My family and I just returned from a visit to New York City. On the way out of town, I insisted that we drive past the hallowed grounds of the Cotton Club and the Apollo Theater in Harlem. Coincidentally, these two venues are the focus of the final two installments in the 2011-2012 Swingin’ series at the Southern Theatre.

The Cotton Club shows last month were a triumph for Byron Stripling and the Columbus Jazz Orchestra as they hosted Ted Louis Levy and Brenda Braxton. If you missed the fun — and it was fun — don’t make the same mistake this month.

Byron and the CJO will honor the legends of soul with the help of guest artist, Chris Pierce. Pierce, a Los Angeles native, is filling in for our originally scheduled guest artist, Ty Taylor.

We all feel a tinge of disappointment when a scheduled guest has to cancel a show, but at the same time, we are mindful that the last time we had a guest cancel, Troy “Trombone Shorty” Andrews was our consolation fill-in. If you don’t know how that worked out, then you not only missed his stunning performances with the CJO, but you must have also missed his *two* headlining command performances with his own band, Orleans Avenue. We have similarly high hopes for Chris Pierce as he makes his Columbus debut!

Come and pay your respects to the legends of soul this Wednesday through Sunday at the Southern Theatre. And when you’re in The City, make sure you stop and see the Apollo Theater — where the legends of soul became legends!

Tickets are available by calling the CAPA ticket office at 614-469-0939 and online by clicking here. We gratefully acknowledge the kind support of our series sponsor, The Westin Columbus.

Dan Weiss, CPA, JD
Interim Executive Director
Jazz Arts Group

Please look for the new Executive Director’s interactive blog at www.jazzartsgroup.org. For  continuous updates, enter http://www.jazzartsgroup.org/feed/ in your RSS Reader.