This Saturday, two highly skilled jazz artists will take the stage at VCA’s monthly “Jam In The Atrium” series, hosted by island bassist Bruce Phares.
Jazz guitar artist Beth Marlis will perform from 1-3 p.m. at Vashon Center for the Arts during the July 6 jam.
Marlis is the vice president and a longtime senior guitar faculty member at Los Angeles’ fabled Musicians Institute, where she previously served for 10 years as the department chair at the Guitar Institute of Technology (GIT).
As a Benedetto Guitars endorsed artist, Marlis is a member of an elite group of jazz guitar’s finest players. She is a constantly evolving guitarist, nonprofit leader and educator, and an integral bridge to new generations of jazz guitarists.
Marlis is also the author of two best-selling guitar instructional method books by Hal Leonard/MI Press, and can be heard performing concerts and teaching Masterclasses across the country.
Marlis has worked with artists including Helen Reddy, Brownie McGhee, Louis Bellson, Nelson Riddle, Barbara Morrison, and countless others.
Also jamming out on Saturday will be the great vibraphonist Susan Pascal, who is lauded for her superb 4-mallet musicality and masterful improvisational skills.
Susan has taken her music through four tours of Singapore and concerts, workshops, and clinics across the United States. Her Pacific Northwest appearances include the Earshot Jazz Festival and Centrum Jazz Port Townsend, and as a special guest artist with the Seattle Repertory Jazz Orchestra, the Seattle Baroque Orchestra, and Seattle’s Gypsy jazz group, Pearl Django.
Her musical interests are reflected in her own projects. Susan’s Soul Sauce quintet is a tribute to Latin jazz icon Cal Tjader, and her new Brazil Project band features the rich rhythmic and melodic traditions of Brazil. Her straight-ahead jazz group, the Susan Pascal Quartet has been nominated twice for Best Acoustic Group by Seattle’s Earshot Jazz.
The Jam in the Atrium series features accomplished musicians on every first Saturday of the month, bringing free live jazz to the Katherine L. White Hall.
