Gift of Jazz: A Tribute to Mel Tormé with Robert Johnson

Local legend Robert Johnson will be presenting the music of one of the 20th century’s most versatile, respected, and influential jazz vocalists, Mel Tormé. Robert Johnson has been named Best Male Vocalist in the Denver Post's Readers Poll, Best Jazz Vocalist by the Colorado Black Artists Association, and was honored as Colorado’s Best Male Singer by the News and Radio Media and Best Male Vocalist by the Colorado Songwriters Association. Mel Tormé (b. 1925) was known—to his chagrin—as the “Velvet Fog” for his smooth vocal quality.

He mastered a variety of styles from mellow love songs to scat, and he wrote more than 300 songs. His most familiar, “The Christmas Song”—co-written with Robert Wells and better known by its opening line, “Chestnuts roasting on an open fire”—was made famous by Nat King Cole in 1946 and subsequently recorded in more than 1,700 versions. Come celebrate this timeless music and honor the past of Jazz!

Lineup:

Robert Johnson - Vocals

Eric Gunnison - Piano

Bijou Barbosa - Bass

Mike Marlier - Drums

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