A run of winter jazz performances in the area continues on Sunday, Feb. 14, when The Music Hall presents a Bossa Nova Valentine’s Day, featuring a performance by renowned Brazilian pianist and jazz vocalist Eliane Elias at 8 p.m. Elias and her group will provide an evening of sensuous music that will combine her Brazilian roots with her remarkable jazz piano and vocal abilities. While the concert will have its share of soft, romantic moments, there will also be an equal amount of pure swinging, burning jazz.

For those not familiar with Elias, she has been a fixture of the contemporary jazz scene in this country since arriving from her native Sao Paulo in 1981. Before coming to the States, Elias began working with Brazilian singer-songwriter Torquinho when she was 17. She also worked with the legendary poet Vinicius de Moraes. Shortly after her arrival here, Elias landed a gig in the seminal 1980s jazz group Steps Ahead, which also featured saxophonist Michael Brecker and drummer Peter Erskine. Their self-titled 1983 recording for the Elektra Musician label is considered one of the top jazz recordings from that period. Elias moved on to perform and/or record with James Taylor, Herbie Hancock, Andy Summers of The Police, the Mingus Dynasty group and Randy Brecker. She has recorded more than 21 albums for the Denon and Blue Note labels and has been nominated for three Grammy awards.

An incisive vocalist, Elias sings in a soft and alluring understated manner. Her piano work is an amalgam of her varied interests in the music of her homeland, along with classical and jazz. Her influences in the latter genre are drawn from pianists like Bud Powell, Art Tatum and Bill Evans. Yet, her playing style is very much her own, as she uses her influences to enhance her approach without being derivative.

Joining her in Portsmouth will be bassist Marc Johnson, guitarist Rubens de la Corte and drummer Rafael Barata.
Tickets for the show are $30 to $25. Visit www.themusichall.org.

On March 1, the UNH Traditional Jazz Series will really get “traditional” when legendary New Orleans jazz clarinetist, educator and historian Dr. Michael White and the Original Liberty City Jazz Band take the Johnson Theatre stage for an 8 p.m. performance.

Scott Yanow of the All Music Guide writes that White “displays the feel and spirit of the best New Orleans clarinetists.” As a performer, White has worked with a vast array of talent including the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, Ellis Marsalis and Donald Harrison. White has also served as a teacher and mentor to many musicians who have emerged from the Crescent City over the years, including Harrison, Wynton and Branford Marsalis and Terrence Blanchard. In New Orleans, White is known as a staunch advocate for preservation of early jazz styles. Since 1979, he has performed with the Young Tuxedo Brass and is a scholar on the life and music of Jelly Roll Morton.

White founded The Original Liberty Jazz Band to better preserve the musical heritage of New Orleans. The group has performed around the world since that time, including a regular annual year-end gig at the Village Vanguard in New York City since the early 1990’s. The group has evolved to its present lineup of White on clarinet, Gregory Stafford on trumpet and vocals, Detroit Brooks on banjo, Lucien Barbarin on trombone, Steve Pistorious on piano, Herman Lebeaux on drums and Kerry Lewis on bass.

Dr. White is currently on the faculty of Xavier University in the New Orleans area where he teaches courses in Afro-American Music. Bill Ross, head of special collections at UNH’s Dimond Library, has come to know Dr. White through several yearly trips to New Orleans with his American Studies course on the city. Ross has arranged for his students to spend time with Dr. White both in discussion groups and at various performances in the New Orleans area.

“Michael White’s music is clearly steeped in New Orleans traditions, but there is a freshness and vitality to his sound. More importantly, he continues to create new music that references those traditions,” Ross told me.

For more information, contact David Seiler at 603-659-2010. For ticket info, contact the MUB ticket office at 603-862-2290.

On Sunday, March 14, UNH’s Clark Terry Jazz Festival will wrap up with its annual Gala Concert in Johnson Theatre at 8 p.m. Featured performers will include legendary saxophonist Frank Wess and trumpet sensation Terrell Stafford. Joining them will be UNH faculty members Mark Shilansky on piano, John Hunter on bass and Les Harris Jr. on drums. Rounding out the show will be the UNH Jazz Band, directed by David Seiler.

Recognized by the National endowment for the Arts as a Jazz Master, Wess has had a storied performing and recording career. From 1953 to 1964, he was a featured saxophone and flute soloist with the Count Basie Orchestra, the legendary unit also known as the “Atomic Band.” Wess was also featured alongside John Coltrane on “Wheelin’ & Dealin’” for Prestige Records. Wess and his Basie colleague Frank Foster led a successful quintet in the 1980s called the Two Franks Quintet. He has also performed with the Toshiko Akiyoshi Jazz Orchestra, the Carnegie Hall Jazz Band and many other ensembles. He currently leads both his own quartet and an octet that serves as a vehicle for his incisive arrangements and compositions.

Terrell Stafford has performed with a number of artists since he emerged as a member of the Bobby Watson Quintet in the early ’90’s. A fluid player with a rich, warm sound, Stafford is currently a member of the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra in New York and is in demand as a performer and clinician across the country and around the world. Stafford records for the Maxx Jazz label and has also appeared as a sideman on numerous recordings.