A journey through the great American music of the twentieth century, featuring classics by Nat King Cole, Ray Charles, and many others: singer and saxophonist Michael Stephenson and bassist Alexander Claffy are scheduled for a concert on Friday the 6th at B-Flat Cagliari . The two American artists will be accompanied on stage by the trio led by the latter. The event is scheduled for 9:30 pm at Via del Pozzetto 9 , in a new special event promoted by the Quartiere del Sole jazz club.
Stephenson and Claffy, who have previously performed separately at other Cagliari jazz events, now come together to present their collaborative album, " Michael Stephenson Meets The Alexander Claffy Trio ," released in September 2021 via La Reserve Records and produced by Jeremy Pelt at the legendary Rudy Van Gelder Studios . Eleven tracks reinterpret standards of African-American and popular music from the last century , spanning jazz, soul, and rhythm & blues, as well as traditional styles. This work features not only the two main authors, but also Julius Rodriguez (piano), Benny Benack III (trumpet), and Itay Morchi (drums).
The latter, known for his dynamic and refined approach, takes the stage at the B-Flat as a member of the Alexander Claffy Trio together with André Weiss (piano), an artist with long experience in the genre and a previous collaborator with Eric Alexander and Ralph Moore. And so it is that with Stephenson , originally from Philadelphia and with a deep and nuanced soul vocal style, and Claffy , an eclectic composer and producer who has conquered the New York scene in just a few years, a an ensemble that tells American music with contemporary sensitivity , between identity, memory and universality.
