Dudley Duo Jazzes Up The Place in Rotunda Recital
Release Date: 3/1/2001. Expired: 3/19/2001
The Renaissance Center Recitals in the Rotunda Series will feature Bruce and Sandra Dudley in a jazz recital Monday, March 19, 2001 7 p.m. Admission is free and open to everyone.
Sandra Dudley has been performing jazz for over a decade. While in Canada, she performed on CBC Radio and Television and in concert halls and clubs across the Atlantic Provinces. In 1993, Dudley became the feature vocalist for the Nelson Riddle Orchestra under the direction of Chris Riddle. Dudley has performed at the Moncton Jazz Festival, Jazz at the Albright Knox in Buffalo, the Houston International Festival, the Texas Jazz Festival in Corpus Christi, and on the Tennessee Jazz and Blues Society’s summer concert series.
“To sing the same arrangements that Frank Sinatra and Ella sang has been a real thrill,” said Dudley. “Jazz opens my heart to a spiritual experience. When I sing, I want to speak to the soul.”
Dudley was heard on National Public Radio in 1996 when her performance at “Jazz in June” was broadcast. She has performed with, among others, legendary guitarist Barney Kessel, Canadian pianist Oliver Jones, New York pianist Fred Hersch, saxophonist/flutist Bobby Militello, pianist/husband Bruce Dudley, Houston pianist Dave Catney, and Houston drummer Sebastian Whittaker. Sandra is presently the featured singer with The Jazz Orchestra of the Delta under the direction of Dr. Jack Cooper. A CD with the Memphis based band will be released in spring 2001.
“Sandra Dudley is a versatile jazz vocalist who performs standards, bebop and original songs with a pristine, horn-like clarity,” writes Tim Carman of the Houston Post. “There’s a husky resonance that gives her music a blue spirit, a kind of honest, lived-in quality that is both inviting and heartbreakingly human.”
Bruce Dudley, versatile jazz pianist and husband to Sandra, plays contemporary music that is deeply rooted in the rich tradition of jazz piano players from the 1930s to the 1960s. His music is hard swinging, lyrical, and fresh. With musical influences ranging from Earl “Fatha” Hines and Bud Powell to Bill Evans and Keith Jarrett, Dudley’s sound captures the very essence of jazz.
“I try to make the piano sing as I interact rhythmically and harmonically with the drums and bass, and try to paint a picture of the music as it unfolds”, Dudley says of his sound.
From 1991 until 1995, Dudley taught at San Jacinto College in Houston, Texas. He was frequently heard in clubs and concert halls throughout the Southwest with his trio and as accompanist to such artists as jazz guitarist Herb Ellis, trumpeter Marvin Stamm, and with his wife, vocalist Sandra Dudley. In 1995, he moved with his family to Nashville, Tennessee to begin teaching at Belmont University.
He is a sought after pianist, accompanying vocalists, playing theatrical shows and backing up many fine jazz artists. He appeared on National Public Radio in 1996 when his performance at “Jazz In June” was broadcast. The song “Billie”, which Dudley co-wrote with his wife, won Jazziz magazine’s 1997 “Vocals On Fire” jazz songwriting competition, and was released in February 1998 on a CD produced by Jazziz. He has toured with Grammy winning singer Crystal Gayle since 1999.
Dudley’s debut recording as a leader, Semblance (Keuka Waters Music/Fall ’97) features drummer Sebastian Whittaker and bassist David Craig. It includes two original compositions and fresh treatments of ten standard jazz and show tunes. The CD was nominated “Best Jazz Album” for the 1998 Nashville Music Awards.
His playing led Tim Carman of the Houston Post to write: “Dudley plays the piano with such grace and authority that he has quietly become the pianist that other pianists go to hear.”
For more information on the events at The Renaissance Center, please call (615)740-5600.