Monterey Jazz Comes To Cabaret at the Jorgensen

The Monterey Jazz Festival is back on the road - and that road takes it to the Jorgensen Cabaret at 8 pm on Friday and Saturday, February 5 and 6 at 8 p.m. This year's talent tour features The Kenny Barron Trio, violinist Regina Carter, baritone Kurt Elling, and guitarist Russell Malone.

The elegant playing, sensitive melodies and infectious rhythms of Kenny Barron inspired The Los Angeles Times to name him "one of the top jazz pianists in the world." Jazz Weekly called him "the most lyrical piano player of our time." Early in his career, Barron played with Dizzy Gillespie, James Hubbard, Stanley Turrentine, Milt Jackson, and Buddy Rich. He now tours and records solo, with his Trio, and with his Brazilian jazz ensemble, Canta Brasil.

Violinist Regina Carter "creates music that is wonderfully listenable, probingly intelligent and, at times, breathtakingly daring - taking the listener into the future of jazz" wrote Time Magazine. She has performed with symphony orchestras across the country, recorded with such artists as Aretha Franklin and Mary J. Blige, and won acclaim for her solos on Wynton Marsalis' Blood on the Fields tour and Cassandra Wilson's Travelin' Miles concert at Lincoln Center.

With seven Grammy nominations and six consecutive years at the top of the Down Beat Critics' and Jazz Times readers' polls, Kurt Elling has attained elite status in the jazz world before reaching the age of 40. His rich baritone voice spans four octaves and displays an astonishing technical facility and emotional depth, inspiring the San Francisco Chronicle to call him "the most flamboyantly creative jazz singer to emerge in the last decade."

Guitarist Russell Malone has toured internationally with Diana Krall, receiving critical acclaim in his role as Diana's right hand, both in concert and on her recordings. He was a featured performer in Robert Altman's film Kansas City, and has toured or recorded with Harry Connick, Jr., Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson, Bucky Pizzarelli, Branford Marsalis, Clarence Carter, Mulgrew Miller, Kenny Barron, Roy Hargrove, Cyrus Chestnut and Patti Austin.

This smooth, timeless entertainment is live at the Jorgensen Cabaret, located at 2132 Hillside Road on the UConn campus in Storrs. There's nothing like it for sheer enjoyment and relaxation, with light dinner fare and dessert ($3-$10; cash bar), and the best entertainment around in a cozy, candlelit nightclub setting, with tables on the floor. Doors open at 7 pm. Tickets are $34, $38 and $45. For tickets and information, call the Box Office, Monday through Friday, 11 am to 5 pm, at 860.486.4226, or order online at jorgensen.uconn.edu. Free, convenient parking is available across the street in the North Garage.

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