JAZZ@FIRST: APRIL IN PARIS FEATURING VALÉRIE GRASCHAIRE

Say bonjour to French vocalist Valérie Graschaire who will bring some pieces from home to perform alongside American classics with the Phil DeGreg Trio. With a voice that is lively, engaging and interactive, Valérie can just as easily sing a straightforward classic as scat with an astonishingly precise and swinging ease. Ooh la la!

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Complimentary wine and cheese at intermission are included with your ticket.

 

Jazz@First Series Sponsor: Al Harris

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About the Artist: Valérie Graschaire, vocals

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Valérie Graschaire is one of the significant voices of jazz in France for over 20 years and a keeper of the great tradition of swing. Active in many projects from duos to big bands, she has recorded five albums with some of the top French jazz musicians. Valerie is very impressive at improvisation as well as a well-known teacher, serving as a vocal jazz teacher at the Music Academy International in Nancy since 2000.

 

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About the Artist: Phil DeGreg

 

Phil DeGreg began playing the piano in his childhood and now performs as a jazz pianist internationally. His earliest jazz influences were Bud Powell and Bill Evans, but he is accomplished and comfortable in a wide range of jazz styles, ranging from mainstream to bebop to Brazilian jazz. A graduate of Yale and the University of North Texas, he toured with the Woody Herman Orchestra in the 1980s and has 10 CDs to his credit as a leader. For 13 years he accompanied many national and international jazz artists in the house trio in Cincinnati’s famous Blue Wisp Jazz Club. He has been on staff with the renowned Jamey Aebersold Summer Jazz Workshops since 1983, and has performed and taught in Europe and South America.

 

Phil DeGreg is the retired Professor of Jazz Studies at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music and is the recipient of two National Endowment for the Arts study grants. In 2008 he was awarded a 4-month Fulbright Fellowship as a lecturer in Brazil.

 

His text “Jazz Keyboard Harmony” is a practical text for teaching jazz harmony for all musicians, and is used all over the world in universities and for private study.

 

Learn more about Phil DeGreg on his website http://phildegreg.com.