Monday nights are alright in the Bull City. Local Jazz at The Fruit kicked off in August and it’s the absolute perfect way to end your Monday in Durham. All local Bull City talent curated by King Kenney of Duke Performances. The Bulls of Durham is absolutely thrilled to have Local Jazz as a Community Partner. “Having to” enjoy an unBULLievaBULL music performance every week may be the best work problem to have, ever.
We caught up with King (no small feat, hold your applause) to get the scoop on Local Jazz at the Fruit. Before we get into his interview, I want to give you the for real, for real that these shows sell out. Tickets can only be bought in advance online. Click HERE to get your tickets and I’ll see you there.
And words from King.
Q1. What is Local Jazz?
“Local Jazz is an opportunity to spotlight Durham’s greatest export: jazz musicians. It’s an opportunity to underscore the talents of distinguished bandleaders, rising stars, and ambitious students by offering them a dedicated stage to new and original material, record live performances, and/or release albums locally before launching regional or national tours.”
Q2. What inspired you to start the jazz series and how did you decide on The Fruit as a location?
“In my role as marketing director at Duke Performances, I am afforded the opportunity to promote extraordinary above-the-marquee players. Then, I think back to my days at NCCU and the remarkable pool of talent that I encountered there. I reached out to many of them that still reside in the area and felt inspired by their stories: these otherworldly talents are playing low paying gigs at bars — where people complain that they’re playing too loud — to make ends meet.”
Q3. How did you go about curating the talent?
“I’m still an artist at heart. And so, I listen to the local players with hopes of hearing where they can go; where they want to go. I listen to their playing and have conversations with them about their aims. When it calls for it, I commission shows representative of the art they aspire to create. Just as important, I’m reserving this stage for players with aims of playing jazz at the highest level — at the world’s most prominent jazz festivals and stages. This stage is for musicians who want to play jazz.”
Q4. How can tickets be purchased?
“Tickets can be purchased online at localjazz.club.”
Q5. Anything else you would like to include?
“I want to express my gratitude to The Fruit for being a blank canvas. They’re respected throughout the arts community for being amenable to out-of-the-box requests. As the series grows, I look forward to working alongside their team to bill Monday nights as the place to enjoy jazz at an intimate cabaret in Durham.”
For a list of upcoming shows and to get your tickets go to LocalJazz.Club
Special thank you to our Community Partner Local Jazz for their partnership and trusting us to showcase this amazing series.
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