NJO with Kelley Hunt: NEW VENUE AND TIME!

Nebraska Jazz Orchestra featuring Kelley Hunt Tuesday, October 11, 2011 NEW TIME: 7:45pm NEW PLACE: EMBASSY SUITES BALLROOM 1040 P Street, Lincoln For our opening concert, the Nebraska Jazz Orchestra will be joined by singer/songwriter Kelley Hunt. This acclaimed vocalist, pianist, and guitarist will be performing big band arrangements with the 17-piece Nebraska Jazz Orchestra, including "Why Musicians Can't Dance" by Bill Liston; "Waltz for Debby" by Bill Evans, arr. Don Sebesky; "Kansas City"; "Alright, OK, You Win"; and "I Got News for You;" as well as arrangements by NJO musicians Dave Sharp and Mark Benson and some of Kelley's own songs. This will be an exciting performance not to be missed. The concert will be held Tuesday, October 11, 2011, at the Embassy Suites Ballroom, 1040 P Street in Lincoln, Nebraska, at 7:45 pm. Tickets are available from the Nebraska Jazz Orchestra at (402) 477-8446 or njo@artsincorporated.org. Tickets are $25 for adults and $12.50 for students. Season tickets for the Nebraska Jazz Orchestra are also available at $90 for adults and $45 for students. Season tickets include admission to all four of the NJO's 2011-2012 performances. Kelley HuntIn some ways Roots R&B/Americana singer/songwriter/piano player/guitarist Kelley Hunt is a rarity and a challenge to the music industry's penchant for easy artist definitions -- a woman who has muscled her way onto the scene on her own terms with an identity steeped in blues/roots/gospel traditions and a refreshing originality. She makes music with it's righteous roots intact that also crosses boundaries, has an open-minded, exploratory attitude and takes on social and political issues. Together with a commanding, passionate stage presence and superior vocal, keyboard and songwriting skills she has earned the respect of critics and fans across North America and Europe. Born in Kansas City, Hunt's love for her craft was ignited listening to early blues, R&B, roots rock, jazz and Gospel influences -- artists like Ruth Brown, Mahalia Jackson, Billie Holiday, Ann Peebles, Ray Charles, Dinah Washington, Aretha Franklin, Charles Brown, Wanda Jackson and a crossection of the New Orleans/St. Louis/KC piano traditions of Professor Longhair, Toots Washington, Johnnie Johnson and Kansas City masters Jay McShann and Mary Lou Williams among others. Before that came the sound of her mother singing jazz and blues - her first musical memories - and the influence of her New Orleans Gospel singer grandmother. Reminders of these very traditional influences are evident in Kelley's live performances and recordings but the lyrics, soul and passion are all her own. Her career path so far has been a story of fierce independence, incredible will, unassailable cred as a blistering live performer and hard-won accomplishment. That narrative includes 1500+ performances with appearances on a long list of premier North American and International festival stages, six times on American Public Media's 'A Prairie Home Companion', nearly 150,000 indie units sold on her own label and critical praise reflecting her conviction from the outset to make her path in the roots music world not just as a performer, but as a forward-thinking songwriter as well.

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