Herlin Riley opens season Nov. 21
The Sheldon will lift its curtain in the fall after the stage fell dark for months. While there were concerns, it was decided that the shows must go on – and St. Louis can take a bow for quickly backing the 2021-22 season of live music.
“We made a commitment that no matter how many tickets we sold we were going to continue,” said Peter Palermo, The Sheldon executive director.
“I think by fall we’ll have a full season and be at full capacity again, that’s the plan.”
By the new year, a full audience should greet five-time Grammy Award winner Dianne Reeves when she brings her chilling, angelic vocals to the stage on Jan. 22, 2022. Along with her handful of Best Jazz Vocal Album Grammys, Juilliard recently awarded her an honorary doctorate of music and she was named a National Endowment of the Arts Jazz Master in 2018.
Reeves returns to live performances this summer, and her first tour in more than a year includes a show in England in November.
Jazz writer Rob Ryan of the London-based Camden New Journal promises “what is sure to be a masterclass in jazz vocals from Dianne Reeves.”
While Reeves is dazzling her English audience, New Orleans native and jazz drummer Herlin Riley starts the beat of the Sheldon Rhythm & Jazz series on Nov. 21.
A career that began 40 years ago has seen Riley perform with jazz extraordinaires including pianist Ahmad Jamal and world-renowned trumpeter Wynton Marsaalis. Since releasing new music for Mack Avenue Records, Riley’s “New Direction,” project is called “pleasing to the ear and an experience like no other.”
The season launches on Oct. 15 with South Carolina-based folklore group Ranky Tank, and Dom Flemons, Grammy-winning co-founder of the Carolina Chocolate Drops, performing classic music of The Gullah culture—African Americans who reside in the lower region known to maintain their African language and societal heritage.
“The Southern journey will make us feel like we stepped into the Carolinas for a night,” Palermo said.
“The gullah culture is really interesting to hear about and listening to the music of that culture is great.”
Next up on Oct. 21 is Delfeayo Marsalis, acclaimed trombonist and brother of Wynton Marsalis. The Uptown Jazz Orchestra will be performing with him.
Palermo saw Marsalis live in concert in New York and the atmosphere “felt like a party.”
“His band was having so much fun and they brought such a shot of New Orleans to a little basement club in New York that I just had a ball,” Palermo said.
“It’s gonna be a lot of fun, it’ll feel like New Orleans is in the house that night.”
Three jazz and soul vocal powerhouses will grace the stage on March 5 when Charenée Wade, Camille Thurman and Tahira Clayton perform. The show will be produced by Grammy-winning Eli Wolf, with arrangements by pianist and musical director Carmen Staff. The performance is associated with the Women in Jazz Organization and will be backed by an all-female band.
“I think hearing women’s voices in jazz, especially Black women’s voices in jazz who have been at the forefront in the artistry and have been less recognized by history, is paramount in putting out an incredible legacy of talent,” Palermo said.
“It’s good to remind everybody of the incredible singers that have come through the jazz age and still resonate today.”
St. Louis native Anita Jackson will be at The Sheldon for a two-night event on April 19-20, making her Coffee Concert series debut. She has performed as a featured vocalist with numerous local Blues, Gospel, R&B and Jazz groups locally.
Palermo said The Sheldon’s mission is to provide diversity in music and showcase performers who exude incredible musicianship.
“What we try to do with The Sheldon is highlight excellent performers and make sure that we are covering as many territories as possible as far as the genres and the music we’re offering,” Palermo said.
“The intent is always to bring virtuosos and real authentic performers that put their whole heart into what they’re doing. That’s what we’re after, we’re not about glitz and show. We’re about musicianship, skill, craft, and heart.”
Learn more, here: https://www.thesheldon.org/.
