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HOUSTON, TX (October 21, 2024) — Houston jazz lovers, get set to light up Jones Hall for the Houston Symphony’s dazzling celebration of Harlem’s golden era: It Don’t Mean a Thing: Swingin’ Uptown Classics with Byron Stripling, November 8-10. Step into the swinging sounds of Uptown Manhattan’s legendary music scene, where the hottest rhythms filled the air. Celebrated conductor, trumpet player and vocalist Byron Stripling brings the spirit of these historic clubs to life, paying homage to the artists and venues that forever changed the world of jazz with captivating songs like Duke Ellington’s “It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing),” George and Ira Gershwin’s “Love is Here to Stay,” and George Gershwin’s “I Got Rhythm.” Prepare to be transported back to a time when Uptown was alive with the infectious rhythm of swing and jazz, echoing with melodies that continue to inspire.
Inspired by renowned hotspots like The Cotton Club and The Savoy, this electrifying concert evokes the spirit of Harlem in the 1920s and ’30s, the days when Duke Ellington’s orchestra reigned supreme, and jazz legends Cab Calloway, Lena Horne, and Ethel Waters disrupted the world of music with unprecedented sound. Known for its exclusive clientele and elaborate stage shows, The Cotton Club launched the careers of musical titans like Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong. Meanwhile, The Savoy Ballroom broke down racial barriers as a vibrant, integrated space where everyone was welcome to dance to the pulsing sounds of big bands. Here, luminaries like Ella Fitzgerald and Chick Webb thrilled crowds with their soulful melodies and energetic rhythms.
Byron Stripling, a charismatic conductor, trumpet virtuoso, singer and actor, lights up every performance with a contagious smile and captivating charm. Named Principal Pops Conductor for both the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, he also serves as artistic director and conductor of the renowned Columbus Jazz Orchestra. Stripling has dazzled audiences with more than 100 orchestras worldwide, including standout performances with the Boston Pops and the New York Pops at Carnegie Hall. His television appearances include Evening at Pops, where he shared the spotlight with legends like John Williams and Keith Lockhart. Known for his theatrical flair, Stripling starred in the Broadway-bound musical Satchmo and appeared in The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles. His prolific recording career spans jazz, soul, Broadway and more, with collaborations alongside icons like Tony Bennett and Whitney Houston.
For tickets and more information, call or text 713.224.7575, or visit houstonsymphony.org/uptownclassics.
HOUSTON SYMPHONY PRESENTS IT DON’T MEAN A THING: SWINGIN’ UPTOWN CLASSICS WITH BYRON STRIPLING
Friday, November 8, 2024 at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, November 9, 2024 at 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, November 10, 2024 at 2 p.m.
Jones Hall for the Performing Arts
Byron Striping, conductor, trumpet, and vocalist
Carmen Bradford, vocalist
Leo Manzari, vocalist and tap dancer
About Byron Stripling
With a contagious smile and captivating charm, conductor, trumpet virtuoso, singer, and actor Byron Stripling ignites audiences worldwide. He was named principal pops conductor of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra in 2020 and the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra in 2024. Stripling also serves as the artistic director and conductor of the acclaimed Columbus Jazz Orchestra. He has conducted numerous orchestras across the United States and Canada, including the Boston Symphony Orchestra at Tanglewood and orchestras from San Diego to Sarasota.
Since his Carnegie Hall debut with Skitch Henderson and the New York Pops, Stripling has become a favorite among pops orchestras across the country, performing with more than 100 orchestras worldwide. He has frequently appeared as a soloist with the Boston Pops under the direction of Keith Lockhart and was the featured soloist on the PBS television special Evening at Pops, conducted by John Williams and Lockhart.
An accomplished actor and singer, Stripling starred in the lead role of the Broadway-bound musical Satchmo, made a cameo appearance in The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, and performed in the 42nd Street production of From Second Avenue to Broadway.
Television viewers have seen Stripling as a soloist on the worldwide broadcast of the Grammy Awards, as well as in commercials and theme songs. In addition to recording with his quintet and working with artists such as Tony Bennett and Whitney Houston, Stripling’s prolific career includes hundreds of albums with prominent pops, Broadway, soul, and jazz artists.
He earned his stripes as lead trumpeter and soloist with the Count Basie Orchestra and has performed with bands led by Dizzy Gillespie, Woody Herman, Dave Brubeck, Lionel Hampton, Clark Terry, Louis Bellson, Buck Clayton, the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, the Carnegie Hall Jazz Band, and the GRP All-Star Big Band.
A graduate of the Eastman School of Music and the Interlochen Arts Academy, Stripling finds great joy in returning to both as a guest lecturer.
Stripling resides in Ohio with his wife, Alexis, a former dancer, writer, and poet, and their daughters.
About Carmen Bradford
Carmen Bradford, jazz royalty and 2024 Grammy Award winner for Basie Swings the Blues with the Count Basie Orchestra, is a five-time Grammy nominee and recipient of the Los Angeles Jazz Society’s Jazz Vocalist Award. Her work showcases her experience, versatility, and technical brilliance in jazz.
Born in Austin, Texas, and raised in Altadena, California, Bradford is the daughter of cornetist and composer Bobby Bradford and renowned jazz vocalist, composer, and author Melba Joyce. Her grandfather, Melvin Moore, sang with Lucky Millender’s Big Band, Dizzy Gillespie’s Big Band, and the Ink Spots.
Bradford was discovered by Count Basie at age 22 and became the featured vocalist with his orchestra for nine years. She continues to perform with the Count Basie Orchestra, and her Grammy nominations include two in the 1980s and another for Big Boss Band with guitarist George Benson, with whom she performed “How Do You Keep the Music Playing” on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. Her most recent nomination was for 2022’s Live at Birdland.
Bradford has performed and recorded with a diverse array of artists and orchestras. She teamed with singer-composer Kenny Rankin for the Benny Carter Songbook Project, performing “And All That Jazz.”
Her debut album, Finally Yours (Evidence Records), released in 1992, received critical acclaim, and her second album, “With Respect” (Evidence), solidified her as one of jazz’s most versatile vocal stylists.
Home with You (Azica Records) is a collection of vocal and piano duets with jazz pianist Shelly Berg. In 2008, she returned to her big band roots with Live from Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola, performing with Sherrie Maricle & The DIVA Jazz Orchestra. “When the Count Basie Orchestra calls me,” she says, “I go.”
In 2016, she lent her voice to Imagination Nation, a tribute to Nelson Mandela by South African trumpeter Darren English. The album won the Pledge for Peace Award from the Global Peace Song Awards and was named Best in Jazz.
About Leo Manzari
Originally from Washington, D.C., Leo Manzari is a Lucille Lortel Award-nominated tap dancer. He has headlined in productions such as the touring and Off-Broadway shows of Maurice Hines is Tappin’ Thru Life. He has appeared as a guest artist on So You Think You Can Dance, at the Kennedy Center’s 50th Inaugural Celebration of JFK and Marvin Gaye, in Dorrance Dance’s Nutcracker Suite, and on The Mo’nique Show, The Kate, TEDMED, PBS News Hour, The Jerry Lewis MDA Labor Day Telethon, and ABC’s The View. Manzari was featured as a solo tap dancer in Hozier’s music video “Almost (Sweet Music)” and has performed with Anderson Paak’s band The Free Nationals for various virtual events.
Now based in Los Angeles, Manzari headlines alongside Byron Stripling and Grammy-nominated jazz vocalist Carmen Bradford, collaborating with various POPS orchestras around the world, including the Houston Symphony, Winnipeg Orchestra, Florida Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, and The Philly POPS. His other credits include a recurring role in season six of Showtime’s Homeland. Manzari is also the lead writer and vocalist of his original music, available at leomanzari.com. Manzari is on Instagram @leomanzari.
About Houston Symphony
Under Music Director Juraj Valčuha, the Houston Symphony continues its second century inspiring and engaging large and diverse audiences in Houston and beyond through exceptional musical performances, and creating an enduring impact in the Houston community. One of the oldest performing arts organizations in Texas, the Symphony held its inaugural performance at The Majestic Theater in downtown Houston on June 21, 1913. Today, with an operating budget of $40.7 million, the full-time ensemble of professional musicians presents more than 130 concerts annually, making it the largest performing arts organization in Houston. Traditionally, musicians of the orchestra and the Symphony’s Community-Embedded Musicians also offer nearly 600 community-based performances each year at various schools, community centers, hospitals, senior centers, and churches, annually reaching nearly 200,000 people in Greater Houston in addition to Jones Hall.
After suspending concert activities in March 2020, the Symphony successfully completed a full 2020–21 Season with in-person audiences and weekly livestreams of each performance, making it one of the only orchestras in the world to do so. The Houston Symphony remains committed to livestreaming its 2024-25 Season to a broad audience in over forty-five countries and all 50 states, one of few American orchestras dedicated to transmitting live performances to a sizeable audience outside its home city through this technology. The Grammy Award-winning Houston Symphony has recorded under various prestigious labels, including Koch International Classics, Naxos, RCA Red Seal, Telarc, Virgin Classics, and, most recently, Dutch recording label Pentatone. In 2017, the Houston Symphony was awarded an ECHO Klassik award for the live recording of Alban Berg’s Wozzeck under the direction of former Music Director Hans Graf. The orchestra earned its first Grammy nomination and Grammy Award at the 60th annual ceremony for the same recording in the Best Opera Recording category. The Symphony’s most recent recordings include a Pentatone release in January 2022 of its world premiere performances of Jimmy López Bellido’s Aurora and Ad Astra, and a Naxos release in July 2023 of its world premiere performance of Jennifer Higdon’s Duo Duel.
