Walton show is growing

Published 12:50 am Friday, December 2, 2011

Jazz fans will have plenty to do before, during and after the Cedar Walton quartet performance set for Dec. 10 at the Turnage Theater in Washington.

The bop-to-funk pianist and composer and his trio of players will blow into town next week with fanfare.

The concert will be preceded on Dec. 10 by a 2 p.m. “master class” at the Turnage.

The class, aimed mostly at young people, will be led by musicians on the bill. Participants are asked to bring their instruments.

The master class is free to the public.

The first official chords will be struck around 8 p.m. on the night, but, prior to the concert, a wine-tasting reception will be held at Wine & Words … & Gourmet on Main Street.

The reception will run from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Dec. 10 at the shop, said Larry Turner, founder and president of the East Coast Jazz Revue, which is presenting Walton.

Featuring some of the musicians involved in the event, the wine-tasting will be hosted by Wine & Words proprietors James “The Wine Guy” McKelvey and “Chef Yvonne” Sedgwick.

“We’re kind of the jazz place,” McKelvey said, pointing out his store sells some of Turner’s vinyl, long-playing jazz records.

Turner also shared news of an after-show party at Down on Main Street, a Main Street restaurant. near the Turnage. Admission to the after-party costs $5 per head for people who attend the concert, or $10 apiece for those who don’t.

“That’s another way for us to continue the celebration,” Turner said.

Turner hopes to host a day-of-arrival gathering for Walton and his fellow players Dec. 9 at a local hotel, but hadn’t firmed up those plans by Thursday evening.

The Wine & Words owners highlighted the fact that the nonprofit East Coast Jazz Revue will be one of the last presenters to use the Turnage for a public event before the theater closes Dec. 17.

Citing ongoing financial difficulties, the nonprofit Turnage Theaters Foundation has announced the imminent closure of the theater.

“Don’t miss this because it might not happen for a while again,” McKelvey said of the Walton concert.