Whitney Jame's Jazz Valentine
Thu Feb 14, 8:00 PM - Fri Feb 15, 12:00 AM

James and her band will set the mood for love with a repertoire that includes timeless love songs like “You Taught My Heart To Sing,” “Make Someone Happy,” “In A Sentimental Mood,” “Lilac Wine” and “My Funny Valentine.” The Whitney James Quintet features LaRue Nickelson on guitar and La Lucha Trio – Alejandro Arenas on bass, John O’Leary on piano and Mark Feinman on drums. If music be the food of love, play on!

James pairs incredible vocal skill with intimate, meaningful interpretations. She brings flawless intonation, a broad range of colors and sounds, and an instrumentalist’s sensibility to the bandstand. Her 2010 debut album, The Nature of Love spent four months on the jazz charts and was widely hailed by U.S. and International jazz press. In 2012, James was chosen as one of the top twelve ‘Rising Stars’ in the world of jazz and was featured on Marian McPartland’s Piano Jazz Rising Stars on NPR hosted by Jon Weber. Tune into WUSF 89.7 FM to listen to James as a host on All Night Jazz Sunday evenings.

La Lucha is Alejandro Arenas, on bass, John O’Leary on piano and Mark Feinman on drums. The band createa music that transcends genres and classifications and was awarded Creative Loafing’s “Best of the Bay Jazz Ensemble” in 2013, 2014 & 2015.

LaRue Nickelson is a jazz guitarist and composer who has performed with Chick Corea, Peter Erskine, Jeff Berlin, Ira Sullivan, Ingrid Jensen, Don Braden, Rufus Reid, Sheila Jordan, David Leibman, Chuck Owen and the Jazz Surge, among others, and recorded with Chuck Owen and the Jazz Surge, The Michael Ross Quartet, Greenwich Blue, Shawn Ashby, Kristen Lomholt, Mark Gould, and Cory Christiansen. Nickelson has 40 compositions to his credit. His first solo project Dark Water reached critical jazz acclaim.