This show will be on Wednesday March 9th, a special evening of jazz where Ali Ryerson & Steve Rudolph revisit their “Soul Quest” CD release from 2004 with bassist Steve Varner.
About the artists:
ALI RYERSON – Flutes With a career spanning nearly five decades, jazz flutist Ali Ryerson has consistently ranked among the top flutists in the Downbeat Jazz Poll for well over a decade. Born in 1952 in New York City, Ali grew up in a musical family. Her father, Art Ryerson, was a renowned jazz guitarist who became a top studio player in NYC, recording with everyone from Louis Armstrong, Erroll Garner, Charlie Parker, and Sarah Vaughan, to Frank Sinatra. Ali Ryerson has carried on the family tradition, becoming an international touring/recording artist, with performances ranging from Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, to the Blue Note (NYC and Japan), plus festival appearances worldwide. Ryerson has released over two dozen albums on major jazz labels, including Concord Records, DMP, Capri, and legendary jazz producer Bob Thiele’s final jazz label, Red Baron. When Ryerson’s groundbreaking Jazz Flute Big Band released their debut CD, Game Changer on Capri Records, the album hit the ‘TOP 10’ on the US Jazz Charts for six straight weeks. Ali has recorded and/or performed with jazz greats such as Red Rodney, Roy Haynes, Kenny Barron, Frank Wess, Hubert Laws, Stephane Grappelli, Art Farmer, Joe Beck, and Gene Bertoncini, as well as a recent guest appearance with Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra. She has also performed with classical artists Julius Baker and Luciano Pavarotti (when she was principal flutist with the Monterey Bay Orchestra). Ali was musical director of the Hudson River Regional Jazz Festival (2001-’04), Jazz Chair for the National Flute Association, and founder of the NFA Jazz Flute Big Band. As an educator and author, Ryerson published the widely acclaimed Jazz Flute Practice Method, and conducts master classes worldwide. Ryerson is a Gemeinhardt Artist with an Autograph Series of flutes by Gemeinhardt Musical Instruments. Ryerson's most recent invitations as guest artist include the Galway Flute Festival in Switzerland, the International Flute Festival of Lima, Peru, the 60th Monterey Jazz Festival, the New York Flute Club, the International Low Flute Festival, and touring Japan in 2019 and 2020.
STEVE RUDOLPH – Piano - Steve moved to Harrisburg in 1978 after a tour with the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra and has been instrumental in the growth of the jazz scene in Central PA. He was a founder of the Central PA Friends of Jazz in 1980, one of the country’s most successful jazz organizations to this day. He served as pianist six nights a week at the Hilton Harrisburg’s “Bar” for 22 years featuring many great area and national artists weekly. Steve has toured the U.S., Canada, Europe, the Caribbean and Russia (including Siberia). He has many recordings to his credit and his compositions and arrangements have been performed by the Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra. Visit www.steverudolph.com for more information.
STEVE VARNER – Bass Steve was born and raised in Tennessee, where he entered the world of music playing electric bass. The musical ability of this primarily self-taught musician soon gained the attention of touring musicians, who took Steve out on the road during the years when most young musical hopefuls were studying in college. In 1980, Steve moved to the Harrisburg, PA area, where he soon became a local favorite. In addition to his extensive sideman duties as a bassist, Steve also led his own electric quartet, Modern Traffic, taking the role of "guitarist" in the band by playing the piccolo bass. The band recorded an album in 1990 of all Varner originals. Switching to acoustic bass in the early 1990's, he began to work, tour and record with a wider circle of improvisational musicians. Now residing in northern New Jersey, Steve has performed with such jazz greats as: Pat Martino, Phil Woods, Dave Liebman, Billy Hart, J.D. Walter, Steve Rudolph, Tim Warfield, Eric Alexander, James Moody, Jim Ridl, Vic Juris, Ernie Watts, Bill Goodwin, Bob Dorough, Jean-Michel Pilc, Tom Rainey, Jack Wilkins, Dennis DeBlasio, Tierney Sutton, Patty Austin, and Karrin Allyson.
Show is FREE
Doors at 5
Show at 6
We card. Please bring your valid photo ID.
Please review our venue policy page concerning age restrictions, limited seating, and more.
*There are no Covid restrictions in place for this event. (Subject to change)
Food will be available during the shows and can be ordered at the bar.
Seats are general admission, and not guaranteed. You may be seated with other guests. We ask that guests not move tables or save seats.
The floor offers an up-close view from the floor of the Listening Room, and the upstairs mezzanine offers a spot overlooking the floor.