“Inspirational Soul Queen” Dr. E is back with a new album! Songs for the Struggle is an autobiographical full length concept album “inspired by her life story of a sex trafficked teenager and young adult entrapped in abuse to earning her PhD and becoming a university professor.” The soul songstress, author, and award winning full professor at The Ohio State University has created a work that delves into the struggles of poor women and women of color over soul and funk grooves. Dr. E is holding a Columbus release party for Songs for the Struggle on Friday, May 5th at Long Street Studio, 300 E. Long Street. She will be joined on stage by Christopher Brown on keyboards, Ray Napier on guitars, Jeff Bass on bass, and Troy Jones on drums. Caroline Bennett will also perform, and the event will be hosted by MC Speak Williams. Doors open at 7:30pm for a reception with food by Willowbeez Soulveg, and showtime is 8pm. Tickets are available here – A portion of ticket sales will benefit the nonprofit Education Foundation for Freedom 501c3 supporting education for women and girls. Enjoy a night of jazzy soul and great food for a great cause!
Shows To See This Week
Saturday, May 6th (9pm – midnight): NexLevel with Maestro J at The Savoy Club, East Side. Soulful smooth and urban contemporary jazz powerhouse NexLevel will join forces with neo-soul/jazz violinist Maestro J for a special night of jazz and R&B. Open since January, the club is establishing itself as a destination for live jazz, soul, R&B and reggae in Columbus, boasting a large dance floor and working toward offering food. After starting the weekend with a show by groove masters fo/mo/deep on Friday, the club keeps the hits coming with this event that also serves as a birthday party for local promoter Sharla Major-Day, so get ready to have fun. No cover!
Sunday, May 7th (3 – 5pm): Richard Lopez’s Jazz Masters Series: “A Brazilian Music Afternoon” featuring Canta Brasil at the Columbus Museum of Art. Lopez’s 2016-17 season of Sunday afternoon concerts at CMA will conclude with this sunny program of Brazilian favorites. Long-running Brazilian jazz fusion purveyors Canta Brasil will be in the forefront of this performance, with their lineup of Brazilian drummer/percussionist Danny Aguiar, vocalist Tia Harris, guitarist Stan Smith, keyboardist Erik Augis on keyboards, Kris Keith on sax and flute, and Jeff Bass on bass. Lopez will join in the festivities on some tunes by Moacir Santos and Milton Nascimento. Get ready for summer with some Brazilian heat! Tickets are available here or at the admissions desk.
Thursday, May 11th (10pm – 2am): Jon Coleman at Dick’s Den. The classic-styled vocalist brings his jazz lineup back to Dick’s Den for some Thursday night revelry. Coleman’s band will include Tony Bonardi on piano, Matt Paetsch on bass, and Matt Wagner on drums. Coleman tells me “We’ll be doing a bunch of standards from the Great American Songbook, and we will also throw in some surprises by Billy Joel and Elvis Costello.” It’s been too long personally, but I did enjoy seeing him perform in 2014, so this should be a treat. Cover is $5.
Have a great week! Here are some sounds from this week’s featured artists: