The Jazz Vegas Orchestra & The Music of Joe Williams Feat. Michelle Johnson, Naomi Mauro, and Special Guests
Wed, Oct 09
|Myron's at The Smith Center
Jazz Outreach Initiative’s "Jazz Vegas Orchestra is honored to welcome vocalists Michelle Johnson, Naomi Mauro, and special surprise guest artists to celebrate Las Vegas’s own “Number One Son” with original music curated from the Joe Williams Library!
Time & Location
Oct 09, 2024, 7:00 PM – 8:30 PM PDT
Myron's at The Smith Center, 361 W Symphony Park Ave, Las Vegas, NV 89106, USA
About the event
Jazz Outreach Initiative’s Jazz Vegas Orchestra (formerly JOI Jazz Orchestra) is honored to welcome vocalists Michelle Johnson, Naomi Mauro, and special surprise guest artists to celebrate Las Vegas’s own “Number One Son” with original music curated from the Joe Williams Library along with exhilarating arrangements that will have The Smith Center swinging!
Joe Williams was so beloved by Count Basie that he called him, “My Number One Son.” Some of his most iconic songs were performed with The Count Basie Orchestra between 1954 – 1961 including “Everyday I Have the Blues” and “Alright, OK, You Win.” The Los Angeles Times called him, “The Finest Jazz Singer of his Generation.”
With 7 Grammy® nominations and 1 win for Best Vocal Jazz Performance (Nothin’ But the Blues – 1984) and 1992 induction to the Grammy® Hall of Fame (“Every Day I Have the Blues”) along with a host of other accolades and accomplishments, Joe Williams moved to Las Vegas where performed regularly while supporting jazz as a thriving art form through its younger generations. After his 1999 passing, his wife Jillean founded The Joe Williams Everyday Foundation which cements his legacy by offering grants and scholarships to jazz institutions centered around youth jazz education including UNLV and Jazz Outreach Initiative.