Published December 20, 2024

A Very Soulful Christmas: The Quintessence Music Series Kickoff

by Chuck Reider

The Reno Jazz Orchestra (RJO) is presenting A Very Soulful Christmas on Dec. 21 at 2pm at UNR’s Nightingale Hall. This is the first concert of a trio of concerts we are calling, The Quintessence Series. Our music director, Greg Johnson, has created all new arrangements of some of your favorite holiday songs to highlight the vocal talent of Tasche, our featured guest artist. The holiday concert is always special to the RJO because the Reno Youth Jazz Orchestra (RYJO) opens the show as they have since 2006. Nichole Heglund is the new RYJO music director and RYJO season 19 is sponsored by CJ Walters in memory of Larry Walters.

 

Johnson met Tasche, an Oakland, California native, in 2017 when Tasche formed his band Vybe Society. Johnson has been writing horn charts and playing sax with Tasche and the Vybe Society since 2017.  Johnson noted they have played several hundred gigs over the years. As you will hear, Tasche is a powerhouse vocalist and keyboardist who thrills with his original music and stunning covers. His career boasts performances across the globe, from Japan and France to Canada and Brazil. He has performed with artists like CeeLo Green, Sheila E., and Tony! Toni! Toné! His own musical journey includes two acclaimed CDs: A Love Worth Fighting For and From the Soul, showcasing his songwriting talent. 

If you attended our Nov. 16 concert, you heard some of Greg Johnson’s creatively re-imagined arrangements of great songs as It Could Happen to You or One O’Clock Jump.  He sharpened his arranging pencil to create new arrangements of Silent Night, The Christmas Song, as well as some R&B classics such as Marvin Gaye’s What’s GoingOn and Stevie Wonder’s Superstition. Johnson will also be presenting some of Duke Ellington’s re-imaginations of several Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker compositions Sugar Rum Cherry (Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy) and Danse of the Floreadores (Waltz of the Flowers). Johnson is also an accomplished saxophonist as you will hear. He has performed with jazz legends like Curtis Fuller and Billy Taylor, as well as pop and rock artists such as Saint Motel and Robin Thicke. His academic career includes positions at prestigious institutions like USC and Sacramento State. With ten albums under his name and multiple GRAMMY nominations, Johnson’s influence extends across various musical genres. His latest album The Naked Truth is out now and available.

 

A Very Soulful Christmas, as noted above, is the first of our three concert series Quintessence. The RJO board has talked about creating a jazz series for several years and this fiscal year we took the plunge! To cap off the RJO’s Jazz in the Schools Day of Student Jazz, we present You Can't Beat This featuring Venezuelan percussionist Aaron Serfaty. Experience the electrifying rhythms and soulful melodies of Venezuelan jazz! This concert will fuse traditional Venezuelan music with big band jazz from the vibrant sounds of the cuatro and maracas to the soulful melodies of the saxophone and piano. Serfaty became a virtuoso percussionist at a young age. He is an accomplished session and touring drummer working with numerous Venezuelan artists as well the L.A. Philharmonic, Sérgio Mendes, and Dori Caymmi. Come early to hear great student jazz bands during the day and the RJO with Serfaty in the evening. It is a 7:30p.m. concert in UNR’s Nightingale Hall on Feb. 8, 2025.

 

Sinatra Sings, Basie Swings concludes our series and takes place May 10, 2025 at 4pm again at UNR’s Nightingale Hall. Our fans have been requesting a Sinatra concert and Johnson chose vocalist Matt Mauser to bring back the spirit of Ol’ Blue Eyes. I had the honor of performing with Frank Sinatra and I saw and felt the magic Sinatra brought to the stage. So, step back in time and fly away with this critically acclaimed show reminiscent of a young Frank Sinatra at the height of his career, when singing with The Count Basie Orchestra at The Sands Hotel in Las Vegas. Mauser is also a songwriter, solo artist, pop/rock bandleader having spent over two decades onstage and in the writing room. He is the frontman of the Sinatra Orchestra in Los Angeles, appeared on America's Got Talent, and is now signed by legendary producer David Foster.

The holiday season is a season of thanks and I wish to extend my gratitude to our community who has supported us through the years and to the dedicated RJO staff. That combination has created great moments in performance and education shared by so many. To all have a very soulful and merry Christmas.

Get your tickets here:
A Very Soulful Christmas
https://app.dvforms.net/api/dv/q15j7v

You Can't Beat This ~ featuring Aaron Serfaty
https://app.dvforms.net/api/dv/d9j2w9

Sinatra Sings, Basie Swings ~ featuring Matt Mauser
https://app.dvforms.net/api/dv/340d4x

Meet Greg and Tasche
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DDYVTfWP1MM/?igsh=MWx5eHk3YmljOTlnNA==

Learn more about Tasche
https://youtu.be/32rRtsfEq24?si=Lo9mSted2tOQHXZU

Greg Johnson talks about his new album
https://youtu.be/RKc0NvQqs08?si=noP0wtlniZS95sHr

Chuck Reider is the the President of the Reno Jazz Orchestra

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