Un-Cross Talk: Jazz and Bluegrass Slip ‘n Slide Houston Style

Toy Blue Typewriter Productions and Jacqui Sutton present Un-Cross Talk: Jazz and Bluegrass Slip ‘n Slide Houston Style.

Despite the perception that rural and urban America don’t understand each other, Un-Cross Talk will illustrate in music why the uniquely American music art forms (jazz and bluegrass) can slip ‘n slide together, to create something new. This something new is Jacqui Sutton’s signature sound: Frontier Jazz (where jazz meets the American frontier).

Jacqui, along with her Frontier Jazz Orchestra will debut original Frontier Jazz music for this two-night run. Get ready for an immersive, multi-media musical experience that lets urban and rural America merge through music.

The Frontier Jazz Orchestra was born in Houston, spring of 2010. In the intervening years, we have recorded two CDs: Billie & Dolly and Notes From the Frontier: A Musical Journey.  In that time, the Frontier Jazz sound has sought its footing, blending jazz, bluegrass, symphonic, folk, and R&B styles into a sound that rings urban and rural, and with luck, it rings true to the ear.  It is an evolving sound and process. The hope of this performance is to incorporate multi-media visual and audio interviews with musicians and music historians, married to the original compositions, to become immersed (that is, get in Jacqui’s head space) into this Houston-born sound-scape.

While Jacqui is the lead vocalist and bandleader, the Frontier Jazz sound could not be possible without Houston’s finest musicians: Henry Darragh (piano/trombone); Eddie Lewis and Dennis Dotson (trumpet and flugelhorn); Anthony Sapp (bass); Paul Chester (banjo/guitars); Ilya Janos (percussion/drums); Max Dyer and Patrick Moore (cello); and Joel Fulgham (drums).

Join us for this continued journey: where jazz meets the American frontier.

This project is funded in part by the City of Houston through Houston Arts Alliance, and by the many supporters who participated in the crowdfunding efforts to mount this production.

Because there is NO intermission, an early arrival is recommended, as we may not be able to accommodate late seating. A brief reception will follow each performance.