*All reserved seats for this event are subject to a $25 food or beverage minimum. All Premium Stage Bar Seats have a direct, unobstructed view of the stage, and a $25 food or beverage minimum.
*All ticket orders are non-refundable.
*This event is 21+ unless accompanied by a parent or guardian.
About Alexander Zonjic:
In 2020, eleven years after releasing Doin’ the D, an album paying dynamic homage to the music and magic of Detroit, Alexander Zonjic got back in the throwback R&B groove with the release of another infectious, high-spirited valentine to his beloved adopted hometown. Written and produced for the veteran, multiple award winning flutist by Pieces of a Dream keyboardist James Lloyd, “”Motor City Sway” – the infectious lead single from Playing It Forward, Zonjic’s first collection on his own Hi-Falutin Music label – quickly hit the Billboard Smooth Jazz Songs chart and was one of the most added singles on the Billboard BDS chart two weeks in a row. Ten of the eleven tracks on Playing It Forward were produced by keyboardist Jeff Lorber, who helmed the majority of sessions for Zonjic’s previous albums Reach for the Sky (2001), Seldom Blues (2004) and Doin’ The D.
A native of Windsor, Ontario (immediately across the Detroit River), Zonic is a 15-time Detroit Music Awards winner with deep and multi-faceted ties to and influence on the city. He has been a multi-media personality since he began hosting the morning radio show at the longtime smooth jazz station WVMV in 1998 – a popular stint that ran through 2010. Since 2016, he has hosted “Alexander Zonjic from A to Z,” a weekly half hour hybrid TV show on WADL TV-38 (airing Sundays at 10 p.m., with an encore at 1:30 a.m. mixing live concert elements with special guest live interviews.
Also in 2016, Zonjic launched “Doin’ The D,” a magazine-style talk radio and music show, airing from 5-7 p.m. Sundays on WFDF 910-AM. Between in studio guests and call-ins, his mostly Detroit centric interviews have included Kenny G, Martha Reeves, former Detroit Police Chief Ike McKinnon and legendary Grammy and Emmy Award winning keyboard icon Bob James, who discovered Zonjic in 1981 when the flutist was playing in Detroit’s famous Baker’s Keyboard Lounge. James invited Zonjic to join his band on and off on tour, and the keyboardist later was a producer (along with saxophonist Kirk Whalum) on Neon, Zonjic’s first major label album (Reprise Records) in 1990. James also appeared on the flutist’s 1993 follow-up album Passion, which featured a vocal track by Angela Bofill.
Over the years, as Zonjic puts it, he has morphed from “that flute guy from Canada” into the owner of a veritable cottage industry as the artistic director and producer of more than 10 annual festival events in the region and philanthropist under the umbrella of his Hi-Falutin Music. .
Believing in Gandhi’s words that the “best way to find oneself is to lose oneself in the service of others,” Zonjic and Hi-Falutin work with numerous large charity organizations in the Detroit area. They host an annual “Soup City” fundraiser for COTS (Coalition on Temporary Shelter); and have partnered on a variety of fundraisers for many years with the Children’s Foundation, including he upcoming “Derby For Kids.” Their work with Mariner’s Inn, a shelter and treatment center for the homeless in Midtown Detroit, includes a recent virtual fundraiser. Other organizations Zonjic’s organization has supported include Franklin Wright Settlements, Habitat for Humanities, Lighthouse of Oakland County, Windsor Downtown Mission , SAY Detroit and Grace Centers of Hope in Pontiac, Michigan.
About Jeff Lorber:
Jeff Lorber started out like most successful musicians do, as a fan. Chick Corea and Herbie Hancock being two of his earliest inspirations. To figure out how to play like his heroes, he had to go back and study the history of jazz piano where he discovered Wynton Kelly, Thelonious Monk, McCoy Tyner, Red Garland, Bill Evans, Keith Jarrett, and many more. Combine that with his love of Funk and R&B, and you get one of the most storied careers in modern Jazz history.
Jeff began his recording career in 1977 with The Jeff Lorber Fusion self-titled debut. The ensemble quickly gained traction and became one of the most popular touring acts on the scene. In 1982 Lorber made his solo debut with It’s A Fact. In 1985 he scored his first Grammy nomination with the hit “Pacific Coast Highway” from the album Step By Step. He has continued to write and record over the last 40 plus years releasing a string of successful projects including West Side Stories (1994), State of Grace (1996) and Midnight (1998), Kickin’ It (2001), Philly Style (2003), Flipside (2005), He Had A Hat (2007, Grammy nominated), Now Is The Time (2010, Grammy nominated), Galaxy (2012, Grammy nominated) Hacienda (2013 Grammy nominated), and Prototype (2017) for which Jeff won his first Grammy for Best Contemporary Instrumental Album. Jeff is also an accomplished producer of not only his own recordings, but also producing other artists such as Michael Franks, Richard Elliot, Gerald Albright, and Rick Braun, among others.
Jeff Lorber’s latest release, Elevate, (His 32nd in case anyone is counting) is a solo passion project filled with friends and collaborators both old and new. Although the new album comes fairly soon after his last release, Jeff felt inspired, “When I signed with SRG Jazz, they were excited about me being there, so it seemed natural to start working on a new record. I’m writing new stuff all the time, so I took some things that were in progress and collaborated with Claude Villani, who’s the president of the label. He helped W**d out some of the various ideas I had going and helped me develop them.”
Label presidents regularly collaborate with artists on budgets and sales and marketing strategies, but rarely if ever musically. “I’ve never been at a record company before where the president was also a musician, so that’s refreshing. It was really fun collaborating with Claude. He is very passionate about what he’s doing with his company and what’s happening with different artists on the label. He knows a lot about both harmony and the nuts and bolts of record making. He’s a busy guy but he’s able to make decisions very quickly, in fact it seems like this record came together with very little difficulty and it was a lot of fun to work on with him.”
Why Elevate? “Elevate is a great word in general when it comes to music because it represents what you want music to do for you when you listen to it, to elevate your mood, or to help to transcend into a happier more peaceful or maybe more engaged state of mind.”
Elevate features some of the most notable players in the genre today including guitar players Erick Walls and Mark Lettieri, bass player Cornelius Mims, drummer Gary Novak, alto sax player Randal Clark, and many others. In addition to collaborating and writing with SRG/ILS CEO Claude Villani, Jeff also covered a classic R&B song by D’Angelo called “Spanish Joint” and recorded a new composition by Brian McKnight called “I Love My Life With You” which Brian also sings.
“At Claude’s suggestion I also recut the song “Shadows” which was originally recorded in the early 80’s for my Wizard Island album. Another song that is special “Glacier”, was written for another project, but I liked it so much that I decided to save it for my own album.”
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