“The master of BeBop Piano,” Hod OBrien, will make the Centenary stage jump on Saturday, July 30 at 8 PM as the Centenary Performing Arts Guild presents the third concert in the Jazz in July Series in Hackettstown this summer.

O’Brien has been hailed as “the unsung hero of jazz,” (L.A. Scene), with a musical style that unfolds with an impressive blend of precision and propulsive swing. Accompanied by the dynamic Hod O’Brien Quartet, with John Jensen on trombone, Steve Gilmore on Bass and Ron Vincent on Drums, the evening will also feature Michele Bautier on vocals, with selections from the Great American Songbook, including the music of Duke Ellington, George Gershwin, Cole Porter, Harold Arlen, Johnny Mercer, Rodgers and Hart, and more.

Vocalist Bautier grew up as the only daughter of a postman and his Belgian GI bride, a coloratura soprano. Bautier honed her musical ear listening to music of great American artists on her parents’ radio. She has been hailed as an exceptional vocalists “with a style that defies categorization.” In addition to award-winning performances on Broadway, Bautier has been a featured performer on the Queen Elizabeth 2, and has appeared with such musical greats at as André Previn, and the Academy of St. Martin-of-the-Fields. She has been a guest on the nationally syndicated WNYC-fm’s “New York Cabaret Nights,” a weekly radio program featuring New York¹s top entertainment personalities. Bautier currently resides in the bucolic Pocono region of Pennsylvania, where she continues to be a part of the lively music scene there as well.

Vocalist Stephanie Nakasian, originally scheduled to perform on July 30, will be unavailable due to a recent injury.

Jazz In July 2007

The Centenary Performing Arts Guild will feature, “Jazz in July”, a four concert series beginning Saturday, July 7th at 8pm in the air conditioned Centenary Theatre on the campus of Centenary College in Hackettstown NJ. See Directions. The Centenary Theatre, with limited seating, is a perfect venue for small jazz groups, providing the audience with a close up experience both in sound, visibility and intimacy.

Tickets
Jazz In July Tickets are $22.50 per person in advance and $27.50 at the door. The four concert series can also be purchased in advanced for $80. Tickets can be purchased by calling 908-637-6455 or call the box office at 908-979-0900, through our Secure Online Ticketing System (Series not available online except as comment request), or at any of the following locations: WRNJ Radio, Hackettstown Trading Post, Skylands Bank, Valley National Bank, Panther Valley Inn and Hackettstown Carpet.

Secure Online Ticketing System

www.centenarystageco.org           boxoffice@centenarystageco.org
400 Jefferson Street, Hackettstown, NJ 07840       908-979-0900
Copyright © 1999-2007 Centenary Performing Arts Guild. All rights reserved.
Revised: January 3, 2007