Live in the May Gallery coming this summer
Performances by the Bob Reynolds Group and OKAN scheduled in July, August.
Beginning this summer, the VPAC will host distinguished jazz artists in the intimate, contemporary May Gallery patrons lounge.
Nestled within the Vilar Performing Arts Center’s upper lobby, the May Gallery is one of the Vail Valley’s most unique spaces, offering a flare of metropolitan charm in the heart of Beaver Creek Village. The space consists of an exquisite wine bar, open lounge seating, a coat check and dedicated restrooms. It incorporates a stage and state-of-the-art sound system for live performances.
Live in the May Gallery is a new artistic initiative of the Vilar Performing Arts Center, presenting spectacular artists from a global landscape of acoustic music and entertainment in the intimacy and allure of the venue’s private lounge and art gallery. Performers hail from a wide variety of genres and styles, including jazz, classical, folk and more, curated specifically to be enjoyed in a salon or club-like format.
Says Artistic Director Owen Hutchinson, “many of my all-time favorite performances took place in very small rooms — in jazz clubs, coffee houses, blues bars, barns and a variety of charming listening rooms — where fifty to eighty people gathered and sat just a few tables away from the musicians, to hear their music come straight from the source.”
Tickets for Live in the May Gallery performances are offered as General Admission for theater-style seats closest to the stage, or at reserved tables positioned along the back of this intimate room which provide ideal sightlines and the comfort of a private table. Guests at Reserved Tables will also enjoy a dedicated server. A minimum of two tickets must be purchased at Reserved Tables.
To kick off the series, Hutchinson handpicked the Bob Reynolds Group and Okan, as both groups “are making important music in their respective styles of jazz. They’ll fill the room with their warmth and fantastic musicianship.”
The Bob Reynolds Group will perform Tuesday, July 9 at 6:00 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. Bob Reynolds is a saxophonist, composer, educator, and 3x Grammy® Award-winning and member of the instrumental supergroup Snarky Puppy. Often recognized for his work with Snarky and earlier tours with John Mayer, Bob has also been a featured soloist with Grammy-winning instrumentalists Larry Carlton, Jeff Lorber, and Chris Botti. He’s worked with a wide array of pop artists including Michael Bublé, The 1975, Idina Menzel, Josh Groban, and USHER. He’s also recorded on over 50 albums.
The New York Times called him “a self-assured saxophonist and an unassuming yet effective composer,” and his solo albums showcase his melodic improvisational style, tuneful songwriting, and, as the LA Times put it: “hip-swiveling” grooves. His Guitar Band album, filmed live in concert, has over 4 million views on YouTube.
Reynolds, on tenor sax, will be joined by Ruslan Sirota (piano), Janek Gwizdala (bass), and Jordan Perlson (drums).
On Saturday, August 17, OKAN will take the May Gallery stage for performances at 6:00 p.m. and 8:30 p.m.
Fusing Afro-Cuban roots with jazz, folk and global rhythms in songs about immigration, resistance and love, OKAN takes its name from the word for heart in the duo’s Afro-Cuban religion of Santeria. With vocals in Spanish, Yoruba and Spanglish, OKAN is led by the Cuban-born violinist and vocalist Elizabeth Rodriguez and percussionist and vocalist Magdelys Savigne, both Grammy and Latin-Grammy nominees. OKAN’s joyful music doesn’t easily fit into any one genre, making it widely appealing and crowd pleasing.
Additional artists will be added to the Live lineup for coming seasons, so stay tuned!