ABOUT VINCENT GARDNER

Vincent Gardner was born in Chicago in 1972 and was raised in Hampton, Virginia. After singing, playing piano, violin, saxophone, and French horn at an early age, he decided on the trombone at age 12. He attended Florida A&M University and the University of North Florida. He soon caught the ear of Mercer Ellington, who hired Gardner for his first professional job. After graduating from college, he moved to Brooklyn, New York, completed a world tour with Lauryn Hill in 2000, then joined the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra. Gardner has served as instructor at The Juilliard School, as visiting instructor at Florida State University and Michigan State University, and as adjunct instructor at The New School. He has contributed many arrangements to the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra and other ensembles. In 2009 he was commissioned by Jazz at Lincoln Center to write “The Jesse B. Semple Suite,” a 60-minute suite inspired by the short stories of Langston Hughes. Gardner is featured on a number of notable recordings and has recorded five CDs as a leader for Steeplechase Records. He has performed with The Duke Ellington Orchestra, Bobby McFerrin, Harry Connick, Jr., The Saturday Night Live Band, Chaka Khan, A Tribe Called Quest, and many others.

ABOUT SHERMAN IRBY

Sherman Irby was born and raised in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. He found his musical calling at age 12. In high school, he played and recorded with gospel immortal James Cleveland. He graduated from Clark Atlanta University with a B.A. in Music Education. In 1991 he joined Johnny O’Neal’s Atlanta based quintet. In 1994 he moved to New York City then recorded his first two albums, Full Circle (1996) and Big Mama’s Biscuits (1998), on Blue Note. Irby toured the U.S. and the Caribbean with the Boys Choir of Harlem in 1995, and was a member of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra from 1995 to 1997. During that tenure, he also recorded and toured with Marcus Roberts, was part of Betty Carter’s Jazz Ahead Program and Roy Hargrove’s groups. After a four-year stint with Roy Hargrove, Irby focused on his own group in addition to being a member of Elvin Jones’ ensemble and Papo Vazquez’s Pirates Troubadours. Since 2003 Irby has been the regional director for JazzMasters Workshop, mentoring young children, and a board member for the CubaNOLA Collective. He formed Black Warrior Records and released Black Warrior, Faith, Organ Starter, and Live at the Otto Club under the new label.

MORE INFO:
Doors open from 7:30PM
Music from 8pm
Look for the Big Red Doors on Exhibition St!

This performance is now SOLD OUT. There may be tickets on the door subject to availability / capacity. Follow along on our social media channels for updates. Do not purchase any tickets from third parties, they will not be valid.

Unfortunately, the following performance will not be live-streamed.