"Sing a Song for the Holidays"
"Sing a Song for the Holidays"
Friday, December 3, 2021 at 8:00 p.m. at BLU Jazz+, Akron
Saturday, December 4, 2021 at 7:30 p.m. at the Maltz Performing Arts Center
You’ll want to carol along when vocalists Vanessa Rubin, Evelyn Wright, and rising star Ava Preston help us Deck the Halls in CJO style!
Ava Preston
Ava Preston is a 16-year-old vocalist and songwriter from Cleveland, Ohio. She is a seven-time National Downbeat Student Music Award Winner for best Vocal Jazz Soloist in 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018 and best Pop/Rock/Blues Vocalist and Outstanding Performance in 2021, 2020, 2018. Ava has performed at local venues including The Bop Stop, BluJazz+, Nighttown, Tri-C JazzFest, Beachland Ballroom, Brothers Lounge, The Hermit Club, The Standard Restaurant, Batuqui Brazilian Restaurant, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame to name a few.
Ava has also performed as a guest singer at a number of national venues including Birdland Jazz Club (New York), Bluebird Café (Nashville), Andy’s Jazz Café (Chicago) and the Monty Alexander Jazz Festival (Easton, MD). She has participated in some prestigious summer jazz camps for vocalists including Grammy Camp, Stanford Jazz Workshop, Litchfield Jazz Camp, New York Voices, and Jazz Port Townsend.
Ava sings a variety of genres and languages including songs in French, Portuguese and Spanish. Ava draws inspiration from jazz legends like Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughn, Billie Holiday, Cyrille Aimee and Astrud Gilberto. Ava believes music is a universal language that can unite people and promote acceptance of differences around the world.
Vanessa Rubin
Revered as both a torchbearer and a storyteller, jazz vocalist Vanessa Rubin possesses a voice hailed for crystalline clarity, hearth-like warmth and playful lioness sass. The Cleveland native brings a wealth of diverse influences to her vocal performance from both the Trinidadian/Caribbean roots of her mother and traditional jazz by way of her Louisiana-born father. Rubin’s passion for rich musical stories is illustrated throughout her eight albums, which include collaborations with musicians such as Frank Foster, Cecil Bridgewater, Kenny Burrell, Grover Washington, and Don Braden. In addition to singing, she’s also turned to writing and acting. She continues to be a favorite at jazz clubs and festivals here in the U.S. and abroad. Her work as a producer and educator/clinician with youth in communities as well as in educational institutions worldwide is ongoing.
Evelyn Wright
Evelyn Wright has been a professional vocalist for over twenty-five years, with experience in jazz, R&B, and pop music. A native of Cleveland, she was voted Best Female Vocalist in 1985 by WCPN Radio. Wright was also named the Winner of Most Promising Female Artist and Favorite Female R&B Singer at the 1993 Midwest Urban Music Awards. In 2008, she was presented the Jazz Legend Award at the Tri-C Jazz Fest. Throughout her career, she has toured across the United States and Canada with artists such as Mel Tormé, Joan Rivers, and Harry Belafonte, but she loves performing in Cleveland.