The Block

Robin Connell & Paul Brewer, Jazz & The American Songbook

Saturday, April 14th, 7:30 pm

Doors and bar open at 7 pm

$25 and up

$10 student tickets

Buy Tickets

Robin Connell is equally versatile as a jazz pianist and vocalist, and Paul Brewer is “first call trombonist” throughout the area with tour shows and regional jazz musicians. They will be joined by the celebrated Tim Froncek on drums and Chris Kjorness on bass for music by Cole Porter, Duke Ellington, Rodgers & Hart, The Beatles, and Joni Mitchell.

Robin Connell, piano/vocal
Paul Brewer, trombone/vocal
Tim Froncek, drums
Chris Kjorness, bass

Robin Connell’s career is an alternating kaleidoscope of performing, teaching and composing. She follows in the tradition of singer‐pianists Shirley Horn, Diana Krall, and Blossom Dearie, leading her own jazz trio, tickling the ivories with original arrangements of time honored jazz standards and her own unique compositions. Honing her craft for over a decade in New York City, at places such as The Waldorf-Astoria and The Rainbow Room high atop Rockefeller Center, she brings the sophistication of The Great American Songbook to life in her own charming and inimitable way.

Robin Connell & The Jazz Connection, expands the trio into a quartet-sextet featuring her husband, Paul Brewer, trombone/vocals, and a masterful rhythm section that gets audiences tapping their toes and out of their chairs! Other musicians added, as per the event, include Laurie Sears on saxophone/flute, Neil Gordon on guitar, and Grand Rapids premiere soul-jazz vocalist, Kathy Lamar.

Tapping further into her leadership skills, Robin co-produced a concert series, Jazz at The Harris, in 2016. With her trio backing a different artist each week, the eight-week series drew audiences into the unique performance space with great success.

In addition to leading her own groups, Robin is in demand as a ‘sideman,’ performing periodically with the Randy Marsh Trio, the Grand Rapids Jazz Orchestra, Beer City Saxes, and backing other vocalists such as Mary Rademacher, Rick Reuther, and Kathy Lamar.

Teaching at Aquinas and Grand Rapids Community Colleges since 2001, Robin’s educator credits include teaching jazz at the Aquinas Jazz Camp, Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp, and 20 summers at Interlochen Arts Camp. Her travels include many stints as guest artist and clinician/adjudicator at jazz festivals, music education conferences, and colleges.

Artprize 2016 awarded ‘Best Jazz Composition’ to Robin for her work, Prisms. With a Doctorate of Arts in Music Composition, and composer of many instrumental works, Robin is the winner of multiple arts grants at the national and state levels, some of which included school residencies. Her commissions include several for jazz big band, including Derailed, a work for the 1998 Massachusetts All-State jazz band, for which she was also the conductor. The Grand Rapids Jazz Orchestra regularly performs her pieces, with Hip Hop Gidget, included on their recording, Jazz on Tap.

Among her current endeavors, Robin hosts a duo‐jazz piano concert series, Jazz in the Sanctuary at Fountain Street Church, and co-directs the St Cecilia Youth Jazz Ensembles. Lecture performances on the Great American Songbook are among her favorite ‘gigs’ with recent appearances including Calvin College Notes At Noon, Forest Hills Learning Cafe, and OLLIE at Aquinas College.

Robin Connell & Paul Brewer, Jazz & The American Songbook

Saturday, April 14th, 7:30 pm

Doors and bar open at 7 pm

$25 and up

$10 student tickets

About

Robin Connell is equally versatile as a jazz pianist and vocalist, and Paul Brewer is “first call trombonist” throughout the area with tour shows and regional jazz musicians. They will be joined by the celebrated Tim Froncek on drums and Chris Kjorness on bass for music by Cole Porter, Duke Ellington, Rodgers & Hart, The Beatles, and Joni Mitchell.

Robin Connell, piano/vocal
Paul Brewer, trombone/vocal
Tim Froncek, drums
Chris Kjorness, bass