It’s the region’s sweet spot for jazz: in the historic Attucks Theatre’s top floor ballroom, the Attucks Jazz Club is a neon-lit, intimate space where every seat is close to the music and the artist roster reads like a who’s who of the art form. With open table seating and the welcoming Club bar, the Attucks Jazz Club embodies the way jazz was meant to be heard.
Curated by one of the region’s jazz giants, pianist and educator John Toomey, the Attucks Jazz Club series attracts some of the hottest players in the jazz world. In this season alone, Club-goers will hear a Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra member, a Hampton native who’s been a star of the New York jazz scene for decades, singers who have collaborated with the greats, and more.
Toomey’s connections are deep; his own resume boasts stints with jazz trumpet legend Maynard Ferguson as well as vocalists Mark Murphy and Rene Marie. A favorite of local jazz fans, Toomey is a dazzlingly gifted pianist, and his namesake trio performs with the featured guest artist in each Attucks Jazz Club show. (When he’s not performing, Toomey teaches Jazz History and Jazz Improvisation at Old Dominion University, where he also directs the Jazz Combo and Jazz Choir.)
Regular players in the trio include bassist Jimmy Masters, who has enlivened the region’s jazz scene for more than three decades, and drummer Frank Russo out of Washington, D.C.
All performances begin at 7:30 pm. The Attucks Theatre is located at 1010 Church St., Norfolk. For more information and to buy tickets visit www.vafest.org. Tickets for Attucks Jazz Club are just $25, the more you buy the more you save, buy three performances and save 10%, buy four or more and save 20%. Tickets may be purchased online at www.vafest.org, by phone at 757-282-2822 or by visiting the Virginia Arts Festival box office located at 440 Bank Street in Norfolk between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday-Friday; also available at Ticketmaster.com.