The Wanda Houston Band Live at The Guthrie Center
Saturday, June 28th • Doors @ 7:00PM • Show @ 8:00PM
Advance: $25- Door Price: $30
Guthrie Center members receive 10% off on up to 2 tickets. Use your promo code at checkout!
“ Wanda Houston is our very own Berkshire diva. Born in Chicago, she started singing in gospel choirs, and has performed in LA, Hollywood, Las Vegas, Europe and Australia. In 206, she settled in the Berkshires full-time, drawing us in with a mesmerizing mix of mid-20th century jazz and R&B. The Wanda Houston Band performs to packed crowds, from The Mount in Lenox to The Barn in Egremont. Playing forward her parents’ involvement in the Civil Rights Movement, she sang the sorrow songs of Berkshire native son W.E.B. Du Bois at his 153rd birthday commemorative in February 2021. “This is the most beautiful place to live,” says Houston. “I could not be happier.” Neither could we.” -From Berkshire Magazine 9/16/22
Robert Kelly began studying ragtime, jazz and classical repertoire at the age of five. Early influences include Oscar Peterson, Teddy Wilson and Dave Brubeck. He attended Berklee College of Music and traveled to many parts of the globe as the pianist with the United States Coast Guard Band. He has performed with Roberta Flack, Cheryl Bentyne of Manhattan Transfer, Dick Hyman, Dave McKenna, and Larry Coryell to name a few.
Jeff Stevens is a graduate of the Hartt School of Music and holds a Masters degree from California State University. For 32 years, he has taught music in private and public schools and has taught at the Empire Brass seminar at Tanglewood. Jeff Stevens, hornsHe is the director of the Monument Mountain Regional High School Band and Jazz Ensemble as well as the Monument Valley Regional Middle School Band and Jazz Ensemble. In 1986, he was given the “Outstanding Arts Educator Award” by the Massachusetts Alliance for Arts Education. Jeff is currently director of Music for the Berkshire Hills Regional School District.
Jeff has appeared throughout the Northeast as a member of the Berkshire Brass Quintet, the Amherst Jazz Orchestra, the Bluestars and the Advanced Phunk Band. He has performed with the Barrington Stage Company, Tri-Arts Theater Company, Berkshire Opera, the Berkshire Bach Society, and the Empire Brass. He has also performed with John Williams, Peter Serkin, Rolf Smedvig, Allan Dean, Kenny Rogers, Arlo Guthrie, David Bromberg, Natalie Cole, Cladio Roditi, Lew Soloff, Roger Voison, Bob Mintzer, The Yellowjackets, Peter Erskine, Yosef Lateef, John Abercrombie and Ernie Watts.
Jay Bradley has been "covering all the bases" from R&B, Small and Big Band Jazz and Musical Theater in the Berkshire, Litchfield and Dutchess County area for 20-plus years. Have drum kit will travel. Speaking of which, Jay plays Premier and Modern Drum Shop Drums as well as Istanbul Cymbals.
