Jazz Sudbury has announced that Grammy award-winning artist Alex Cuba is headlining the Jazz Sudbury Festival Saturday, Sept. 10.
Cuba will be performing at 9:45 p.m. in La Grande Salle at the Places Des Arts, the stunning state-of-the-art performing arts centre in downtown Sudbury.
Cuba is a Grammy/Latin Grammy/JUNO Award winner, singer-songwriter with a vast musical vision that is not tied to tradition.
His sugarcane-sweet melodies, pop-soul hooks and powerful guitar riffs relinquish a conventional stereotype that exemplifies much of the Latin music landscape.
Cuba’s vibrant eighth studio album Mendó is filled with international collaborations. It won the 2022 Latin Grammy for Best Latin Pop Album. Alex’s musical evolution has been all about searching for the simplicity and soul in Cuban music. He’s always exploring, always creating something fresh and new and always, it seems, getting it just right.
Opening the night’s festivities at 7:15 p.m. is Caity Gyorgy, a JUNO Award-winning Toronto/Montreal-based vocalist, composer and lyricist who is known for singing bebop and swing music.
Named one of JazzFM’s eight Canadian Women in Jazz You Need to Know, Caity has performed at clubs and festivals across Canada. She has worked with many luminaries in the Canadian jazz scene including Allison Au, Pat LaBarbera, Jocelyn Gould, Don Thompson, Christine Jensen and Virginia MacDonald. Her album Now Pronouncing won a 2022 JUNO Award for Vocal Jazz Album of the Year.
At 8:30 p.m., Sudbury’s very own Sundar Viswanathan and his JUNO Award-winning group Avataar will be taking to the stage. This Toronto based world-jazz group features some
of Canada’s finest jazz, world, funk and pop musicians.
The group has been making original music together for over 10 years and continues to receive critical acclaim on the international stage. Their album Worldview won the 2022 JUNO Award for Best Group Jazz Album. The music is inspired by the deep musical traditions of India, Africa and Brazil, rooted within the framework of modern jazz.
Rounding out the evening at 11 p.m. in the Studio Desjardins is Soul Stew, the legendary rhythm and blues, soul and jazz funk ensemble comprised of first-call Toronto studio musicians. Fronted by lead vocalist Michael Dunston, the group features David Gray (guitar), Matt Horner (keyboards), John Johnson (saxophones), Mark Kelso (drums) and Roberto Occhipinti (bass).
“This should be an amazing festival this year,” said festival director Louis Simão, in a press release.
“We want to thank our core audience for staying with us, and we really hope to grow the festival thanks to this new partnership with Place Des Arts. Live jazz is an amazing experience, and we hope people will come out to see these incredible performers.”
Tickets for the Jazz Sudbury Festival can be purchased at the Places des Arts box office. For full details about Jazz Sudbury, visit www.jazzsudbury.com, or on Jazz Sudbury’s Facebook page.
