Jazz at Naz Festival at The Soraya
[NoHo Arts District, CA] – Jazz at Naz Festival returns to The Soraya with five performances February 2-11.
• Eight-time Grammy winner Christian McBride’s “The Movement Revisited” Kicks Off Jazz at Naz
• Exclusive to The Soraya—Jazz singer sensation Samara Joy with Clayton Hamilton Jazz Orchestra
• Loudon Wainwright III joins Vince Giordano & The Nighthawks
• Chilean saxophonist Melissa Aldana and her Quartet Open The Soraya’s Jazz Club
• Vibraphonist Extraordinaire Joel Ross Performs Parables
The Soraya, a new epicenter for jazz in LA, launches its second annual Jazz at Naz Festival with five nights of the best of Jazz performances kicking off on Thursday, February 2 with Christian McBride’s The Movement Revisited: a Musical Portrait of Four Icons. A performance commemorating Civil Rights heroes at the very beginning of Black History Month. Powered by a relentless energy and boundless love of swing, eight-time Grammy Award-winning bassist Christian McBride leads a Big Band and Gospel choir in an exuberant and powerful musical tribute to Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King, Jr., Muhammad Ali, Malcolm X, and Barack Obama. Honorary Chair for the Jazz at Naz February 2 opening night will be LA City Councilman Marqueece Harris-Dawson.
Christian McBride
Four more February performances follow—two in The Soraya’s Great Hall, with its stellar acoustics, and two nights of performances in the intimate onstage Jazz Club complete with food and drinks. This year, The Soraya is also the very first venue to pair rising-star jazz vocalist Samara Joy with the esteemed Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra. Just 23 years old, Samara Joy became wildly recognized when she won the Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocal Competition in 2019. The young artist is currently first-time Grammy nominated for Best New Artist and Best Jazz Vocal Album.
Jazz at Naz tickets, Jazz Pass and Discover Jazz Virtual Pass are on sale now at www.TheSoraya.org. All concerts will be streamed for Discover Jazz Virtual Pass ticketholders.
About Jazz at Naz: 10 years of Jazz music at The Soraya
Long before The Soraya was built 10 years ago, the Cal State Northridge Jazz Department was a national standard bearer—winning awards and training the next generation of artists. When The Soraya opened in 2011, Northridge expanded its profile. Over the years, a nonstop procession of jazz greats has continued to perform at Cal State Northridge, in both The Soraya’s Great Hall and its innovative Jazz Club.
Jazz at Naz is named in honor of Younes and Soraya Nazarian whose legacy gift to CSUN led to the renaming of the Performing Arts Center in 2017.
Streaming Jazz at Naz
Innovation in the face of COVID-19 paid in dividends—in the form of one of the first ever fully virtual music festivals, Jazz at Naz. Hosted virtually by accomplished jazz musician and educator Reggie Quinerly, Jazz at Naz was watched by more than 4,300 people when in launched in 2022 (more than two times the size of The Soraya’s 1,700-seat Great Hall!).
Quinerly returns as The Soraya’s Jazz at Naz host of the 13-camera operation—conducting candid interviews with the musicians, engaging in banter with The Soraya’s Executive and Artistic Director Thor Steingraber, and shedding light on performances during each livestream.
Building upon the success of last year’s Discover Jazz Virtual Pass — 3,000 hours streamed! — The Soraya will once again expand the Jazz at Naz experience with in-depth interviews, and behind-the-scenes content via our $49 virtual pass.
“CSUN has been for decades an important training ground for jazz musicians,” said Steingraber. “When The Soraya opened in 2011, the commitment to jazz in Northridge grew further. Now, with the addition of the second Jazz at Naz Festival, we can safely say that Northridge is an epicenter for jazz in Southern California.”
Purchasing Jazz at Naz Festival tickets
Individual ticket prices start at $36 for concerts on the Great Hall stage and $49 for Jazz Club. Jazz Passes are available to all five concerts. Membership to The Soraya is also available for additional discounts and benefits.
The Discover Jazz Virtual Pass is offered as an ad-on to any purchase for $10, or for $49 to attend the festival completely virtually.
For more information visit http://www.thesoraya.org/ or call the Ticket Office at (818) 677-3000. For ticket holds and interview requests, please contact The Soraya Communications Associate Marie Estrada, or PR Consultant Gary Murphy.
Christian McBride. Photo by David Salafia.
Jazz at Naz Festival Performances
Thu, Feb 2 | 8PM | The Great Hall
Christian McBride’s The Movement Revisited
A Musical Portrait of Four Icons
Powered by a relentless energy and boundless love of swing, eight-time Grammy Award winning bassist Christian McBride leads a Big Band and Gospel choir in an exuberant and powerful musical tribute to Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King, Jr., Muhammad Ali, Malcolm X , and Barack Obama—heroes of the Civil Rights movement celebrated at The Soraya during Black History Month.
Sat, Feb 4 | 8PM | The Great Hall
Vince Giordano and Loudon Wainwright III with the Nighthawks. Photo by Uladzimir Taukachou.
Vince Giordano & The Nighthawks
I’d Rather Lead a Band
with Loudon Wainwright III
Travel back in time with Loudon Wainwright, Vince Giordano, and his band The Nighthawks with swinging arrangements highlighted by “muted horns, creamy winds, and lots of hi-hat,” (Associated Press). Everything jives in this collaboration featuring 1920s-era songs about love, forgiveness, and “the consequences of a kiss.”
Wed, Feb 8 | 8PM | Jazz Club Onstage Sessions
Melissa Aldana. Photo by Eduardo Pavez Goye.
Melissa Aldana Quartet
Melodic and haunting, Melissa Aldana conjures stories of longing, connection, and rebirth through music anchored in jazz traditions and open experimentation. Experience for yourself why critics regularly claim Aldana might be “the world’s next great tenor player” with a tone curiously capable of breaking free from tradition (Jazzwise). The first of our Jazz Club performances at the Jaz at Naz festival!
Fri, Feb 10 | 8PM | Jazz Club Onstage Sessions
Joel Ross. Photo by Lauren Desberg.
Joel Ross ‘Parables’ Octet
The Parable of the Poet
Acclaimed vibraphonist and composer Joel Ross’s playing erupts through lush arrangements like “consistent currents of electricity” (Downbeat) in our second Jazz Club performance. Join his octet onstage for an intimate experience through the seven movements of Ross’s album The Parable of The Poet—described by many as an “absolute triumph.”
Sat, Feb 11 | 8PM | Jazz Club Onstage Sessions
Samara Joy.
The Clayton Hamilton Jazz Orchestra
Featuring Samara Joy
In an exclusive pairing of artists, rising vocal phenomenon Samara Joy joins LA favorite Clayton Hamilton Jazz Orchestra for a one-night only not-to-be-missed performance! Joy, a deeply emotive vocalist, exploded onto the scene in 2019 at the age of 21—often surprising audiences with the power she packs and her “lighter than air” and “understated, swingy rhythm,” (Kevin Whitehead, NPR).
Jazz Pass Perks
Ticket passes to five-concerts bundles available and come with several money-saving perks— including a complimentary Bronze Membership to The Soraya ($120 value). In addition to a free membership, all Jazz Pass holders will have access to both the in-person and virtual streams of all 5-concerts plus:
• An overall ticket discount of 15% off general prices
• Guaranteed table seating at each of the two Jazz Club performances
• 25% off food in our Jazz Club
• Access to The Soraya Jazz Lounge after each Great Hall concert
• Jazz Lounge artists meet and greet
• Additional discounts for tickets to The Charles Lloyd 85th Birthday Celebration on March 18
The Soraya’s Membership Perks
The second half of The Soraya’s 22-23 Season has commenced! As such, entry level memberships now start at just $60.
Members enjoy the lowest ticket prices, best seats, and invitations to exclusive events like artist meet and greets and post-show parties!
For Jazz at Naz, all Silver ($500 annually), Gold ($1,000 annually), and Platinum ($2,500 annually) members will be invited to The Soraya’s Jazz Lounge after each of the Great Hall performances. In the Jazz Lounge audiences and performers can meet and mingle while enjoying post-show food and drinks.
Additionally:
• $10 Discover Jazz Virtual Pass add on: With the purchase of any number of Jazz at Naz tickets, members can add on the Discover Jazz Virtual Pass for $10 ($49 value) and stream the entire festival.
• Choose 3: Purchasing tickets to any three concerts at The Soraya will unlock a 33% ticket discount.
Tickets:
For all ticket information visit www.thesoraya.org or call the Ticket Office at (818) 677-3000.
Where:
Younes and Soraya Nazarian Center for the Performing Arts (The Soraya) 18111 Nordhoff Street, Northridge, CA 91330.
About The Soraya
Located on the vibrant and diverse campus of California State University in the heart of Los Angeles’ San Fernando Valley, The Soraya continues its vigorous commitment to innovating, exceling, and amplifying access by offering a wide variety of performances that reflect LA’s many distinctive communities and featuring new and original work from the Los Angeles region as well as artists from around the world.
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