Northwest Suburban Community Concert Association
(Formerly Arlington Heights Community Concert Association)
An International Artists' Showcase
in partnership with
District 214 Community Education

Maxwell Street Klezmer Band

The Maxwell Street Klezmer Band has been one of the Midwest's premiere Klezmer Bands for over twenty years.  They perform both for public concerts in the U.S. and worldwide, and for weddings, bar and bat mitzvahs, and other private parties.  Maxwell Street has been central to the revival of traditional Jewish music in the Midwest. It is one of the true Klezmer "Big Bands," recalling the rich, jazzy sounds of the Swing Era.

For more information, please visit the Maxwell Street Klezmer Band web site: www.KlezmerBand.com

Mark Valenti
International Classical Pianist

Smith and Adams
Nashville's Swingin' Guitar and Cello Duo

Passion is guaranteed when world renowned fingerstyle guitarist Richard Smith and cellist Julie Adams join forces.

Can you imagine a full orchestra playing in your living room? Or two lovers flirting in a symphony hall? It's a little bit of both that you get from world renowned fingerstyle guitarist Richard Smith and his wife, versatile cellist Julie Adams – and they serve so much more.

The combination of Richard’s fretboard fireworks and Julie’s warm tone and lyrical style will melt your heartstrings, have your toes tapping and your jaws hanging open. Their ever growing repertoire comprises a wide variety of music from classical Bach to Beatles pop. It includes Scott Joplin Rags just like Sousa marches, Chopin, Mozart and fiddle tunes. It ranges from jazz standards to Chet Atkins and Jerry Reed and to Django Reinhardt gypsy swing, not to mention their intriguing originals. Richard and Julie deliver both, lightning fast barn-burners and beautiful ballads, occasionally spiced with gentle and witty vocals.

Their incredible stylistic wealth is founded in a lifelong love for music. Born in Beckenham, Kent, England in 1971, Richard started playing guitar at age 5 under the instruction of his father. Concentrating initially on the country picking of Chet Atkins and Merle Travis, young Richard digested everything he heard, learning even the most complicated of these tunes with ease, and confounding everyone with his dexterity. It seemed that not only did he possess amazing physical skill, but a photographic musical memory as well. Often, a single hearing was all it took to get a piece under his fingers, using all ten to play bass, rhythm and melody simultaneously and creating a universe of sounds, while easily switching between thumbpicking and flatpicking like hardly anybody else.

Richard first met his hero, the “Godfather” of fingerstyle guitar, Chet Atkins, when he was only eleven. Richard was invited by Chet to share the stage with him at Her Majesty’s Theatre in London in front of an audience of 1,000. At first, the master accompanied him, but later on he just listened in stunned silence while the child played Chet’s own arrangements – perfectly. By the time Richard reached his early twenties, both Chet Atkins and Jerry Reed began to refer to him as their “Hero”. It's no surprise, that the hymns of praise subsequently never faded. Richard has toured the world as a solo artist, with his brothers Rob and Sam as the Richard Smith Guitar Trio and with his swing band, The Hot Club of Nashville, featuring Stuart Duncan on fiddle, Pat Bergeson on guitar and Charlie Chadwick on bass. Fellow guitar wizard Tommy Emmanuel prefers Richard Smith as one of his favourite duet partners. In 2001, Richard became the National Fingerstyle Guitar Champion in Winfield, Kansas. He has been a mainstay at the Chet Atkins Appreciation Society Convention in Nashville since 1991, where he has played with many world renowned artists including Nato Lima of Los Indios Tabajaras, sax legend Boots Randolph and John Jorgenson of Desert Rose Band and Elton John Band fame.

He has also performed with other great musicians such as Marcel Dadi, Tommy Tedesco, Thom Bresh, Joe Pass, Bireli Lagrene, Bryan Sutton, Les Paul, Mark O'Connor, Sam Bush, Martin Taylor, Jorge Morel, Suzy Bogguss, Muriel Anderson, Guy Van Duser, Bela Fleck, Victor Wooten, Tony McManus and Buster B. Jones and shared the bill with a host of others, most notably Steve Morse, Albert Lee, Paco Pena, Barney Kessel, David Russell and Johnny Hiland. 1999 turned out to be a further milestone for Richard Smith in both his life and career, when the British gentleman married the lovely and accomplished American cellist Julie Adams and settled in the Nashville area. Julie is one of the most diverse cellists on the music scene today. Raised in Dayton, Ohio, and classically trained at Interlochen Center for the Arts and the Cincinnati Conservatory, she has won many competitions and played in the most diverse musical settings. In 1996, Julie was selected to perform the Dvořak Cello Concerto with the Cincinnati Conservatory Orchestra.

Since then, she has performed with orchestras in Chicago, Columbus, Dayton and Cincinnati, Ohio, and Vero Beach, Florida.

Julie has also branched into folk music, playing a significant role on Glenn and Holly Yarbrough’s album “Family Portrait”, produced by well-known fingerstyle guitarist Muriel Anderson. Julie and Muriel then teamed up to release their own duet CD titled “Theme for Two Friends” and toured extensively throughout the US. At home, Julie is a sought-after session player and has been featured on top ten albums as well as major film scores such as the soundtrack of the box office hit “Bridget Jones's Diary” in 2001 and Suzy Bogguss' contribution “Oh! May the red rose live always” to the Grammy winning CD “Beautiful Dreamer: the songs of Stephen Foster” in 2003.

Their rich artistic backgrounds led Richard and Julie to an exciting musical rendezvous.

Soon they released their duet debut “Living Out a Dream”, recently followed by their second album “Seems Like Old Times”. This couple is driven by the passionate dedication to measure the boundaries of the unusual combination of guitar and cello.

Audiences delight in the eclectic mix of Julie’s emotional depth and Richard’s flawless technique, when they embark on a journey through clever arrangements, swaping melodies, countermelodies, rhythm and bass lines, and earning them rave reviews around the world. They are truly soul mates – in life and in music!

For more information, please visit their web site: www.richardsmithmusic.com

The Legacy of Floyd Cramer with Grandson Jason Coleman

Jason Floyd Coleman was born in Nashville, Tennessee on April 2, 1985. Blessed with talent inherited from his maternal grandfather, legendary keyboardist Floyd Cramer, he has played the piano since he was barely able to reach the keys. Over time, Jason’s playing style has progressed and matured into an uncanny reflection of the signature stylings of his Grandad, and he currently enjoys entertaining audiences by giving new life to Floyd’s beloved music.

Jason began to follow in his grandfather’s footsteps at an early age, singing when he was only two years old on the stage of the Grand Ole Opry at one of Floyd’s concerts. He performed twice with Floyd on national TV: at age four, he sang while Floyd played on "Nashville Now," hosted by Ralph Emery; and as a nine-year-old, he played a memorable Christmas piano duet with his Grandad on "Music City Tonight," hosted by Lorriane Crook and Crystal Gayle. Jason also fondly remembers playing on occasion at his grandfather’s live concerts.

Today, Jason’s love for music finds him growing busier by the day. As the Music Associate at Parkway Baptist Church in his hometown of Goodlettsville, Tennessee, he takes great joy in leading the church’s dynamic contemporary worship service every Sunday morning.

Jason got his first taste of live touring experience at age 17, when he played keyboard for a number of concerts across the country with Dove-nominated contemporary Christian artist Greg Long, who is now a member of the Grammy-winning group Avalon.

As a solo artist, Jason has been featured in a number of local and regional concerts, festivals, and radio shows in recent years, and he has also performed for countless benefit concerts, receptions, and other events in and around Nashville. One such event is the annual convention of the Chet Atkins Appreciation Society, where, since 2003, he has been able to play alongside a host of incredible musicians – including Meagan Taylor, Chet’s great-niece and a fine guitar talent and vocalist in her own right.

Jason was thrilled to make his Grand Ole Opry debut at age 17, when country music legend Hank Locklin asked him to play the piano for him on the classic song, "Please Help Me, I'm Falling," which Floyd originally recorded with Hank more than 40 years before. Jason also had the privilege of playing in the studio for what would become Hank’s final recorded album.

Undoubtedly, the highlight of Jason’s burgeoning musical career occurred in May 2004, when he was given the honor of playing for the Country Music Hall of Fame Medallion Ceremony recognizing Floyd’s induction into the Hall of Fame. It was an unforgettable performance with Jimmy Capps and the Opry Band, Hank Locklin, and Maura O'Connell, all in heartfelt tribute to his Grandad's life and legacy.

In recent years, Jason has recorded and produced three of his own solo instrumental albums. In November 2005, he released his first album, an independently produced holiday collection entitled Merry Little Christmas.

In September 2006, Jason released his sophomore album, Legacy, a collection of the songs for which his grandfather is best remembered. Included are several of Floyd’s self-penned hits, most notably Last Date, as well as instrumental arrangements of country classics by other notable artists – all of which featured Floyd on the original sessions.

Most recently, Jason debuted his much-anticipated gospel album, Faith. Released in October 2007, the album features uplifting instrumental renditions of a blend of traditional hymns and modern songs of praise.

Jason, now 24, stays busy recording and performing, carrying on the legacy left behind by his grandfather. While audiences love hearing Jason perform the music of Floyd Cramer, they also enjoy discovering his own stylings, as well. Jason’s concerts are exciting and nostalgic experiences – and they always leave the crowds wanting more!

For more information, visit Jason’s website at www.JasonColemanMusic.com.