Marty Ashby with featured guests and MCG Jazz Pittsburgh Jazz Legends Dwayne Dolphin and Roger Humphries will be performing at Con Alma Ellsworth on Wednesday, September 21, from 6:30-8:30pm. Marty will be playing music from the Jazz at the Philharmonic series by Barney Kessell, Ray Brown and Shelley Mann as well as his favorite Brazilian Jazz songs.

Jazz Concert Series: Craig Davis Jazz

Marty Ashby joins pianist Craig Davis for the Fall return of Jazz Nights at the Westmoreland Museum of American Art. Special cocktail hour from 6:00-7:00pm and concert runs 7:00-9:00pm.

In 1979, Marty Ashby started a band called AURORA JAZZ FUSION to perform the contemporary jazz cross-over music of the late 1970s and early 1980s. Jazz was mixing with rock, funk, Latin and R&B which gave musicians the opportunity to explore unique connections and seek out new possibilities. This new iteration of AURORA, with veteran and younger musicians, allows the band to take a fresh look at the music from this important time in the evolution of jazz. AURORA focuses on playing instrumental jazz by such artists as Jeff Lorber, Chick Corea, The Brecker Brothers, The Crusaders, Weather Report as well as renditions of Freddie Hubbard’s “Super Blue” and Grover Washington Jr.’s “Winelight.”

AURORA is Marty Ashby on guitar, Mike Tomaro on saxophones, Jeff Bush on trombone, Max Leake on keyboards, Brian Stahurski on bass and Hugo Cruz on drums.

Marty Ashby trio with Dwayne Dolphin and Roger Humphries and special guest Mike Tomaro.

Hot off her 2022 GRAMMY win for Best Latin Jazz Album for “Mirror Mirror,” and Latin GRAMMY Nomination for Best Jazz Album, internationally acclaimed recording artist, pianist/singer/composer/arranger Eliane Elias’ distinctive musical style and artistry is one of the most celebrated and recognizable sounds in jazz and Brazilian music. She blends her Brazilian roots and alluring voice with her virtuoso instrumental jazz, her classical and compositional skills, while she consistently displays her piano mastery and ability to integrate the many artistic roles she takes on. With 31 albums and over 2.4 million albums sold to date, Eliane Elias has a strong presence on Spotify with over 600,000 monthly listeners and over 26 million Spotify listens of her song “Little Paradise.” She has toured 74 countries, is a four-time Gold Disc Award recipient, a three-time Best Vocal Album winner in Japan and winner of the 2018 Edison Lifetime Achievement Award in Holland, to name a few accolades. Her 2019 and 2021 albums (Love Stories and Mirror Mirror) were both voted “Downbeat’s Best Album of the Year – Masterpiece” and as most of her previous releases, her recordings hit #1 on the jazz charts worldwide. To date Eliane has won two GRAMMY Awards, one Latin GRAMMY and has been nominated 10 times in 5 different categories. On her new album, Quietude released Oct. 14, 2022 she transports us into another world with a lusciously relaxing journey into the Brazilian bossa nova. Eliane’s live performances showcase her piano, vocals, arranging and compositional skills, together with her charismatic personality, bringing a wide spectrum of musical experiences and unique presentations to the audience. Melding her immense talents in jazz, Brazilian, classical, and pop music, Eliane Elias is as Jazziz magazine has called her, “A citizen of the world” and “an artist beyond category.”

“Elias’ intoxicating vocals emote the ambient calm of a forest after a soft rain; her vibrancy is a force unto itself. With powerful artistry, her naturally prodigious talent is even stronger as the years pass—a feat capable only by the true elites of the musical world.” ***** – DownBeat

The Brazilian pianist and singer Eliane Elias commands the keyboard with a forceful two-handed muscularity that belies her image as a blond older sister of the mythical “Girl from Ipanema.” The more percussive her piano becomes, the more she opens up a song and reimagines it in what might be called a romantic carnival groove…a celebration of the vitality of a culture overflowing with life and natural beauty.”
– The New York Times

In 1979, Marty Ashby started a band called AURORA JAZZ FUSION to perform the contemporary jazz cross-over music of the late 1970s and early 1980s. Jazz was mixing with rock, funk, Latin and R&B which gave musicians the opportunity to explore unique connections and seek out new possibilities. This new iteration of AURORA, with veteran and younger musicians, allows the band to take a fresh look at the music from this important time in the evolution of jazz. AURORA focuses on playing instrumental jazz by such artists as Jeff Lorber, Chick Corea, The Brecker Brothers, The Crusaders, Weather Report as well as renditions of Freddie Hubbard’s “Super Blue” and Grover Washington Jr.’s “Winelight.”

AURORA is Marty Ashby on guitar, Mike Tomaro on saxophones, Jeff Bush on trombone, Max Leake on keyboards, Brian Stahurski on bass and Hugo Cruz on drums.

Marty Ashby will be joined by the Executive Director of Smithsonian Jazz, drummer Ken Kimery, for a special presentation of music from the jazz archives at the National Museum of American History.

Performing with Marty and Ken will be Jason Kush, Saxophone, James Moore, trumpet, and Paul Thompson, bass.