| Jazz, salsa and traditional Irish and Celtic music performed by regional artists will be featured during Joplin Memorial Hall's 2010 Music Series. The five event series will kick off on February 5, 2010 with the performance of Carthage-born saxophonist Javon Jackson.
 JAVON JACKSON
"Once Upon a Melody" is the latest 9-track album produced by Jackson accompanied by Eric Reed on piano, Corcoran Holt on bass and Billy Drummond on drum. Samples of the lilting, romantic music may be found here.
According to Don Williamson in "JazzReview.com," in pursuing the various paths in his search for fulfillment, the one that Jackson enjoys the most is "watching his audiences get on their feet and dance or clap in place and become one with the music."
The other performances in 2010 include:
- April 6: Missouri Southern State University Jazz Orchestra featuring guest vocalist Kathy Macomber; students will be performing a repertoire of the great jazz bands like Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Stan Kenton, Woody Herman and Buddy Rich.
- June 5: BACH to the Future features the music of classical composers like Johann Sebastian Bach updated with Latin, jazz and world rhythms.
- August 13: Salsa Rhythm Project is Tulsa's own interpretation of music from Cuba, Puerto Rico and the Caribbean.
- October 2: The Dorians will perform traditional Irish and Celtic music.
All performances will begin at 7:30 p.m. Tickets may be purchased for individual concerts or as part of a money-saving season pass. Reserved seating on the main floor is $20 per person and in the mezzanine or balcony is $15 each. The five-event season pass is $50 per person.
For more information or to purchase tickets, please contact Memorial Hall, 212 W. 8th St., at (417) 623-3254 or go here.
Editor's musings: New home for Joplin Museum Complex? Former Joplin mayor Larry Hickey, a relatively new board member of the Joplin Museum Complex and a wealthy member of the community, is again an outspoken voice in expansion of the much over-crowded museum. One suggestion that has been presented to the Joplin City Council is proposing to voters in April 2010 that they approve a 1/6th increase in the sales tax to create funds for a multi-million dollar renovation of Memorial Hall to house the expansive museum collection. We can't argue over preserving one's legacy but we do argue that the collection should be housed in a green building...When millions in 2008 were used to make needed repairs to the roof of Memorial Hall and to upgrade the sound system, many people said, "yuck, it's still a greatly outdated facility without much architectural significance."...In the past negotiations between the city and Missouri Southern State University over the use of a proposed campus field house that would have handled large crowds failed when city officials wanted a share of the profits. Plans for re-development of downtown Joplin have included the construction of an arena or performing arts center but each decade the City's continuing cries of poverty have put off any such capital improvements...In these current economic times it is unfortunate that the focus of the city's financial planning seems to rest largely on increasing the sales tax. Yes, it's nice to share the burden with visitors but the major impact is on residents who have difficulty enough paying for weekly groceries...We hope that people with vision who in the past have been denied seats on the city planning board and citizen's budget committee will be allowed to be heard...And it indeed is a shame that federal funding couldn't have been used towards an entertainment venue that would have served a greater number of citizens than that of the "airport to nowhere." Go Back |
