Litchfield Jazz Presents : Melinda Rose Rodriguez, Dedication to Nancy Wilson and Ella Fitzgerald
Litchfield Jazz Presents, a free, live stream series from Telefunken Soundstage, brings you the third concert of its 2021-22 season on March 25th. Rising star vocalist Melinda Rodriguez, will tip her hat to two of the greatest jazz vocalists of all time- Ella Fitzgerald and Nancy Wilson. Her band includes Matt Wilson on drums, Matt Dwonszyk on bass, Albert Rivera on saxophones and up-and-coming pianist Will Evans.
Based in Miami, Florida, Melinda is a member of the Litchfield Jazz Camp teaching staff and has served as an adjunct professor at Illinois Wesleyan University where she recently received her master’s degree. She is the winner of the 2019 Ella Fitzgerald Jazz Vocal Competition and was selected as one of the finalists on the popular television program The Voice, season 17. Matt Wilson is one of the most in demand drummers working today and has been honored by the Jazz Journalists Association as Drummer of the Year. He is a regular in critics and readers polls annually. Albert Rivera is a busy gigging musician/educator and ASCAP and Chamber Music America award winner whose groups can be heard in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut clubs and at many East Coast Festivals on almost any weekend of the year. He is Director of Operations at Litchfield Jazz Camp and Adjunct Professor of Jazz at Purchase College. Brooklyn-based Matt Dwonsyk appears at major NYC jazz clubs, tours internationally and has performed with the late, great Harold Mabern, Bennie Williams, Herlin Riley, Eddie Henderson, and many more. Will Evans is the new kid on the block. He received the George Wein Jazz Ambassador award in 2016 and graduated with highest honors from Brown University in 2020. Having decided on a life jazz, he is working on a Master’s degree at Manhattan School of Music and gigging professionally. We met Will at Litchfield Jazz Camp where he was a student.
This show is free and available to the public both on our website www.LitchfieldJazzFest.com, Facebook and YouTube pages at 7:30pm.