Ernie Krivda All-Star Quartet: “Requiem for a Jazz Lady” Album Release Celebration Legendary tenor saxophonist returns to the Rubber City with a swingin' live show to celebrate his brand new album, "Requiem for a Jazz Lady" on Capri Records! Featuring David Thomas, Jeff Halsey, Renell Gonsalves.

Ernie Krivda is now in his fifth decade as a jazz performer. He is acknowledged by both his peers and jazz critics as one of the world’s great tenor saxophone players and one of the jazz world’s most unique artists.
 
Krivda has shared the stage with some of the great names in jazz: he was mentored by musicians such as Cannonball Adderley, played in Quincy Jones’ Orchestra, and performed with artists ranging from Ella Fitzgerald to Jackie Wilson.
 

 
Join us at BLU Jazz+ as Ernie performs material from his brand new album, “Requiem for a Jazz Lady”, with the Ernie Krivda All-Star Quartet, featuring David Thomas (piano), Jeff Halsey (bass) and Renell Gonsalves (drums). The band will also be signing copies of their new album in an exclusive “Meet & Greet” in the lobby after the show – get your tickets today for this very special event!
 

About Ernie Krivda

“No doubt about it, Ernie Krivda is one of the originals of the tenor saxophone” wrote Bill Donaldson for Cadence Magazine about the legendary jazz musician whose 6 decade on the music scene is already filled with a new burst accomplishment with across the board critical acclaim for his 2011 CD, “Blues for Pekar.” The Capri Records release was dedicated to the late Cleveland author and jazz commentator, Harvey Pekar, who had proclaimed Krivda as “one of the best jazz tenor men in the world.” This recording came right on the heels of two other highly acclaimed CD’s, “Live at The Dirty Dog” and “November Man” (both on CIMP). These recordings continue a period of intense activity, achievement and recognition. In 2009, Ernie Krivda received the Cleveland Arts Prize award for lifetime achievement in music. The banner year ended with Krivda being awarded a CPAC (Community Partnership of Arts and Culture) Fellowship worth twenty thousand dollars. In a career that spans over 50 years, Krivda has earned the respect of his peers and the accolades of critics. His very personal and distinctive improvisational style, along with his unique compositions, has been documented on over 30 recordings under his name and many others as a guest artist. In the last decade and into this one, he has set a most prolific pace with eleven releases since 2003 and more to come.
 

“Ernie Krivda is one of the best jazz tenor sax men in the world…”
– Harvey Pekar

 
Ernie Krivda was born in Cleveland, began his music studies at age 6, and attended The Cleveland Institute of Music before going on the road. Since that time he has shared the stage with some of the great names in jazz. He was mentored by musicians such as Cannonball Adderley, played in Quincy Jones orchestra and performed with artists ranging from Ella Fitzgerald to Jackie Wilson. Krivda has made his home in Cleveland for most of his life but his music takes him across the United States, and into the concert halls of Europe and Japan. He also is a highly respected teacher and clinician who mentored many young jazz musicians working on the world jazz scene.
 

About David Thomas

A native of Youngstown, Ohio, pianist & organist, Dave Thomas, was an original member of the R&B group, “Sweet Thunder”. He has also performed with numerous artists including the late James Cleveland, Dizzie Gillespie, Albert Ayler, Jean Carre, David Ruffin, and Grover Washington.
 
His musical involvement also includes musical theater as a writer, performer, and musical director in performances such as “The Living Cross,” “The Audition,” and “Black Nativity,” which have played throughout the United States and Canada. He is also a gifted educator, having worked at The Cleveland School of the Arts, Cuyahoga Community College, Cleveland State University, and Case Western Reserve University. He is the co-author of a book entitled, “A Child’s First Book of Spirituals,” which is the recipient of the Coretta Scott King Award.
 

About Jeff Halsey

Jeff Halsey is a prime example of a regional player who commands all the technique and musical acumen of better-known musicians. Halsey has served as first-call bassist for musicians living and touring in Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan. He possesses a bright, elastic bass tone that serves him particularly well when articulating distinctive, horn-like solos. The son of saxophonist Tracy Halsey, Halsey started out playing piano and trumpet. When he was 13, his father enlisted him as the bassist for his combo’s New Year’s Eve job when the regular bassist canceled. Halsey had never played bass, and his father instructed him to just keep a steady rhythm going. Halsey proved adept enough that his father made him a regular with the group. He began studying bass when he was 16 and eventually earned a master’s degree from Bowling Green State University, where he stayed on as a faculty member and now heads the jazz studies program. He was a regular member of the bands of saxophonist Jimmy Forrest and Cleveland tenor saxophonist Ernie Krivda. Since settling in Bowling Green, he has played with a number of top professionals, including Dizzy Gillespie, Stanley Cowell, Marian McPartland, Lee Konitz, and Arturo Sandoval, as well as top regional players, including Louis Smith, Claude Black, and Gene Parker. Halsey also appears with the BGSU faculty jazz ensemble, who also includes pianist Russ Schmidt, guitarist Chris Buzzelli, and drummer Roger Schupp.
 

About Renell Gonsalves

Renell Gonsalves was born in Detroit, raised in Chicago and began playing drums in 1963. After spending time at Tennessee State University and playing in the marching band, he moved to New York and mostly listened to all of his idols including Max Roach, Elvin Jones, Tony Williams, Candy Finch, Roy Haynes, Art Blakey and many others. He moved back to Detroit in 1970 and worked with many artists in the Jazz and R&B field.
 
From 1974 to 1979 he worked with Brainstorm and recorded 3 albums. From 1980 to 1987 he worked with Lyman Woodard. From 1987 to 1990, he worked with Alexander Zonjic’s band. 1991 found him working with Bugs Beddow’s band. He also spent time working in Windsor, Ont. working with many great canadian musicians playing R&B, Rock & Jazz including the Sheiks of R&B, The Buck Nasty Band and The Shades of Blue. He also played with Eddie Nuccilli’s big band at the Montreux/Detroit Jazz festival in 1995. That same year, he began working with Etta James guitarist Bobby Murray. Since then, he has mostly freelanced with other Blues artists such as Johnnie Bassett, Keith Owens, Luther Keith and many others.
 
Today, he continues to freelance playing a wide variety of music and learning more and more about music playing with such great players as Keith Vreeland and John Dana. He has had many influences playing with the likes of the late Dr. Teddy Harris, Rod Hicks, Robert Lowe and countless others. His father was sax player Paul Gonsalves and his mother, Harriet Browne, was a dancer and dance teacher in New York City and worked with the late Gregory Hines and Savion Glover, Sandman Sims and many others.
 

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