The Jazz Club of Sarasota Presents
“Joy of Jazz”
with the
David Pruyn Sextet
February 8, 2 p.m. § Centennial Park in Venice
The Jazz Club of Sarasota features a free Sunday afternoon concert of swinging jazz sounds with trumpeter David Pruyn and his all-star sextet.
(Sarasota, Florida) The Jazz Club of Sarasota’s 2015 Joy of Jazz concert series continues with another afternoon of swinging jazz standards by the David Pruyn Sextet, Sunday, February 8, 2 p.m., in Centennial Park, 200 West Venice Avenue, in Venice. Pruyn’s all-star ensemble includes Pruyn on trumpet and vocals, Tom Ellison on woodwinds, Dave Morgan on drums, Greg Nielsen on trombone, Dick Reynolds on keyboards, and Bruce Wallace on bass. The concert is free but donations are accepted in support of the Jazz Club’s scholarship fund. Guests are encouraged to bring lawn chairs and blankets. The series is sponsored, in part, by the Gulf Coast Community Foundation. For more information, call 941-366-1552 or visit www.jazzclubsarasota.org.
New Orleans native David Pruyn is a multi-talented musician and conductor who has performed with such jazz greats as Dick Hyman, Chick Corea, Mel Tormé, Steve Lawrence, Frank Sinatra, Jr., Al Jarreau, Rosemary Clooney, the Manhattan Transfer and his hometown buddy, Harry Connick, Jr. Over the course of his 40-year career Pruyn has lent his talents to musical theater (including Broadway), studios, TV, film, big bands, and on cruises and concert tours. As a conductor, Pruyn has worked for Peter Allen, Ben Vereen and Broadway star Donna MacKechnie. He was music director for regional productions of “42nd Street,” “The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas,” “Evita” and an 18-month-long engagement of the Pulitzer Prize-winning musical, “A Chorus Line.” Passionate about early 20th-century jazz, Pruyn says that he was “born 40 years late because I wasn’t around for the creation of some of the best music in this country’s history.” For his Joy of Jazz concert, Pruyn has put together an ensemble of some of the area’s best jazz artists, including reed wizard Tom Ellison, drummer Dave Morgan, trombonist Greg Nielsen, pianist Dick Reynolds and bassist Bruce Wallace.
Series coordinator and Jazz Club of Sarasota board member Bill Beckman is thrilled to have Pruyn and his ensemble back for another one of its popular Joy of Jazz concerts. “It’s a perfect way to spend a weekend afternoon, enjoying the great melodies, rich harmonies and soulful rhythms of jazz,” he says.
The 2015 Joy of Jazz series concludes on April 12, at 2 p.m. The performers will be announced at a later date. Visit www.jazzclubsarasota.org for updates. For more information about the Jazz Club of Sarasota, call 941-366-1552, or visit www.jazzclubsarasota.org.
About the Jazz Club of Sarasota
The Jazz Club of Sarasota’s mission is to promote, preserve, and educate people about jazz, the original American art form. Founded in 1980 by the late Hal Davis, the club presents ongoing concert series, events, lectures and the annual Sarasota Jazz Festival.
