Jews and Jazz III
Featuring Gordon Vernick, Kevin Bales, Rita Graham
February 4th | 7 PM – 8:30
Free RSVP Required | Register Here.
Edutainment at its best.
Dr. Gordon Vernick plays trumpet accompanied by vocalist Rita Graham and pianist Kevin Bales as Dr. Vernick tells stories about the significant roles Jews played in the Jazz world. Learn about the contributions of Jewish composers, producers, performers, writers and entrepreneurs.
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Learn more about the presenters below
Dr. Gordon Vernick is a Professor of Music and Coordinator of Jazz Studies at Georgia State University. As a professional trumpet player, he has performed in all musical mediums from symphony orchestra to jazz quartet and has free-lanced all over the world. He is currently active as a clinician, an adjudicator, and as a freelance trumpet player.
He is a dedicated jazz educator and has served as past president of the Georgia Association of Jazz Educators and chair of the International Association of Jazz Educators Curriculum Committee. He is currently the Director of the Rialto Youth Jazz Orchestra and the musical director of the Rialto Jazz for Kids middle school jazz outreach program.
His podcasts, Jazz Insights, have been featured on numerous websites including the New York Times and have been downloaded over 20 million times since May 2009. All 240 podcasts are available at his website jazz-insights.site. His CD, The Strangest Thing, was released on Jbird Records in May 2008 and his most recent CD, Destination, was released in May 2012. He plays Schagerl and Van Laar trumpets and an Adams flugelhorn.
Kevin Bales
Kevin Bales received his B.M. from the University of North Florida and M.M. from Florida State.
He taught at UNF for 10 years, where many of his groups won Downbeat Awards and were invited
to perform at IAJE and other prestigious festivals. As a jazz pianist he has played and recorded with
Marcus Printup, Bunky Green, Bob Reynolds, Ira Sullivan, Barry Green, and many others. He has
performed at venues from South Florida to New York City and is one of the most in-demand
pianists in the Southeastern U.S.
Rita Graham 
Rita Graham’s career as a jazz vocalist was jump-started when Ray Charles produced
an album of lush standards for her in 1969. The album, Rita Graham Vibrations is the only
major project that Ray Charles produced for a female artist on his label Tangerine Records
(TRC-1507). As the lead vocalist in Rita and the Tiaras, Ms. Graham recorded
the UK Northern Soul Classic, Gone with the Wind is My Love (Rita and the Tiaras).