Jose Feliciano
Miami’s acclaimed Jazz Roots series launches its 12th season by giving the famous 1960s “British Invasion” a Latin spin, in a concert headed by longtime Beatles fan Jose Feliciano.
Saxophonist Tim Reis
The concert, dubbed “British Invasion- Latin Style,” will take place Friday night, and feature, along with multiple Grammy winner and gold and platinum recording artist Feliciano, Cuban jazz musician Arturo Sandoval and saxophonist Tim Ries, who has played with the Rolling Stones.
Fantine
Jazz vocalists Lucy Woodward, Kate Reid, and Fantine will also be featured, along with Grammy nominated jazz pianist Shelly Berg and the University of Miami Frost School of Music’s Henry Mancini Institute Orchestra.
Celebrating the British Invasion is a natural choice for the Jazz Roots series, says Shelly Berg, Jazz Roots’ artistic advisor.
“That era was dominated by the Beatles, Rolling Stones, and Eric Clapton’s Yardbirds, and led to Sting, Amy Winehouse and so many others. Our concert celebrates this legacy, Miami-style, with new arrangements, iconic artists, and the rhythms of Latin American musical cultures,” says Berg.
Feliciano, who is recognized as the first Latin artist to cross over into the English music market, has been acclaimed by critics around the world as the “greatest living guitarist.” He has been nominated for 19 Grammys and has won nine, including the LARAS Award for Lifetime Achievement.
Born blind as a result of congenital glaucoma, Feliciano tells a story about the time he was on his first South American tour. An ardent Beatles fan since the band hit the airwaves in the early 1960s, when he heard a loud crowd cheering, he thought they were chanting for the Beatles, but they were actually waiting for him.
In an interview with miamiartzine.com, Feliciano said that his love affair with the Beatles continues to this day.
Arturo Sandoval
“I’ve always loved the Beatles in particular and almost always included at least one in my concerts and the same on many of my albums,” he said.
When asked which Beatles songs he plans on performing in this concert, he answered, simply, “all of them.”
As to why the Beatles captured his interest back in the early sixties, Feliciano said, “They helped us through the trauma of Kennedy’s death in 1963 for one thing, plus their music was young and vibrant; it caught everyone’s interest.”
Feliciano is also identified with the Doors, as his hit version of their “Light My Fire,” rose to the Top 5 in the Billboard chart, just a year after the original hit No. 1. Of the Doors, he said, “They are a fun, rocking band that gave the kids a thrill. I still like some of their music to this day.”
And he is a fan also of the Rolling Stones, and said he’s looking very forward to sharing the stage with Ries. “The Stones are legendary,” he noted.
The concert will also feature Sandoval, a protégé of Dizzy Gillespie, who became the first musician to bring Latin influences into American jazz.
He has since evolved into one of the world’s most acknowledged guardians of jazz trumpet and flugelhorn, as well as a renowned classical artist, pianist and composer. He has received six Billboard awards and an Emmy for his composing work on the entire underscore of the HBO movie based on his life, “For Love or Country.”
Sandoval is also no stranger to Miami, having lived and owned jazz clubs in the city, as well as having been featured in several Jazz Roots concerts. He has also performed songs by the Beatles, and is well-known for his version of “Blackbird,” which he preforms live, as well as on the 1995 CD “The Beatles Tribute: An All-Star Jazz Celebration.”
Kate Reid
Representing the Stones will be Ries, a saxophonist, composer, arranger, producer and educator. In addition to playing saxophone with the famous band, his performing credits include stints with Stevie Wonder, Paul Simon, Donald Fagen, Michael Jackson, Blood, Sweat and Tears, Rod Stewart, Lyle Lovette, Phil woods, Tony Bennett and more.
In addition to these legends will be a group of younger, up-and-coming-award-winning artists.
The London-born Lucy Woodward has four studio albums. The video, “Too Hot to Last,” that she made with Snarky Puppy, has been viewed by more than 1.2 million people, and is featured on its Grammy-winning “Family Dinner” album. Her fifth album, “Music, Music Music,” is her debut collaboration with legendary guitar virtuoso Charlie Hunter, with whom she is currently touring.
Kate Reid, a jazz vocalist and pianist, is familiar both to Miami and Los Angeles audiences, She performed with many noted artists including John Clayton, Robin Eubanks, Jon Hendricks, Grady Tate, Mercer Ellington, Don Shelton, Mark Murphy and the Duke Ellington Orchestra.
A multilingual artist with a powerful yet sultry voice, Fantine has toured the world and worked with some of the biggest names in the music industry including Emilio and Gloria Estefan, Dave Stewart (Eurythmics), Erykah Badu, ARIA award winning producer Lee Groves and Wyclef Jean.
Jazz Roots opener, “British Invasion –Latin Style,” Friday, Nov. 1, at 8 p.m. in the Knight Concert Hall at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, 1300 Biscayne Blvd., Miami. Tickets range from $45-$125. For info and tickets, go to www.arshtcenter.org
