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Mr. B and the Bird of Paradise Orchestra Performing at State Theatre

Concert Date Is Saturday February 7, 2009

January 28, 2009       Leave a Comment
By: Mike Bacigalupo - State Theatre

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Mr. B and the Bird of Paradise Orchestra
Bay City State Theater - Feb 7, 2009
 

The State Theater presents Mr. B and the Bird of Paradise Orchestra, sponsored by Tri-Star Trust Bank, Dow Corning, & Team One Credit Union.

Concert date is Saturday, February 7, 2009 at 7:30 PM

On paper it didn't seem possible. Taking a fiery, beans and beer boogie woogie piano player like Mark (Mr. B) Braun, and shoving him up against the power of Paul Keller's solidly built jazz big band that spends as much time engaging the massive talents of its soloists as it does playing swinging arrangements. But the proof was on the tape when these cats showed up at the Ark in front of a live audience, laid down this unbelievably passionate, unruly date, and laid the crowd out with the surprise and immediacy that only an unlikely pairing like this can bring.

Over 11 numbers (the last one recorded at the 1994 Montreux-Detroit Jazz Fest), band and B, or as the sleeve notes, B and BOP, take to the heart of the music and deliver one of 1995's greasiest, steamiest and ultimately finest releases, with a collaboration that is equal parts a gumbo of blues, gospel and R&B, and orchestral jazz in the Count Basie tradition.

Blues and boogie-woogie pianist Mark Lincoln Braun (a.k.a. Mr. B) has become one of the premiere purveyors of a vanishing art. Having learned his craft first-hand from the early masters, he is a rare living link to the first generation of blues and boogie pianists. Steeped in the rich legacy of this tremendously exciting music, Mr. B learned directly from blues and boogie legends like Little Brother Montgomery, Boogie Woogie Red, and Blind John Davis.

In demand for both educational programs and concert performances, he has performed coast to coast and throughout Europe, Canada, Mexico, and South America. In 2002 he was a guest artist at the Irving S. Gilmore International Keyboard Festival. He is also the organizer of the annual Mr. B's Blues and Boogie Piano Celebration. The festival attracts major figures in the blues and jazz piano world to Ann Arbor for collaborative performances with Mr. B.

Mark Lincoln Braun was born and raised in Flint, Michigan. He gravitated to Ann Arbor in the 70s where the Blind Pig was an important venue for boogie and blues piano. While absorbing the tradition and developing his own approach, Mark was also listening to a variety of jazz pianists, especially those with strong blues roots such as Ray Bryant and Horace Silver. This broad range of interests enables him to feel equally at home playing boogie woogie classics with authentic fervor, and expanding the tradition into lively new settings, including jazz orchestra. Today he further promotes his art and breaks down stylistic barriers by frequently collaborating with such world renowned mainstream jazz pianists as Monty Alexander, Henry Butler, Benny Green, Ray Bryant, Sir Charles Thompson, and Junior Mance. He has appeared on numerous National Public Radio broadcasts, including 'Mountain Stage,' 'Good Evening,' 'Our Front Porch,' 'The Flea Market,' 'At the Bride,' and 'All things Considered.'

Ticket cost is $20.00

Buy Tickets On Line

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Mike Bacigalupo - State Theatre

Mike Bacigalupo is the Executive Director of the State Theater in Downtown Bay City, Michigan

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