The Concert
4 PM Reception | 5 PM Performance
February 16
Joe Alterman Trio with Special Guest Lena Seikaly
Join us for a sweet afternoon filled with music and romance. Enjoy love-themed songs from the Great American Songbook. Hear songs from Sinatra, Nancy Wilson, Nat King Cole, and Ella Fitzgerald. Join us and let's fall in love. Presented with the Atlanta Jewish Music Festival.
“Let’s Fall in Love,” features the Joe Alterman Trio and special guest Lena Seikaly. Join us for a sweet afternoon filled with music and romance with love songs from the Great American Songbook. Hear unique renditions of tunes from legends like Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole and Ella Fitzgerald.
The concert marks a return to the Molly Blank series for Alterman, who performed in a side role in one of last year’s shows. A world-renowned jazz pianist, Alterman grew up in Atlanta and graduated from New York University’s Steinhardt School. He has shared the stage with icons like Les McCann, Ramsey Lewis, Dick Gregory, and Wynton Marsalis in world-class venues, including the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., and the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City. Lewis has called him “an inspiration to me” and his piano playing “a joy to behold.” Alterman currently serves as executive director of the Atlanta Jewish Music Festival, which is partnering with the Breman in presenting the show.
“Let’s Fall in Love” marks the Atlanta debut for Seikaly, a Palestinian singer from Washington. She and Alterman met several years ago when they were paired for a concert in Maryland.
“Lena is one of my favorite singers to work with,” said Alterman. “She has a rare talent and is really special. She’s an incredible singer who really knows how to tell a story.”
The Washington Post calls Keikaly “one of the local jazz scene’s most promising performers" and “one of the brightest voices in jazz.” She performs frequently as a soloist alongside the city's top orchestras and choirs; she has performed with her own trio at the Kennedy Center and other acclaimed venues and has taught and led workshops at several prestigious performing arts schools. The classically-trained operatic mezzo-soprano studied at the University of Maryland School of Music.
Rounding out the Joe Alterman Trio will be bassist Robby Handley and drummer Justin Chesarek, both based in Atlanta. “Robby and Justin are fabulous,” said Alterman. “They’re two of my favorite people and musicians.”