GOSPEL JAZZ CONCERT FEATURES NOTED ARTISTS

Percussion legend Mayuto Correa and keyboardist/producer Billy Mitchell will add their gifts to the jazz saxophone expressions of featured artist Ron Brown in an outdoor concert presented free to the community by Altadena Baptist Church, Sunday, September 7, 11:00 AM on the church lawn, at the corner of Calaveras Street and El Molino Avenue. All three jazz artists are local residents who have worldwide reputations.

Saxophonist Ron Brown first built his musical reputation in Austin, Texas, where he was raised. His hometown honored his accomplishments with “Ron Brown Day” in 1997.

Brown has accompanied many well-known soloists, including Natalie Cole, Al Jarreau, Anita Baker and Ella Fitzgerald. He has produced several albums, including many original compositions. He has performed internationally, especially in Japan, where he has spent much time and become fluent in the language.

Brown has two particular passions: expressing his Christian faith through gospel jazz music, and bringing the musical themes of modern urban youth into the jazz mainstream. He has established the Urban Dreams Foundation, designed to help inner-city youth succeed by artistic accomplishment. - http://mkrecords.com/

Mayuto Correa was the pace-setter among percussionists in his native Brazil before moving to the United States. Due to political unrest, he moved to Mexico, where his musical career flourished. Arriving in LA in the 1970s, his reputation had preceded him, and professional opportunities abounded. He has worked with Gato Barbieri, Moacir Santoz, Cannonball Adderley, Herbie Hancock, Henry Mancini, and many others. He is currently the leader of the Samba Pack, a 12-piece band.

In addition to his musical performances, Correa has produced and directed numerous plays. He began the Rainforest Theater to encourage dramatic expression by LA’s poor and homeless people. Humanitarian concerns have always been as important to him as career achievements.

Billy Mitchell is well-known throughout Southern California for his stylish club work and his special concert productions. He is accomplished on keyboard instruments, playing some of his own compositions and arrangements. He has participated in the Monterey Jazz Festival, the Playboy Jazz Festival, the International Jazz Festival and Sedona Jazz on the Rocks, and he has released several popular CD’s. He is the author of a book of advice for aspiring professional artists, entitled The Gigging Musician.

Recently, Mitchell established The Scholarship Audition Performance Preparatory Academy, a non-profit agency to help talented inner-city youth to prepare themselves for arts competitions and auditions.

The Altadena Church is sponsoring this free concert as a gift to the community it has been part of for nearly seventy years. Pastor Connie DeVaughn, organizer of the event, described the concert as “the last fling of an active summer.” She added: “Traditionally, churches anticipated a ‘summer slump,’ due to family vacations and a more laid-back lifestyle. But we see the summer as a time when different things are happening, and when people have a chance to see the church in a new light.”