Slide Hampton to perform at Wallace’s Whiskey Room + Kitchen

PITTSBURGH, PA (PittsburghNewsWire.com) — Locksley Wellington “Slide” Hampton is an American jazz trombonist, composer and arranger. Described by critics as a master composer, arranger and uniquely gifted trombone player, Hampton’s career is among the most distinguished in jazz. As his nickname implies, Hampton’s main instrument is slide trombone, but he also occasionally plays tuba and flugelhorn.

Slide will be performing on Saturday, April 14 at 8PM at Wallace’s Whiskey Room + Kitchen, 123 N. Highland Ave., Pgh, 15206. He will be joined by Etta Cox, vocalist; Al Dowe, trombone; Roger Humphries, drums; Jeff Lashway, piano & Tony DePaolis, Bass.

Slide is presented in cooperation with The Bridge Music Hall. $20 donation. Valet ($6) and street parking.

Slide Hampton was born in Jeannette, Pennsylvania. Laura and Clarke “Deacon” Hampton raised 12 children, taught them how to play musical instruments and set out with them as a family band. As a child, Hampton was given the trombone set up to play left-handed, or backwards; and as no one ever dissuaded him, he continued to play this way. In 1968 he toured with Woody Herman orchestra, settling in Europe where he remained until 1977.

He taught at Harvard, artist-in-residence in 1981, the University of Massachusetts, De Paul University in Chicago, and Indiana State University. During this period he led his own nine-trombone, three-rhythm band, World of Trombones, co-led Continuum, freelanced as both a writer and a player. He also played the trombone in Diana Ross Live! The Lady Sings… Jazz & Blues: Stolen Moments (1992) DVD.

2009 saw the completion of four new compositions titled “A Tribute to African-American Greatness”. The songs honored Nelson Mandela, Oprah Winfrey, Tiger Woods, Venus Williams, Serena Williams and Barack Obama. The songs contained accompanying lyrics written by Hampton and Tony Charles, arrangements honoring Thelonious Monk, Thad Jones, Eddie Harris, Dexter Gordon and Gil Evans round out the program.

In 1998 he won a Grammy Award for “Best Jazz Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s)”, as arranger for “Cotton Tail” performed by Dee Dee Bridgewater. He was also a Grammy winner in 2005 for “Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album,” The Way: Music of Slide Hampton, The Vanguard Jazz Orchestra (Planet Arts), and received another nomination in 2006 for his arrangement of “Stardust” for the Dizzy Gillespie All-Star Big Band.

In 2005, the National Endowment for the Arts honored Slide Hampton™ with its highest honor in jazz, the NEA Jazz Masters Award.

Another very special band, Everything Turned to Color, will be at Wallace’s on Saturday, April 7 at 8 PM. $5 donation.

“Poetically pop and artfully serene”, Everything Turned To Color is the unlikely but serendipitous musical partnership between veteran songwriters Bryan and Kyle Weber and Neha Jiwrajka.

Graduates of New York University, brothers Bryan and Kyle began their musical careers as leaders of the Alternative Rock band ZELAZOWA, releasing three full-length albums, touring the world from 2006-2009, and founding the DIY tour booking website IndieOnTheMove.com.

April continues with a variety of jazz & other fantastic musical offerings.