Sharon Clark's Spotlight Featuring Houston Person at Blues Alley

Monday, June 20: Sharón Clark’s Spotlight Featuring Houston Person!

Sharón Clark’s Spotlight continues in June, featuring the legendary tenor saxophonist Houston Person. Mr. Person wears the Boss Tenor crown, worn so long by Gene Ammons. For thirty years, he formed one of the most memorable pairings in jazz, performing and recording with the great Etta Jones. Combining Mr. Person’s brawny tenor sax with Ms. Clark’s powerful alto vocals promises to be an evening to remember. They’re joined by the Chris Grasso (piano), Tommy Cecil (bass) and Lenny Robinson (drums).
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Monday, June 20: Sharón Clark’s Spotlight Featuring Houston Person!

Sharón Clark’s Spotlight continues in June, featuring the legendary tenor saxophonist Houston Person. Mr. Person wears the Boss Tenor crown, worn so long by Gene Ammons. For thirty years, he formed one of the most memorable pairings in jazz, performing and recording with the great Etta Jones. Combining Mr. Person’s brawny tenor sax with Ms. Clark’s powerful alto vocals promises to be an evening to remember. They’re joined by the Chris Grasso (piano), Tommy Cecil (bass) and Lenny Robinson (drums).

Houston Person - Saxophone

With his robust sound and swinging style, tenor saxophonist Houston Person has kept the hard bop and organ-soaked soul-jazz traditions alive. Emerging from organist Johnny "Hammond" Smith's group, Person established his reputation as one of the Big Boss tenors in the Gene Ammons style with albums like 1968's Blue Odyssey, 1969's Goodness!, and 1970's Person to Person! He further embraced a funky, soulful vibe in the '70s with albums like 1972's Broken Windows, Empty Hallways and 1976's Stolen Sweets. From the '80s onward, he balanced his love of groove-based R&B with more hard-swinging acoustic sessions, joining contemporaries like Ron Carter and Teddy Edwards, as well as younger players like Joey DeFrancesco and Christian McBride. He recorded extensively with singer Etta Jones and has remained a torchbearer for the big tenor sound, releasing warmly attenuated standards and soul-jazz dates like 2015's Something Personal and 2021's Live in Paris.

Born in 1934 in South Carolina, Person started out on piano before picking up the tenor sax in his youth. After high school, he studied at South Carolina State College and then enlisted in the Air Force. Stationed in West Germany, he played in a service band that also included such jazz luminaries as Eddie Harris, Lanny Morgan, Leo Wright, and Cedar Walton. Following his discharge, he finished his studies at Connecticut's Hartt College of Music. In the early '60s, Person was a member of organist Johnny "Hammond" Smith's group, appearing on albums like 1963's A Little Taste, 1965's The Stinger, and 1968's Nasty! It was also during his time with Smith that he first met vocalist and longtime musical companion Etta Jones. For more information, visit www.allmusic.com/artist/houston-person-mn0000827320/biography.

Sharón Clark - Vocalist

Washington, D.C. standout Sharón Clark has brought festival and concert audiences to their feet across the globe. And wherever she performs, the critics take notice:

"New and amazing . . . an absolute triumph"!
— Will Friedwald, Wall Street Journal

“You can’t underestimate the transformation of what seems like an ordinary song when an interpreter like Sharón Clark tears it apart and peers inside."
— Stephen Holden, New York Times

“A revelation . . . I never thought I'd hear a singer with the range, musicality and command of tone and timbre that was Sarah at her best, but now I have.”
—JazzTimes

“Sharón Clark’s impeccable scat singing, phrasing and ability to improvise have made her one of the most popular American jazz vocalists in Russia.”
—Moscow Times

Ms. Clark has made countless international tours, from Europe to Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Russia, where she has developed a major following. Ms. Clark has performed as a featured soloist with the Duke Ellington Orchestra, Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra, the Richmond Symphony, and the Baltimore Symphony.

She has appeared in countless festivals at home and abroad. Both the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra and The Ludacris Foundation chose Ms. Clark to perform for their separate tributes to Quincy Jones. Ms. Clark won the Gold Medal and $10,000 top prize at the Savannah Music Festival's American Traditions Competition. She then took first place in the Billie Holiday Vocal Competition, which offers a $2,500 prize along with a featured appearance with the Baltimore Symphony. For more information: www.sharonclarkjazz.com.

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