The Jason Marsalis Vibes Quartet will perform at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 4, in the Olin Arts Center Concert Hall, 75 Russell St.
Amidon will appear at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 10, also in the Olin Concert Hall.
From a young age it was clear that Marsalis had the goods. He is the son of pianist and music educator Ellis Marsalis and the youngest sibling of jazz notables Wynton, Branford and Delfeayo. Together, the four brothers and Ellis comprise New Orleans’ venerable first family of jazz.
Marsalis is well-known as a drummer, working with his father’s trio as well as the Marcus Roberts trio — two of the most demanding settings in modern jazz. Since 2000, he has also been a mainstay on the New Orleans scene as a bandleader and vibraphonist. Rounding out the Marsalis Vibes Quartet are Austin Johnson on piano, Will Goble on bass and Dave Potter on drums.
“Bright Sunny South,” Amidon’s fourth CD and Nonesuch debut, is “a lonesome record,” said the singer and multi-instrumentalist. The folk songs, shape-note hymns and country ballads that he performs deal with the darkest, most fundamental issues. Yet there is beauty and comfort in these time-tested words and melodies and in Amidon’s simple, emotionally direct delivery.
Amidon is known for reworking traditional melodies into striking new forms. He delivers these songs in a plainspoken voice that encompasses sadness and stoicism, vulnerability and wisdom.
Amidon started out on fiddle and picked up guitar during a sojourn in New York City. If his foundation is in folk music, he brings influences ranging from free jazz to avant-garde to Irish to Bartok. He also incorporates storytelling and movement, particularly a kind of intense “liturgical” dancing, into his shows, and has appeared at experimental venues like Chelsea’s The Kitchen as well as on more conventional folk stages.
Admission for the Marsalis concert is $18. To reserve tickets for either concert, please visit batestickets.com. Free Marsalis tickets are available for the first 100 seniors or students. Reserve via olinarts@bates.edu.
The Amidon concert admission is $12. For more information, call 207-786-6163.
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- Terry Magson photo Folksinger Sam Amidon.
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- Submitted photo Jason Marsalis
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