Catching Some Rays: A Jazz Celebration of Ray Charles
Friday, April 24 | 7:00 – 8:30 p.m. | Doors at 6:30 p.m.
Pianist Noel Freidline and vocalist Maria Howell return for another unforgettable evening of live jazz, this time celebrating legend Ray Charles. The audience at a Ray Charles concert was a cross-section of American culture, his fans representing every age, race, ideology, and preference in music genre. The unifying factor was Charles himself and his timeless, universal appeal.
Exploring that diversity through song and narrative anecdotes, the concert weaves its way through Charles’ life and catalog, exploring his journey to become the father of soul music, combining gospel music with secular lyrics. Enjoy many of Charles’ original compositions (“Unchain My Heart,” “Hit the Road Jack”), blues standards (“I Don’t Need No Doctor”), masterful interpretations of the Great American Songbook (“Come Rain or Come Shine,” “Hard Hearted Hannah,” “Georgia On My Mind”), pop tunes (“A Song for You”), country and western (“I Can’t Stop Loving You”), and even his 1972 arrangement of “America the Beautiful,” a daring foray for an African American artist on the heels of the turbulent ’60s and the struggling Civil Rights Movement. This show spans genres, decades, and moods, all with Freidline and Howell’s signature style, inventive arrangements, and irresistible chemistry.
Priority registration for members only through Wednesday, February 11. Join today!
Individual table seats: $50 / $40 for members.
Four-person tables (includes one bottle of wine): $200 / $160 for members.
TABLES SOLD OUT
To be added to the waitlist, please email [email protected]
Music at the CMA is supported by funds from the Baker & Baker Foundation, Harold Friedman, Nancy and Richard Layman, Barbara Boyd, and Sam and Mary Baskin-Waters.