- Thursday, August 17 | 6:30 pm. Doors open at 6 PM. No tickets required for the free performance; tickets for mainstage SUMMERJAZZ concerts available at the box office.
- Grand Foyer, Wortham Theater Center
- 501 Texas Avenue • Houston, Texas 77002
Celebrate the kickoff of Houston SUMMERJAZZ 2023 with a free performance by vibraphonist Jalen Baker and his quartet, performing music from his new album Be Still and the recently released Houston Real Book. Free and open to the public. Refreshments available for purchase.
Jalen Baker, vibraphone; David Caceres, saxophone; Gabriel Godoy, bass; Gavin Moolchan, drums
Vibraphonist Jalen Baker has led the DACAMERA Jazz Ensemble in Residence for two years. He recently released his second album Be Still. Jalen attended Kinder HSPVA and Columbia College Chicago. He was named a Chicago Next Gen All-star by the Chicago Jazz Institute. He has performed with the Ulysses Owens Jr., Jeremy Pelt, Leon Anderson, and Amina Scott as well as leading his own band in venues in and around Georgia, Florida, Texas and Chicago. As a band leader Jalen has been awarded the prestigious South Arts Jazz Roads Touring Grant. In 2021 Jalen released his debut Album “This is Me, This is Us” on Outside In Music which has garnered recognition by Textura, Making a Scene, and Jazziz.
RECOMMENDED EVENTS
Spanish Harlem Orchestra
- Thursday | August 17 | 8:00 PM
- Cullen Theater, Wortham Theater Center
Spanish Harlem Orchestra, the three-time Grammy Award winning Salsa and Latin Jazz band, sets the gold standard for excellence in authentic, New York style, hard core salsa.
Gretchen Parlato
- Friday | August 18 | 8:00 PM
- Cullen Theater, Wortham Theater Center
Award-winning vocalist and songwriter Gretchen Parlato is one of the most inventing and mesmerizing vocalists of her generation, with two Grammy Award nominations for Best Jazz Vocal Album.
Mwenso and the Shakes
- Saturday | August 19 | 8:00 PM
- Cullen Theater, Wortham Theater Center
Led by charismatic vocalist and frontman Michael Mwenso, “not many bands in the orbit of jazz today can begin to approach the crowd-pleasing threshold of Mwenso and the Shakes.” – WBGO
OUR VALUES
Connection
We value and nurture rich and often unexpected connections among musical genres, art forms, and ideas; between people and places; between the past and the present.
Exploration
We believe that openness to new experiences and enthusiasm for learning are vital to human experience. At the vanguard of arts organizations, we continually evolve our ways of presenting to combine an unusual mix of in-depth exploration and accessibility.
Excellence
DACAMERA has become synonymous with quality; the common denominator of our diverse activities, on stage and in the community, is excellence.
LET’S KEEP IN TOUCH.
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