim Hall and George Benson, and his rhythmic shifts come quickly and packed with surprises."
“A startlingly original voice…one of the most striking jazz artists to emerge in some time.” —The New York Times
For tickets, call 713-524-5050 or go to dacamera.com.
March 19, 2011: Da Camera: Geri Allen Trio with Gary Bartz, saxophone 8:00 PM
Pianist Geri Allen makes her long-awaited first appearance on Da Camera’s jazz series. Allen has released two new recordings in 2010: the jazz trio with tap dance recording Live, featuring her Timeline group, and Flying Toward The Sound, her ambitious and critically lauded solo piano project.
A
recent recipient of the Guggenheim Fellowship Award for Music
Composition, Allen was the first woman and youngest person to win the
prestigious Danish Jazzpar Prize.
Veteran saxophonist Gary
Bartz played with Art Blakey, Charles Mingus and Miles Davis before
launching a distinguished career as a bandleader
“Her voicings were rich, resonant and complex; her touch was declarative but supple… genuinely steeped in a spirit of exuberance” – The New York Times
"The resurrgence of Bartz, an alto and soprano saxophonist who made his mark three decades ago, is cause for celebration...the soul of a modern master." -- Entertainment Weekly
For tickets, call 713-524-5050 or go to dacamera.com.
April 08, 2011: Da Camera: WATTS feat. Watts, Payton, McBride and Sanchez 8:00 PM
Called a “rhythmic juggernaut” by NPR Music, drummer Jeff “Tain” Watts combines forces with Nicholas Patyon on trumpet, David Sánchez on saxophone and Christian McBride on bass.
Inspired by the 1965 Watts riots in Los Angeles and by legendary bassist Charles Mingus, the WATTS project is a 21st century foray into percussion and politics, swing and sarcasm, improvisation and irony.
“a piano-less quartet going for broke.” – NPR Music
“a kind of pure, extremely musical percussion. [Jeff “Tain” Watts] spends time inside rhythmic patterns that are complex but not flashy; he sounds as if he’s knocking down the formalized patterns of jazz drumming and starting from scratch.” – The New York TimesFor tickets, call 713-524-5050 or go to dacamera.com.
Every Week at Wortham Center
None scheduled: see upcoming shows