Jazz Celebrations Themed Shows
The audience at a Ray Charles concert was an almost perfect cross-section of American culture, his fans representing every age, race, ideology, and preference in music genre. The unifying factor was Charles himself, and his timeless, universal appeal.
Catching Some Rays! A Jazz Celebration of Ray Charles explores that diversity, through song and narrative anecdotes. The program weaves its way through Charles’ life, music, and how he became the father of soul music when he combined gospel music with secular lyrics.
Catching Some Rays! features many of Charles’ original compositions (“Unchain My Heart,” “Hit the Road Jack”), blues standards (“I Don’t Need No Doctor”), Charles’ masterful interpretation of the Great American Songbook (“Come Rain or Come Shine” “Hard Hearted Hannah” “Georgia On My Mind”), his take on pop tunes (“A Song for You”), Charles’ affinity for Country & Western (“I Can’t Stop Loving You”) and even his 1972 arrangement of “America the Beautiful”, at the time a daring foray for an African-American artist on the heels of the turbulent 60’s and the struggling civil rights movement.
Check out our official Catching Some Rays! A Jazz Celebration of Ray Charles video demo!
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A genius of modern music, Stevie Wonder is one of only three artists to have 20 number one hits (along with Aretha Franklin and the Beatles). And in so doing, his music has become the soundtrack of an entire generation. A musical renaissance man, Wonder can do it all. It could be argued that he is one of the most gifted and influential composers, vocalists, instrumentalists, producers and social activists of the 20th century.
Joined by special guest vocalist Adam McKnight (Elton John, Maroon 5), Noel & Maria present Signed, Sealed, Delivered, a jazz celebration of Stevie Wonder’s music, including a Count Basie-esqe treatment of “My Cherie Amour”, “Higher Ground” with an African 12/8 feel, a simmering jazz waltz arrangement of “Superstition,” and many more including “Signed, Sealed, Delivered,” “I Wish” and “All In Love is Fair.”
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27 number 1 hits.
60+ top 10 hits.
Motown had so many hits that one could put together five separate shows of their music and still have plenty of songs left over. The exemplary songwriting of Smokey Robinson, Holland/Dozier/Holland, as well as Motown founder Berry Gordy himself, along with the musical interpretations by such legends as Marvin Gaye, the Temptations, the Supremes, Smokey Robinson, the Four Tops and many more has left us with a repertoire that is prime for reinterpretation. Join Noel & Maria as they reinterpret and reimagine the music that defined the 60’s, the Motown Sound, with songs such as “You Keep Me Hangin’ On” “Reach Out, I’ll Be There” “Stop! In the Name of Love” and many more!
Check out our official Motown Re-Imagined: A Jazz Celebration of Motown video demo!
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Dubbed "The First Lady of Song," Ella Fitzgerald was the most popular female jazz singer in the world for more than half a century. In her lifetime, she won 13 Grammy awards and sold over 40 million albums.
She could sing sultry ballads, sweet jazz and imitate every instrument in an orchestra. She worked with all the jazz greats, including Duke Ellington, Count Basie and Louis Armstrong.
She performed at top venues all over the world, and packed them to the hilt. Her audiences were as diverse as her vocal range. They were rich and poor, made up of all races, all religions and all nationalities. In fact, many of them had just one binding factor in common - they all loved Ella.
Join Noel & Maria as they present the best of “Lady Ella,” from the hit that launched her “A-Tisket, A-Tasket,” the hit that launched her career, to “Someone to Watch Over Me,” “Summertime,” her raucous rendition of “Mack the Knife,” and many more.
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They debuted as The Chicago Transit Authority, until the actual Chicago Transit Authority sued, forcing them to shorten it to simply Chicago. They have become a legacy of rock, horns and hits. A classic horn band that helped define the 70’s and the 80’s, Chicago is a band with no shortage of tribute groups honoring them. Noel & Maria have gone several steps further creating a show that features Chicago’s hits in a way that showcases the breadth, depth and adaptability of their diverse and catchy repertoire.
Noel & Maria’s Saturday in the Park: A Jazz Celebration of Chicago features such classics as “25 or 6 to 4” “Just You ‘N Me” “If You Leave Me Now” and “Colour My World”.
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Mention piano players and the discussion will quickly move to Elton John and Billy Joel. The two iconic piano men helped define the 70’s and 80’s. Masters of some of the most indelible melodies in pop music history, Elton John and Billy Joel easily helped write the soundtrack for an entire generation. Noel and Maria capture that same energy and verve when they present the music of these two musical titans.
The show will feature some of their biggest hits: “New York State of Mind” “Rocket Man” “You May Be Right” “Our Song” and of course, “Piano Man.” You won’t be required to sing along, but it certainly won’t be discouraged!
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Join Noel Freidline & Maria Howell as they celebrate the season with Noel & Maria: A Jazz Celebration of the Holidays. On the heels of their 2019 release “Merry Christmas, My Dear”, Noel & Maria are joined by an all-star ensemble as they reinterpret Christmas classics as well as contemporary holiday favorites such as “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” “Sleigh Ride,” “Here We Come A’Wassailing,” “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” (with a ‘Dave Brubeck’ twist!), and many more! Noel & Maria’s Jazz Celebration of the Holidays has become an annual event in several cities with numerous sellout shows.
The great Dave Brubeck, one of the most iconic names in jazz. Along with saxophonist Paul Desmond, bassist Gene Wright and drummer Joe Morello, Brubeck helped define the genre of West Coast “cool” jazz. In 1959 Brubeck released Time Out, which included the iconic “Take Five,” a Desmond composition that would go on to become Brubeck’s signature song. Featuring compositions in odd and mixed meters (outside the conventional 4/4 time that Western ears were primarily accustomed), Time Out is widely considered one of the greatest and most influential albums in jazz history. Join the Noel Freidline Quartet as they explore the diversity of Brubeck’s music - from Time Out classics “Take Five” and “Blue Rondo a la Turk,” to Brubeck’s take on Stephen Foster and the music of Disney.
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John, Paul, George and Ringo. No last names needed. The Beatles were that iconic, innovative and influential. In less than ten years they redefined pop and rock and pointed the way as to how music would be created for the next 40 years. Not the least of their contributions may be a lexicon of songs that can stand up to reinterpretation and recasting into most any genre. Their masterful melodies and strong harmonic approach makes their music a perfect jumping off point for jazz musicians. Noel & Maria present an evening of masterful re-imagining of some of the Fab Four’s most well known songs, including "Got to Get You Into My Life" "Eleanor Rigby" "In My Life" and many more.
Daryl Hall & John Oates. The top selling duo in music history. Nine #1 hits. Ten Top 10 hits. 40 million records. Play their greatest hits and don’t be surprised if you know EVERY SONG! Driven by Daryl Hall’s blue-eyed soul vocals, Hall & Oates were the bridge from 70’s to 80’s pop as well as one of the most successful cross-over groups, scoring numerous #1 R&B hits.
With clever writing, catchy hooks, Daryl Hall and John Oates have it all.
Noel & Maria and their stellar band take a deep dive into this influential duo, reinterpreting their music with the same “left-of-center” approach that Hall & Oates employed to become one of the most sampled and impactful artists today.
Expect to hear re-imagined classics such as “Maneater” “You Make My Dreams (Come True)” “Rich Girl” “She’s Gone” and many more.