The Intimate Scott Recital Hall Once Again Hosts The 1200 CLUB in 2011-2012
Omaha Performing Arts is pleased to welcome the return of the 1200 CLUB at the Holland Performing Arts Center for the 2011-2012 Season. Performances by world-class entertainers will delight audiences for the fifth year of the 1200 CLUB.
Tickets for all performances of 1200 CLUB in the Holland’s intimate setting of the Suzanne and Walter Scott Recital Hall are $25 in advance and $30 day of the show and are available online at www.OmahaPerformingArts.org/SeasonTickets, by calling 402.345.0606 or at the ticket office inside the Holland Performing Arts Center, 13 & Douglas streets. Any of these performances can be added to a Season Ticket Package. Current Season Ticket Holders receive a 15 percent discount when adding any 1200 CLUB performance to their order.
Kicking off this season’s 1200 CLUB on Friday, November 11 is the Alison Brown Quartet, led by five-string banjoist Alison Brown. This standard jazz ensemble consists of piano, bass and drums working together to create richly complex jazz with influences ranging from bluegrass to Celtic. Brown gained notoriety during a three-year stint with Alison Krauss and Union Station, and in 1991, she received bluegrass music’s highest accolade: the International Bluegrass Music Association Banjo Player of the Year. The Alison Brown Quartet last performed in the 1200 CLUB in February, 2010.
On Saturday, November 12, Miller will entertain the 1200 CLUB with their brand of blues-infused rock. The band of three brothers made national headlines in the summer of 2006 when they placed second on NBC’s reality show “America’s Got Talent.” L.D. Miller, the youngest and most well-known of the brothers, has been called the world’s greatest living harmonica player. Clayton rips out guitar riffs that have been compared to the early genius of Hendrix, and Cole brings an old blues sensibility to his drums and vocals. This family band has played or recorded with some of the greatest musicians of our time, including Stevie Wonder, Alicia Keys, Blues Traveler, Kanye West, BB King, Joss Stone, Ziggy Marley Blues-rock guitarist Popa Chubby will play the 1200 CLUB on Saturday, January 21. Called a “post-modern Muddy Waters” by New York Times, Popa Chubby expertly combines the rootsiness of blues with contemporary styles, such as rock and rap. With his aggressive guitar, guttural vocals and skills as a songwriter, Popa Chubby takes blues to the cutting edge.
With a passion for jazz, dynamic saxophonist Tia Fuller and the Tia Fuller Quartet will play the 1200 CLUB on Friday, February 17. The alto and soprano saxophonist and flautist once toured as a member of Beyoncé’s band and was a featured soloist on the Beyoncé Experience DVD. An accomplished performer in her own right, Fuller returned to jazz, recording three CDs with her quartet.
Their 2010 release, “Decisive Steps,” received the #1 JazzWeek rating for two weeks straight and was nominated for Best Jazz Album for JazzWeek. The Tia Fuller Quartet mixes Brazilian influences and a little bit of funk to create a unique jazz sound.
Bringing their infectious blend of traditional Mexican folk, American roots and indie rock sound to the 1200 CLUB on March 23, David Wax Museum has been called “pure, irresistible joy” by NPR. Led by musician David Wax, the group creates an utterly unique Mexo-American sound that combines Latin rhythms, call-and-response hollering and rattling of a donkey jawbone, which is a traditional percussion instrument from Veracruz. Joining David is Suz Slezak on fiddle and vocals. Sister Sparrow & The Dirty Birds, a nine-piece powerhouse that puts a modern spin on classical soul, will deliver their thundering grooves and soaring melodies at the 1200 CLUB on Saturday, March 24.
Frontwoman Arleigh Kincheloe’s astoundingly powerful voice and sly demeanor make for a spellbinding presence on stage. Sister Sparrow & The Dirty Birds blend old-school, gut-busting funk and soul with straight up rock and roll, creating a wall of sound in which the harmonica plays a front and center role.
On Friday, May 18, Kenny Barron will mesmerize the 1200 CLUB audience with his elegant piano playing, sensitive melodies and infectious rhythms. One of the most renowned and lyrical pianists in jazz today, Barron is a multiple-Grammy nominee who was inducted into the American Jazz Hall of Fame in 2005 and also received the MAC Lifetime Achievement Award that same year. Barron has spent five decades at the forefront of the jazz piano scene as composer, arranger and bandleader, recording more than 40 albums as a leader. He turned heads in his early years as a member of Dizzy Gillespie’s quintet from 1962-1966.
Concluding the 2011-2012 season of the 1200 CLUB is Big Sam’s Funky Nation on Saturday, May 19. The Funky Nation is a driving force of urban funk, led by Big Sam Williams, former trombonist for the Dirty Dozen Brass Band. Between solos and trombone riffs, Big Sam gets the crowd going both in movement and in replies to his call-and-response MC-style. Big Sam’s Funky Nation masterfully combines a rock sensibility with an improv feel associated with jazz and the horn-heavy front section that’s the hallmark of big band funk.
The 1200 CLUB transforms the Holland Performing Arts Center’s most intimate venue, the Suzanne and Walter Scott Recital Hall, into a relaxed lounge where patrons can experience performances by nationally and internationally known artists in folk, jazz and blues. While enjoying the evening’s entertainment, audience members may order hors d’oeuvres and cocktails served right to their table. This season’s 1200 CLUB is sponsored by First National Bank.
