SULTRY BLUES & SMOOTH JAZZ at NORTHPORT MUSIC THEATER

Northport, Maine - For two nights, Friday and Saturday, August 10 and 11, the Northport Music Theater, located on Route 1 in Northport, will be filled with the sound of music as Ali Manion Group take to the stage. The musical quartet – Ali on vocals, Adria Murrelle Smith on piano, Alison Keslow on bass guitar, and Joe Galeota on drums – will feature songs made famous by great women vocalists past and present, each of whom has inspired Ali.

        Ali vividly recalls the legend who inspired her to begin studying jazz. “While at the Crane School of Music, I was studying Western European orchestral composers and memorizing the themes to various symphonic works for a ‘drop the needle’ test. I was distracted one afternoon when I saw the album cover for a recording of Porgy and Bess featuring Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong. When I heard Ella sing Summertime, my mind just about fell apart. Ella’s artistry awoke my spirit for learning all I could about jazz and improvised music. That discovery has deeply affected my musical career. I rapidly began listening to every female jazz and blues vocalist I could find in that library and I haven’t stopped since.”

        The August 10 and 11 concerts will feature music that has been sung by (but is not limited to) Bessie Smith, Billie Holliday, Ella Fitzgerald, Blossom Dearie, Big Mama Thornton, Ruth Brown, Aretha Franklin, Bette Midler, Janis Joplin, Carole King, Brenda Lee, Joni Mitchell, Etta James, Nora Jones, Diana Krall, Bonnie Raitt and Eva Cassidy.

        The musical quartet is made up of professional musicians from the greater Boston area. Ali received her Master of Music Education from Ithaca College, a Bachelor in Music from the Crane School of Music, and currently teaches music in the Brookline public schools; Adria (piano) has a degree in Jazz Composition from Berklee College of Music and is currently continuing her studies in music at UMass – Lowell; Alison (bass guitar) is also a graduate of Berklee, has taken graduate courses in jazz improvisation, jazz arranging techniques, and advanced improvisation techniques, and taught instrumental music in Brookline public schools for eight years; Joe (drums) is an Associate Professor at Berklee, a private percussion and drum instructor, and specialist in African drum and dance.

        Ali’s voice has been described as “poignant, with a low register that melts like chocolate.” Singing jazz and blues from the 1930s to today, Ali Manion Group will perform sultry blues, smooth jazz standards and rockin’ R & B hits.

        Performance times are 7:30 pm, Friday and Saturday, August 10 and 11, at Northport Music Theater located on U.S. Route 1, six miles south of Belfast and six miles north of Lincolnville Beach. The theater is air-conditioned and handicapped accessible.

        Tickets are $15/adults; $8/children. Cash or check only at the door. Reservations are strongly encouraged; call 207.338.8383. For more information, visit: northportmusictheater.com