About this Event
Doors open at 6:00pm. Try to be seated by 6:30pm to have your dinner order taken. Showtime begins at 7:00pm when we transform the space into a theater.
Out of respect for the performers and other patrons, please keep talking to a whisper during the performance.
Very Limited Occupancy. Tables seating 2, 4, 5 guests, with tables for 6, 8, 12 available upon request. Single, general admission tickets are also available. See The Attached Seating Chart. Admission Is $15.00 - $35.00 Per Person, Ticket prices may be higher for special performances. Having problems with the ticketing system? Call 203-247-4273
Houston Person - Tenor Sax
Houston Person Biography by Matt Collar
With his robust sound and swinging style, tenor saxophonist Houston Person has kept the hard bop and organ-soaked soul-jazz traditions alive. Emerging from organist Johnny "Hammond" Smith's group, Person established his reputation as one of the Big Boss tenors in the Gene Ammons style with albums like 1968's Blue Odyssey, 1969's Goodness!, and 1970's Person to Person! He further embraced a funky, soulful vibe in the '70s with albums like 1972's Broken Windows, Empty Hallways and 1976's Stolen Sweets. From the '80s onward, he balanced his love of groove-based R&B with more hard-swinging acoustic sessions, joining contemporaries like Ron Carter and Teddy Edwards, as well as younger players like Joey DeFrancesco and Christian McBride. He recorded extensively with singer Etta Jones and has remained a torchbearer for the big tenor sound, releasing warmly attenuated standards and soul-jazz dates like 2015's Something Personal and 2021's Live in Paris.
Born in 1934 in South Carolina, Person started out on piano before picking up the tenor sax in his youth. After high school, he studied at South Carolina State College and then enlisted in the Air Force. Stationed in West Germany, he played in a service band that also included such jazz luminaries as Eddie Harris, Lanny Morgan, Leo Wright, and Cedar Walton. Following his discharge, he finished his studies at Connecticut's Hartt College of Music. In the early '60s, Person was a member of organist Johnny "Hammond" Smith's group, appearing on albums like 1963's A Little Taste, 1965's The Stinger, and 1968's Nasty! It was also during his time with Smith that he first met vocalist and longtime musical companion Etta Jones.
As a leader, Person made his solo debut with 1966's Underground Soul on the Prestige label, featuring organist Charles Boston. More vibrantly earthy albums followed for the label, including 1967's Chocomotive, 1967's Trust in Me, and 1968's Blue Odyssey, all of which found him working with pianist Cedar Walton. Throughout the late '60s and early '70s, he released a handful of albums that all featured exclamation-point titles, starting with 1968's Soul Dance! and ending with 1970's Person to Person! Marked by the inclusion of organist Sonny Phillips, each record grew increasingly funky as Person dipped further into soul and R&B sounds. There were also gritty sessions with Charles Earland and Don Patterson.
Throughout the '70s, Person continued to pursue a soul-oriented crossover sound, as on 1971's large-ensemble Houston Express and 1972's Sweet Buns & Barbecue. Following his time with Prestige, he recorded for a bevy of independent labels, releasing 1973's The Real Thing and 1975's Get Out'a My Way! on the Detroit-based Eastbound and Westbound labels, respectively. He then moved to Mercury for two mid-'70s dates, 1976's Pure Pleasure and 1977's Harmony. He also recorded with equally funk-centric players like Grant Green, Richard "Groove" Holmes, Bernard Purdie, and others. In addition, there were numerous sessions with vocalist Jones, a partnership that would continue for much of Person's career. Toward the end of the decade, he found a home at Muse, releasing a handful of equally earthy soul-, blues-, and hard bop-inflected dates, including Stolen Sweets, Wild Flower, and The Nearness of You. More albums followed for Muse with 1980's Suspicions, 1982's Heavy Juice, and 1985's Always on My Mind.
While funk and soul would remain an integral part of his sound, Person began to incorporate more straight-ahead acoustic jazz back into his work by the late '80s. He released a warm standards date with 1987's Basics and paired with bassist Ron Carter for both 1989's Something in Common and 1990's Now's the Time. He also recorded several albums featuring then up-and-coming young lions, including organist Joey DeFrancesco and a pair of siblings, trumpeter Philip Harper and drummer Winard Harper, as on 1990's Why Not! A year later, he released The Lion and His Pride, which again featured the Harper Brothers, along with pianist Benny Green and bassist Christian McBride.
By the mid-'90s, Person had switched to HighNote Records, releasing a steady flow of equally potent hard bop albums, including 1996's Close Encounters with tenor saxophonist Teddy Edwards, 1998's quartet date My Romance, and 2000's holiday-themed Together at Christmas with vocalist Jones. More HighNote albums arrived with 2006's You Taught My Heart to Sing with Bill Charlap, 2007's Thinking of You, and 2008's Just Between Friends, the latter of which again found him working with bassist Carter. Released in 2012, Naturally, recorded at the famed Van Gelder Recording Studio, re-teamed Person with longtime associate Cedar Walton on piano, Ray Drummond on bass, and Lewis Nash on drums. He quickly returned with the similarly inclined 2013 effort Nice 'n' Easy, followed a year later by The Melody Lingers On.
In 2015, Person delivered the rootsy and soulful Something Personal. The saxophonist then again paired with Carter for the 2016 duo album Chemistry. The following year saw Person issue the soulful Rain or Shine, which marked his 50th year as a combo leader. After 2018's Remember Love, his sixth album of duets with Carter, he returned with the full-band set I'm Just a Lucky So and So. The concert album Live in Paris arrived in 2021 and featured his group with guitarist Peter Bernstein, organist Ben Paterson, and drummer Willie Jones III.
Eric Person - Saxophones Renowned saxophonist Eric Person has notched an impressive resume performing and recording with many legends in jazz such as Dave Holland, McCoy Tyner, Chico Hamilton, Houston Person, John Hicks and many others. Eric has performed with genre-bending musicians Vernon Reid, Ronald Shannon Jackson, Will Calhoun, and Ben Harper. An active band leader, Person leads the Eric Person Quartet, Trio-kinesis, Eric Person Big Band and Person2Person (features Houston Person). He is a prolific composer with eleven CDs under his leadership, with his latest being 2022’s Blue Vision .
In 1982, Person moved to New York City from St. Louis Missouri. The following year, he received the opportunity to perform with legendary drummer Chico Hamilton. For 15 years, Eric toured the United States, Europe, Japan, and South America, recording six CDs with him as well.
From 1994-1997, Eric was a pivotal member of the Dave Holland Quartet. This high-energy ensemble performed at prestigious concert halls and festivals throughout the United States, Europe, and Canada and recorded the classic Dream of the Elders. During this same period, Person was a member of the World Saxophone Quartet and is featured on the band’s CD Moving Right Along.
After many years as a sideman, Person recorded his debut as a leader. Arrival, the 1993 release, emphasized a variety of styles, fresh compositional approaches, and a willingness to take chances. It was an auspicious beginning with Josef Woodard of Down Beat Magazine saying “Person swerving to the left, finding a fresh path between mainstream jazz and chancier, more personalized terrain.”
Eric’s sophomore release Prophecy, is a daring, conceptual release which focuses on Eric’s saxophones in solo, duos, and trio settings. James Marcus of Jazz Times states that Person’s successes within Prophecy are “evidence of a formidable talent.”
More Tales to Tell, Person’s1997 release, features his working band along with two performances by guest bassist Dave Holland. By this time, strong arrangements and compositions were a hallmark of every Eric Person CD. The band was expanded on select numbers to include acoustic guitar, bass clarinet, bassoon, and flute.
In1999, Person formed his own label Distinction Records and under the newly formed moniker Meta-Four released Extra Pressure and Live at Big Sur. Reviewing Live at Big Sur, Russ Musto of All About Jazz says “Person is more then fine; he’s a major talent of his generation.” In the 2000s, he released a succession of CDs that put his saxophone in different contexts, revealing his versatility. Reflections The Best of Collection, Rhythm Edge, The Grand Illusion, Thoughts on God and Duoscope all spotlight Eric’s personal sound, dexterity, and compositional prowess. Of The Grand Illusion, Donald Elfman of All About Jazz says: “Person seems to find something new to say and a different direction to follow with every project he undertakes.”
Since arriving in New York, Eric Person’s career has featured many highlights from being a featured soloist with the New York City Symphony at the Apollo Theater to performing with the McCoy Tyner Big Band at the Newport Jazz Festival. Today, jazz education is at the top of the list of endeavors. In addition to performing, Eric is currently an adjunct saxophone instructor at Bard College in upstate New York. In 2015, Eric was selected to study orchestration at the Herb Alpert School of Music at UCLA with many of jazz’s top composers and arrangers like James Newton, Steve Coleman, Nicole Mitchell, and others. In 2019, Person received his bachelors degree in music from Empire State College. This fulfilled his personal mission to receive his degree in music and make education an important part of his wheelhouse.
We're sorry, there are no refunds after tickets have been purchased. In the event of a pandemic, rain, snow, or other forms of weather which prohibit a performance, the performance date will be postponed and rescheduled for another date within a reasonable amount of time. If the new date is postponed, a future alternate date will be picked at the discretion of Bethel Jazz and the musical artist. The ticket holder will be notified of postponements, cancelations, and rescheduled dates via email. Tickets are non-refundable and may be transferred to another person in the event a purchaser can not make the rescheduled date. In the event, an artist cancels a date, and Bethel Jazz is unable to reschedule the artist, Bethel Jazz reserves the right to provide a substitute performer of equal quality without notice to the ticket purchaser. If a date is canceled and not rescheduled, Bethel Jazz will provide a refund (in some cases minus the Eventbrite fee) or credit for another performance at the choice of the ticket holder. Bethel Jazz will always do its best to accommodate for changes in seating, table sizes, or changes to tickets.
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
La Zingara, 8 P T Barnum Square, Bethel, United States
USD 28.52 to USD 159.24
