The Jazz Room @ the Stage Door Theater

Overview

Charlotte’s Jazz Arts Initiative’s (JAI) monthly series—The Jazz Room @ The Stage Door Theater – brings you a Special Edition performance, NEA Jazz Master, and internationally-renowned vibraphonist Jason Marsalis plays the music of Jazz Legend Lionel Hampton. The Stage Door Theater is part of Blumenthal Performing Arts Center, at the corner of 5th and College in Uptown Charlotte.

From a tender young age it was clear that Jason Marsalis had what it took to be great. Jason is the son of pianist and music educator Ellis Marsalis and his wife Dolores, and the youngest sibling of Wynton, Branford and Delfeayo. Together, the four brothers and their patriarch Ellis, comprise New Orleans venerable first family of jazz. In 1991, he auditioned and was accepted to the acclaimed New Orleans Center for the Creative Arts High School (NOCCA). It was in 1998 that he co-founded the Latin-jazz group Los Hombres Calientes. In 2000, Jason left the Los Hombres group to attain more focus with the Marcus Roberts trio. It was around that time the Marsalis started to play the vibraphone on gigs in New Orleans. On August 25, 2009, Marsalis released his first album as a leader on vibraphone, entitled Music Update. Jason also continues to work alongside Marcus Roberts, Ellis and Delfeayo Marsalis, and John Ellis among others. Jason, with is father and brothers received the 2011 NEA Jazz Masters Award.

 “Lionel Hampton became a jazz drummer before discovering the vibraphone. He was part of the racially integrated Benny Goodman Quartet in the 1930s, and formed the Lionel Hampton Orchestra in 1940.” “Beginning in the 1950s, Hampton toured Europe, Japan, Australia, Africa and the Middle East as a goodwill ambassador, and frequently appeared on television. He expanded the reach of his brand with the help of his wife, Gladys, founding two record labels, a music publishing business, and a company that built low-income housing in inner cities. Honored by Presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton, Hampton continued to perform well into his 90s. He died on August 31, 2002, in New York City.”