The online box office is now closed for this event. Tickets will be available at the venue starting at 6:30pm (dinner), or 7:00pm (music only). The music starts at 7:30p. See you there!
As hot as jazz gets, the internationally renowned Laroo/Byrd Quartet makes its Berkshires debut with a dinner show at the American Legion Hall, site of a growing number of important jazz events. (Optional dinner at 6:30pm; music starts at 7:30pm).
Having appeared here in Pittsfield as part of the Brazilian Jazz Trio some 10 years ago, the monster pianist Warren Byrd returns in a new quartet configuration with his wife, the trumpeter and saxophonist Saskia Laroo. The Laroo/Byrd Quartet (or "4tet," as they're known) is the transmutation from their popular duo configuration into a full band with added bass (Rick Rozie) and drums (Jocelyn Pleasant).
Hailing from Hartford, Connecticut, Warren Byrd is a pianist/vocalist with a long list of international credits, tours, and celebrated work. From first croonings in the gospel choir at age four to high school’s end, he performed extensively as an amateur actor, singer, and pianist. Though earning a full scholarship for a voice major at Hartt College of Music, he chose to focus on jazz piano and composition, emerging primarily self-taught. He finished in the top 25 in the 1999 Monk International Competition for Piano and soon released his CD “Truth Raised Twice”. He is co-founder/leader of Duo Laroo/Byrd and the Afro-Semitic Experience, performs as a freelancer, with Saskia's other groups, as a solo pianist and with his own Byrdspeak Ensemble.
A native of Amsterdam, Saskia Laroo is a premiere figure in music and one of the finest female trumpet players in the world. She began playing trumpet at age 8, and as a teen picked-up cello and guitar. Though first enrolling as a Mathematics major in college, she switched to music. Versatility has propelled her illustrious career, from barnstorming with Latin, jazz and pop bands, to collaborations with legends such as Hans Dulfer and Teddy Edwards. She released her first CD, “It’s Like Jazz” in 1994 under her own label Laroo Records. Since, she has produced seven CDs and a DVD varying from classic jazz to Club-influenced acid jazz fusion. She has performed worldwide in hundreds of settings.
Concert tickets are $25 in advance, $30 on the day of the event. The optional dinner buffet, highlighted by Brenda Torchio’s renowned chicken picatta, is. $17, including tax and tip, but please make your reservations in advance.