The Gift of Jazz presents two jazz classes open to adults beginning April 15th. Classes meet every Saturday for eight weeks, culminating in a graduation performance with many top notch musicians. Our expert educators are Donna Wickham, vocalist and professor at DU, and Vlad Gershevich, pianist and staple of the Colorado music scene. Visit our website for more information and to sign up: https://www.giftofjazz.org/2023/03/03/spring-2023-saturday-classes/

Dazzle is seeking a new Operations Manager

Installing Jazz at the Performance Arts Complex

Tivoli Club Brass Band

Monday, Apr. 24 - 7:00PM

Denver’s most beloved brass band brings the tradition of the New Orleans Second Line to the Mile High. Featuring a veritable superband of who’s-who in Denver local music; musicians who’ve been playing this scene since before it existed, with bands like Lost Dog Ensemble, Furious George and the Monster Groove, Judge Roughneck, Sammy Mayfield Blues Revue, Money Plays 8, the Flobots, Til Willis, Bow Shock, Jesse Manley, FaceMan, Oxycodone, Alpha Schoolmarm Orchestra and dozens more.

Troy Thill -Alto Sax
Kim Tiede - Bari Sax
Michael Gates - Trumpet
Steve Illich - Trumpet
David Dinsmore - Trombone
Dave Flomberg - Trombone
Joe Walsh - Tuba
Dustin Arndt - Percussion
Rachel Hargroder - Percussion
Dean Hirschfield - Percussion
Luke Wachter - Percussion

Kieran Osborn Senior Recital

Tuesday, Apr. 25 - 7:00PM

Kieran Osborn is a jazz drummer from Denver School of the Arts. He began playing drums at the age of ten and discovered his love of jazz music just a few years later. His musical journey has been shaped by his consistent involvement with the Colorado Conservatory for Jazz Arts (CCJA) over the past several years, and he is excited to continue his development as a musician at the college level. He is currently the drummer for the CCJA Jazz Arts Messengers and he has performed with the Denver School of the Arts Jazz Workshop Orchestra, at the UNC Jazz Festival, Vail Jazz Festival, and the University of North Texas Jazz Combo Workshop. Joining him on stage will be some of his most influential mentors, closest friends, and respected musicians.

Cecil Alexander

Wednesday & Thursday, Apr. 26 & 27 - 7:00PM

Cecil Alexander is a guitarist based in Boston, MA. He graduated from Berklee College of Music in 2016 with a B.M. in Jazz Composition. He is a recent graduate (2019) of the Jazz Performance M.M. program at William Paterson University. Cecil was the 1st place winner of the 2017 Wilson Center Jazz Guitar Competition and the 2018 Lee Ritenour Six String Theory Competition.

As of recently, Cecil was one of 3 finalists in the 2019 Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz International Guitar Competition. Cecil has recorded/performed with Bill Charlap, Bill Pierce, Antonio Hart, Lee Pearson, Luis Perdomo, Nathan East, and Steve LaSpina. Some of his greatest influences include Charlie Parker, Joe Henderson, Grant Green, John Coltrane, Omar Rodriguez Lopez, and Frank Zappa. As of Fall 2021, Cecil started a teaching position at Berklee College of Music as Assistant Professor of Guitar.

Cecil recently was recently signed to Heartcore Records, a Berlin-based label founded by legendary guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel. Cecil’s debut album with Heartcore, Introducing Cecil Alexander, was released September 23rd, 2022.

Cecil Alexander- Guitar
Gonzalo Teppa- Bass
Danny McGonegle- Drums

Friday Lunch Bunch: Purnell Steen and the Five Points Ambassadors

Friday, Apr. 28 - 11:00AM

For over 30 years, Purnell Steen and the Five Points Ambassadors has been dedicated to preserving and playing the Jazz and Blues music of Denver's legendary Five Points neighborhood and is a regular at Dazzle.
Last September, the Ambassadors spent a week playing and lecturing in Denver’s Sister City, Brest, France, as part of our cultural exchange. The band has performed for many dignitaries, including the 2008 National Convention, playing for the Clintons and other notables. Purnell is a cousin to Eddie “Cleanhead” Vinson, George Duke, 5-time Grammy Award winner Dianne Reeves, and legendary bassist Charlie Burrell.

Purnell Steen - Piano
Ed Stephen - Acoustic Guitar
Vohn Regensburger - Brazilian Guitar
Ron Bland - Bass
Bill Larson - Drums

Ken Walker Sextet

Friday, Apr 28 - 7:00PM

The Ken Walker Sextet is an iconic and beloved jazz group which has played together for more than two decades. The music is always swinging, often funky, and sometimes even profound. The repertoire ranges from jazz standards, to post bop tunes, original compositions, and always, always inspired by Eddie Harris!
Hearing the band is always an experience to remember!

Ken Walker - Bass
Paul Romaine - Drums
Dave Corbus - Guitar
Jeff Jenkins - Piano
Gabe Mervine - Trumpet
Peter Sommer - Sax

Sarah Mount and the Rushmores

Friday, Apr. 28 - 9:30PM

Lead by local saxophonist who hails from the Mile High City, Sarah Mount and the Rushmores has been delivering improv driven hard funk and indie soul to the Denver area for the last five years. Featuring the core line-up, and accompanying guest artists every show with an array of both original music and cover songs.

Same Cloth Celebrates Joe Keel

Saturday, Apr. 29 - 6:00PM & 9:00PM

JoFoKe's Dad, Joe Keel, is turning 80 on May 3, 2023! On Saturday, April 29th, Same Cloth will celebrate the legendary Keel's life and musical legacy.

Same Cloth is a charismatic, Denver-based, Black woman-led band that uses their peculiarities to share meaningful art. Same Cloth performs original music and creative cover arrangements that, along with JoFoKe's charisma and vocal stylings, are brought to life by Solomon Chapman on keyboards, Will Gaines on bass, Callum Bair & James Tré on guitar and Matt Campbell on drums. As a unit, Same Cloth combines the diverse traditions of Black American Music to create an energetically eclectic and emotionally elevating live music experience.

The Domi Edson Trio plays Tribute to Ray Brown

Sunday, Apr. 30 - 6:00PM

Domi Edson is an award-winning bassist, composer, and arranger originally from Seattle, WA, now residing in Denver, CO.In high school Ray Brown thought of taking up the trombone, but could not afford one. With a vacancy in the high school jazz orchestra, he took up the double bass. Soon his career began to take shape. Major artists started to notice him. Ella Fitzgerald (whom he was married to for a time), Oscar Peterson, Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker were just a few collaborators.

We are excited to present an evening diving into Ray’s music and his impact on jazz.

DOMI EDSON – Bass

BOBBY WIENS – Drums

SPENCER ZWEIFEL – Piano

Rotem Sivan Trio

Wednesday & Thursday, Apr. 3 & 4 - 7:00PM

Rotem Sivan’s guitar skills are heralded across the globe. The New York Times has praised him as “more than a very good young guitar player.” Downbeat Magazine has called him “a remarkable talent.” And universally beloved music platform, Treble FM, has described him as a “bonafide guitar god with rugged Israeli sex appeal and skills that make us swoon.”

Hamish Smith - Bass
Miguel Russel - Drums
Rotem Sivan - Guitar

The Kent Burnside Blues Band

Friday, May 5 - 7:00PM & 9:00PM

Kent Burnside was born in 1971 in Memphis Tennessee, and spent his early years in Holly Springs, Mississippi. He is the oldest Grandson and one of the closest pupils of the legendary R.L. Burnside
Kent first heard the blues while watching his grandfather R.L. perform on the family farm to the locals. Kent used to sell sandwiches to audience members for a dollar a piece during these performances.
The first lesson RL taught Kent was that to be a bluesman you have to find your own rhythm on the guitar. You can't play someone else's rhythm - as rhythm comes from your heart.

Billy Childs Quartet with Special Guest Sean Jones

Saturday, May 6 - 7:00PM & 9:30PM

Jazz pianist/composer Billy Childs remains one of the most diversely prolific and acclaimed artists working in music today. Childs’ canon of original compositions and arrangements has garnered him the 2013 Doris Duke Performing Artist Award, a Guggenheim Fellowship (2009), a composers award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters (2015), and two Chamber Music America grants: the Jazz New Works Grant (2006) and the Classical Commissioning Grant (2019).

Sean is a musical chameleon and is comfortable in any musical setting no matter what the role or the genre. He is equally adept in being a member of an ensemble as he is at being a bandleader. Sean turned a 6-month stint with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra into an offer from Wynton Marsalis for a permanent position as lead trumpeter, a post he held from 2004 until 2010.

Adam Bodine Sextet: Album Release Concert

Sunday, May 7 - 6:00PM

Celebrating the release of his latest album "Offscreen Pursuits," keyboardist/composer extraordinaire Adam Bodine leads a killin' band through an eclectic and entertaining set of original music from his new recording. Adam’s repertoire is constantly shapeshifting and his compositions creatively intermingle a dynamic synergy of styles, sounds, feels, and moods. Undeniable is Bodine’s joy of making music, which paired with his playful sense of humor, always shines on stage and treats audiences to unique and memorable experiences.

ADAM BODINE - piano/keyboards/narration
JOHN GUNTHER - saxophone, flute
SAM WILLIAMS - saxophone
KHABU DOUG YOUNG - guitar
MATT SMILEY - bass
DRU HELLER - drums

Wednesday with Wes, Vic and Wil

Wed. May 10 - 7:00PM

Benny Green

Wed. May 17 - 7:00PM & 9:30PM

Remy Le Boeuf's Assembly of Shadows Jazz Orchestra

Monday, May 29 - 7:00PM