Bridge Series Continues with Fred Johnson and the Michael Ross Quartet at Fogartyville in Sarasota

Eager to bridge the void of excellent jazz performances created by the pandemic, WSLR + Fogartyville and The Jazz Club of Sarasota joined forces to present the Bridge Series – four concerts featuring some of the best jazz talent in the area.  The third concert in the Bridge Series will feature Fred Johnson with the Michael Ross Quartet on Thursday, April 15.

The concert will be livestreamed and there will be limited in-person seating.  Doors will open at 7 pm and the concert will begin at 7:30 pm.  Livestreaming tickets are $10 for The Jazz Club of Sarasota and WSLR+Fogartyville members, $15 for non-members, and $25 for those that will host a watch party.   In-person seats are being sold in tables of four – $60 for members/$80 for non-members.  Tickets are available online.

Jazz and world music singer and percussionist Fred Johnson is an international performer and has spent the past 35 years presenting international concerts and seminars on the power of creative expression as a tool for personal wellbeing and healing. He has performed on stage with or as the opening act for such musical greats as Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Chick Corea, Herbie Mann, Nat Adderly, Joe Zawinul, David Sanborn, Richard Elliot, Ramsey Lewis, Aretha Franklin, Patti La Belle, Patti Austin, George Benson, BB King and many others. 

Michael Ross has made himself a fixture on the Florida jazz scene. A pivotal moment in his career occurred in the early 1980s when he joined, and soon led, Liquid Bebop, one of the most formidable jazz units to ever call Tampa Bay home. During its nearly two-decade tenure, the band featured such top-tier players as saxophonists David Pate and Mickey Wells, pianist Chuck Owen, percussionist Gumbi Ortiz and drummer John Jenkins.  As the new millennium approached, Ross sought a more active outlet for his own composing, and he started performing as the Michael Ross Quartet. For this performance, the Quartet will include guitarist LaRue Nickelson, keyboardist Ron Reinhardt, and drummer Walt Hubbard

Last Event in the Bridge Series:

May 27 – Synia Carroll and La Lucha

Photo from Fogartyville