St. Cecilia Music Center (SCMC) is excited to begin the 2022/2023 Season with the first Jazz concert of the year, the charismatic pianist, Alfredo Rodriguez and percussionist, drummer and singer Pedrito Martinez. Pedrito Martinez has performed and recorded with Wynton Marsalis, Sting, Bruce Springsteen, Paul Simon, Angelique Kidjo, Chucho Valdés, and James Taylor. Alfredo Rodriguez was discoveredat the Montreux Jazz Festival by his now mentor and producer, the legendary Quincy Jones.
Executive & Artistic Director of SCMC Cathy Holbrook says, “Launching the new 2022/2023 season at St. Cecilia Music Center with Jazz Series Artists Alfredo Rodriguez and Pedrito Martinez will be the perfect way to kick off our new season of Jazz Series, Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center Series and Acoustic Café Folk Series concerts. Pianist Alfredo Rodriguez and percussionist, drummer and singer Pedrito Martinez will mesmerize the audience with their wide range of musical moods and influences, from Cuban jazz classics to collaborative original compositions and much more. We are so excited to begin our new season with this amazing duo!”
Tickets for Rodriguez/Martinez Duo ($50/$35/$20) are available at www.scmc-online.org or by calling 616-459-2224. St. Cecilia Music Center is located at 24 Ransom Ave NE, Grand Rapids, MI 49503. Season subscription tickets for the 2022-2023 Spectacular Jazz Series and Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center Concert Series are now available online at www.scmc-online.org or by calling 616-459-2224. Detailed information for all concerts can be viewed at www.scmc-online.org.
**Ticket prices: There is a $7 fee on each subscription ticket. Single tickets have a $3.00 per ticket fee. All concerts start at 7:30pm.
Three exciting Spectacular Jazz Series concerts are planned for the 2022/2023 Season:
Thursday, October 13, 2023 – Rodriguez / Martinez Duo
Charismatic pianist, Alfredo Rodriguez and percussionist, drummer and singer Pedrito Martinez both started life in Havana, discovered their gifts and passions for music and headed to the States, where they melded the music of their homeland with a wide variety of influences, each in his own deeply personal way. Cuban pianist and composer Alfredo Rodríguez is a globally recognized Grammy-nominee with multiple critically acclaimed releases since being discovered and produced by the great Quincy Jones. Rodríguez is leading the way for a new wave of prodigious Cuban musicians, bringing Cuba’s rich musical history to a wider audience. After years of touring globally and playing alongside artists such as Pedrito Martinez and Richard Bona and some of the world’s most prestigious festivals and venues, Rodríguez has become an international sensation; his riveting artistry is informed as much by Bach and Stravinsky as it is by his Afro Cuban and jazz roots.
Percussionist and vocalist Pedrito Martinez honed his craft on the streets of Havana, learning the deeply-rooted percussion and vocal style of Afro-Cuban folkloric and religious music. Nearly a decade Rodriguez’s senior, the master percussionist and vocalist arrived in the U.S. in 1998, was soon awarded First Place at the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz International Afro-Latin Hand Drum Competition, and appeared in the documentary film, Calle 54. He then co-founded a Latin fusion group, Yerba Buena, with which he toured extensively and recorded several successful albums. Pedrito has performed or recorded with Wynton Marsalis, Sting, Bruce Springsteen, Paul Simon, Angelique Kidjo, Chucho Valdés, and James Taylor. He has been leader of his own quartet since 2005 with a GRAMMY® Award-nominated album released in 2013 on Motéma Music.
February 16, 2023 – Artemis
ARTEMIS is an all-female jazz super-group comprised of pianist and musical director Renee Rosnes, clarinetist Anat Cohen, tenor saxophonist Nicole Glover, trumpeter Ingrid Jensen, bassist Noriko Ueda, and drummer Allison Miller. The group is distinctive not only for bringing together six singular artists, each renowned for their own remarkable solo career, but for its multi-generational and globe-spanning line-up with members hailing from the US, Canada, Israel and Japan.
March 9, 2023 - The Emmet Cohen Trio
Emmet Cohen will be live and in-person at SCMC to the delight of the fan base he has developed through SCMC co-hosting his Monday night “Live From Emmet’s Place” streaming concerts. “Thirty years old and one of the finest piano players to emerge in decades,(Emmet Cohen) the Miami-born and Montclair, New Jersey-raised musician is not just the poster man for contemporary jazz, breathing 2020s finesse onto early twentieth century swing, he is a supremely gifted and impassioned artist of the highest order.” - Zachary Weg, All About Jazz
Bios - Alfredo Rodriguez & Pedrito Martinez
Painted in the broadest of strokes, the stories of Alfredo Rodriguez and Pedrito Martinez may seem similar: both started life in Havana, discovered their gifts and passions for music and headed to the States, where they melded the music of their homeland with a wide variety of influences, each in his own deeply personal way.
Zoom in a little, though, and the two paths differ considerably. Alfredo Rodriguez was born into a musical family, his father a popular singer and TV host. A child prodigy, he studied classical piano at the prestigious Conservatorio Amadeo Roldán and Instituto Superior de Arte while playing popular music in his father’s orchestra by night. While performing at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 2006 he was discovered by his future mentor and producer, the legendary Quincy Jones. Cuban pianist and composer Alfredo Rodríguez is a globally recognized Grammy-nominee with multiple critically acclaimed releases since being discovered and produced by the great Quincy Jones. Rodríguez is leading the way for a new wave of prodigious Cuban musicians, bringing Cuba’s rich musical history to a wider audience. After years of touring globally and playing alongside artists such as Pedrito Martinez and Richard Bona and some of the world’s most prestigious festivals and venues, Rodríguez has become an international sensation; his riveting artistry is informed as much by Bach and Stravinsky as it is by his Afro Cuban and jazz roots.
Percussionist and vocalist Pedrito Martinez honed his craft on the streets of Havana, learning the deeply-rooted percussion and vocal style of Afro-Cuban folkloric and religious music. Nearly a decade Rodriguez’s senior, the master percussionist and vocalist arrived in the U.S. in 1998, was soon awarded First Place at the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz International Afro-Latin Hand Drum Competition, and appeared in the documentary film, Calle 54. He then co-founded a Latin fusion group, Yerba Buena, with which he toured extensively and recorded several successful albums. Pedrito has performed or recorded with Wynton Marsalis, Sting, Bruce Springsteen, Paul Simon, Angelique Kidjo, Chucho Valdés, and James Taylor. He has been leader of his own quartet since 2005 with a GRAMMY® Award-nominated album released in 2013 on Motéma Music.
As a result of their differences, Rodriguez and Martinez share a natural chemistry that makes for a galvanizing musical experience when they come together. Their first duo outing, Duologue (due out February 1, 2019 via Mack Avenue Records), finds the pair exploring a range of moods and influences, from Cuban classics to collaborative original compositions to a number of unexpected favorites.
Despite their shared Cuban roots, Rodriguez and Martinez didn’t cross paths until both had moved to the States. The pianist caught a set by the always-thrilling Pedrito Martinez Group at a jazz festival and instantly knew he wanted to work with the percussionist. “There are times when you feel something and know that you want to collaborate with someone,” Rodriguez explains. “That was one of those occasions.”
The first opportunity for the two to team up came with the recording of Rodriguez’s second album for Mack Avenue, The Invasion Parade, on which Martinez’s stirring vocals and virtuosic percussion appear on two tracks. Busy schedules kept them on separate paths for the next several years, until they reconvened for a stint at New York City’s Jazz Standard and a short tour in early 2017, their first chance to test the waters as a duo.
“What makes this duo completely different is that I came from the folkloric side and Alfredo came from the classical side,” Martinez says. “You put those things together and you come out with an extraordinary and different sound. Alfredo has brilliant ideas when he’s composing and putting together melodies, and it was so easy to mix and absorb his ideas and vice versa. Each song has a different sound and history.”
SUBSCRIPTION TICKETS
Chamber Music Society Series
**Ticket prices: Single tickets have a $3.00 per ticket fee. All concerts start at 7:30pm.
3-concert subscription
15% discount off single ticket prices
Subscription $129
Spectacular Jazz Series
3-concert subscription
15% discount off single ticket prices
Subscription $137
Chamber + Jazz Subscription package
20% discount off single ticket prices
6-concert combination series
Subscription $248
JAZZ SERIES SINGLE TICKETS
**Ticket prices: Single tickets have a $3.00 per ticket fee. All concerts start at 7:30pm.
Cuban piano/percussion/vocal duo Rodriguez and Martinez
Thursday, October 13, 2022
A section $50
B section $35
C section $20
Artemis
Thursday, February 16, 2023
A section $55
B section $40
C section $25
Emmet Cohen Trio
Thursday, March 9, 2023
A section $55
B section $40
C section $25
CHAMBER MUSIC SOCIETY OF LINCOLN CENTER SERIES SINGLE TICKETS
**Ticket prices: Single tickets have a $3.00 per ticket fee. All concerts start at 7:30pm.
Beethoven to Beach
Thursday, November 17, 2022
A section $50
B section $35
C section $20
Magical Schubert
Thursday, January 19, 2023
A section $50
B section $35
C section $20
Delight and Drama
Thursday, March 23, 2023
A section $50
B section $35
C section $20
ACOUSTIC CAFÉ FOLK SERIES SINGLE TICKETS
**Ticket prices: Single tickets have a $3.00 per ticket fee. All concerts start at 7:30pm.
The Wood Brothers
October 27, 2022
A section $65
B section $50
C section $35
Mat Kearney Acoustic Trio – SOLD OUT
Friday, November 18, 2022
A section $65
B section $50
C section $35
Chris Thile
Sunday, February 5, 2023
A section $65
B section $50
C section $35
Josh Ritter
Thursday, March 2, 2023
A section $65
B section $50
C section $35
Sam Bush
Friday, March 10, 2023
A Section $50
B section $35
C section $20
Joshua Davis
Thursday, April 27, 2023
A Section $30
B Section $20
C Section $10
St. Cecilia Music Center’s mission is to promote the study, appreciation and
performance of music in order to enrich the lives of West Michigan residents.
The Center fulfills this mission by
presenting visiting world-class artists in concert,
providing music education for all ages through our School of Music and
preserving a historic building for musical activities and community events
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