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Jared Michael & Premium Blend | Okara ImaniPart of The Alley Sessions, Presented by:
Marianne Glick Art
Sponsored by:
The National Bank of Indianapolis and Andrew House
With Additional Support From:
Allen Whitehill Clowes Charitable Foundation
Friday, July 19
Doors open at 6 PM | Shows start at 7 PM | Shows end at 8:15 PM | Bar closes at 8:30 PM
THE VIBE: Jazz, R&B, & Soul
Join us for the kick-off of The Alley Sessions with acclaimed favorites Jared Michael & Premium Blend and singer and poet Okara Imani.
JARED MICHAEL & PREMIUM BLEND
Led by saxophonist Jared Thompson, Premium Blend is a modern jazz quartet that combines traditional elements of bebop, hard bop, R&B, and groove in their original compositions. Backed by guitarist/songwriter/producer Ryan Taylor, keyboardist/songwriter Steven Jones, bassist Brandon Meeks, and drummer/producer Richard “Sleepy” Floyd, Premium Blend’s spin on jazz resonates with die-hard jazz fans and novices alike.
The band has released five studio albums, including: “S.O.A.P.” - Sum Of All Parts (2015), “The Road” (2017), and “Vices” (2019). They also created “38th & Postmodernism,” – a documentary made possible by a commission from the Indianapolis Jazz Foundation, which has been accepted by multiple film festivals, including the Heartland Film Festival. Premium Blend is heavily featured in the winning Heartland Film Festival documentary “Go Get Your Horn” (2017), focused on the continuing mentorship and evolution of modern jazz in Indianapolis. Bandleader Thompson was the only Hoosier to receive the Map Fund grant for the 2022/23 cycle, which he used to record, distribute, and provide community programming for their latest studio album released in the spring of 2023 titled “Virtue.”
--AND--
OKARA IMANI
Singer, songwriter, and poet Okara Imani describes her voice as a conduit. “Philosophy and deep thought are the sources, with stylings drawn from classical art song, neo-soul, alternative R&B, soul, blues, music of diasporic African traditions, and oh-so-much jazz.”
Okara Imani is a daughter of the Moon, a vocalist, and a writer. She studied classical music for a bachelor's degree and was raised under the influence of R&B, blues, funk, jazz, alternative, and rock. She's been writing prose, poetry, and melodies for most of her life with the aforementioned influences and has performed across Indianapolis at venues such as The Chatterbox, The Hi-Fi, Square Cat Vinyl, The Jazz Kitchen, and The Vogue. Okara is so grateful to share space with you, to attune vibrations, and to have the honor of singing out a reflection of us all. To know thyself is to be well within and without!
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Event Venue & Nearby Stays
924 N Pennsylvania Street, Suite B, Indianapolis, IN, United States, Indiana 46204
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