Wycliffe Gordon
Legendary trombonist Wycliffe Gordon brings his signature sound to The Smooth Jazz Cruise 2016 for a performance that’s sure to give our Guests a taste of the rich past and exciting future of this genre. Both an accomplished soloist and leader of his eponymous quartet, Wycliffe tours the globe performing for audiences of every caliber, from elementary school students to heads of state. In 2014, for the third year in a row, he received Downbeat Magazine’s Critics Poll “Best in Trombone” award. Wycliffe also has been recognized eight times – most recently in 2013 – by the Jazz Journalists Association as “Trombonist of the Year.” A veteran member of the Wynton Marsalis Septet and Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra who calls Louis Armstrong his musical hero, the musician has 16 solo CDs and seven co-leader CDs under his belt. Adept at the tuba, trumpet and soprano trombone plus an accomplished composer and arranger, Wycliffe currently serves as artist-in-residence at Georgia Regents University where he is developing a jazz studies program, teaches courses and works with music majors.
Eric Marienthal
After graduating high school in Southern California in 1976, Eric Marienthal went on to study at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Mass. There he studied with the legendary saxophone professor, Joe Viola. By the time he left Berklee, Eric had achieved the highest proficiency rating given by the school. In 1995, Eric was awarded the Berklee Distinguished Alumnus Award for outstanding achievements in contemporary music. He has since gone on to perform in over 65 different countries, recorded 11 solo CD’s and has played on hundreds of records, films, television shows and commercial jingles.
Grace Kelly
When it comes to singer/ saxophonist/ composer/ lyricist/ arranger/ producer/ educator Grace Kelly, people seem to be divided into two groups: those who marvel at her proficiency, creativity and ever-accelerating growth, and those who have yet to encounter the 21-year-old wunderkind. The ranks of the former category are growing by the day. Trumpeter and Jazz at Lincoln Center Artistic Director Wynton Marsalis was so impressed with Kelly’s three-night stand as guest of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra that he invited her to join the ensemble at the Kennedy Center’s Eisenhower Theater in Washington, D.C. for Barack Obama’s Inauguration Celebration. Harry Connick, Jr. heard Kelly in a master class on a December afternoon and brought her on stage to sit in with his band that night. Since then, Kelly has been voted “Best Jazz Act” in Boston four consecutive years in the FNX/Phoenix Best Music Poll, and then voted Best National Jazz Act in 2012. She has received the ASCAP Foundation’s Young Jazz Composers Award in 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011 and 2013 and won “Jazz Artist of the Year” at the Boston Music Awards in both 2008 and 2010. The 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013 Downbeat Critics Poll added to her the list naming her one of the “Alto Saxophone Rising Stars”, the youngest artist ever to be named to the music poll.
The Smooth Jazz Cruise -- LineUp