On Saturday, February 15th, the Aquarium will present a festival featuring four Long Beach-based jazz and blues bands in its state-of-the-art Honda Pacific Visions Theater. The acts will include Al Williams Jazz Society featuring Barbara Morrison, Bernie Pearl featuring Sonny Green and THEE Blues Man, Alvin Hayes Jr., New Blues Revolution, and Emcee Big Llou Johnson. Tickets include Aquarium admission, and the Aquarium will be open until 8:00 p.m. This performance will take place in the Aquarium’s new 300-seat Honda Pacific Visions Theater, which features state-of-the-art audio, visual, and multi-sensory technology and a 133-foot long and 32-foot high screen with a floor projection disk.
Long Beach Blues Society, managed by Bill Grisolia, celebrates the city’s world-renowned contributions to music and preserves and promotes all styles of blues music with education programs for schoolchildren, veterans, and seniors. The organization is a co-producer of the New Blues Festival held at Shoreline Aquatic Park.
Al Williams Jazz Society feat. Barbara Morrison
Led by drummer Al Williams, The Al Williams Jazz Society is a sextet playing a diverse mix of genres, including bebop, fusion, Latin, funk, jazz, and blues. The group performs at Spaghettini’s in Seal Beach and TheLighthouse in Hermosa Beach. Williams produced the first annual LongBeach Jazz Festival and owned local jazz clubs in the 1970s and 80s, including The Jazz Safari and Birdland West.
Barbara Morrison is a jazz and blues singer who has been performing, touring, and recording albums since the 1970s. She has performed with the Count Basie Orchestra and Doc Severinsen’s Big Band and appeared at the Montreux Jazz Festival, Carnegie Hall, and the Sydney OperaHouse. She is the founder of the Barbara Morrison Performing Arts Center and the California Jazz & Blues Museum in Los Angeles.
Emcee Big Llou Johnson
Big Llou Johnson is a blues, choral, pop, R&B, and gospel vocalist known as the voice of B.B. King’s Bluesville on Sirius XM radio. He has recorded numerous TV and radio commercials and has performed across the U.S.and in Europe. As an emcee he has hosted The Blues Music Awards inMemphis, The Legendary Rhythm & Blues Cruise and many festivals.
Bernie Pearl feat. Sonny Green and THEE Blues Man
Bernie Pearl is a blues guitarist who performs throughout SouthernCalifornia and beyond with the Bernie Pearl Blues Band, which has backed B.B. King, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Willie Dixon, and Big Joe Turner.He is also a founder of the Long Beach Blues Festival, president of BigTime Blues Productions, and teaches blues history and blues guitar at California State University, Long Beach.
Alvin Hayes Jr.
Alvin Hayes Jr. is a jazz musician from Long Beach. Primarily a saxophonist, Hayes’ first instrument was the violin, followed by drums, classical saxophone and flute, and other woodwinds. He studied with organist Johnny “Hammond” Smith, Buddy Collette, and studio musician Bill Green. His latest album is called The L.B.C.
New Blues Revolution
Members of New Blues Revolution include guitarist and composerChapman Cooper, drummer Fred Beato, and singer, songwriter, and pianist Bill Grisolia, also a founder of the Long Beach Blues Society. The group has played festivals and clubs across the United States and opened for bands including Los Lobos, Leon Russell, and Macy Gray.
Tickets include all-day Aquarium admission, and the Aquarium will be open from 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
This performance will take place in the Aquarium’s new Honda Pacific Visions Theater, which features state-of-the-art audio, visual, and multi-sensory technology and a 133-foot long and 32-foot high screen with a floor projection disk.
WHEN: Saturday, February 15, 2020, from 7:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.
WHERE: Honda Pacific Visions Theater, Aquarium of the Pacific, 100 Aquarium Way, Long Beach, CA 90802
COST: $48 center section; $40 side sections (open seating within sections). Price includes Aquarium admission. Tickets go on sale January 24, 2020
INFO: (562) 590-3100 or visit aquariumofpacific.org/events
SPONSORS: Dr. Allen and Charlotte Ginsburg, Dennis Poulsen, and Dr. Jerry and Margaret Schubel
EVENT PAGE: http://www.aquariumofpacific.org/events/info/african_american_festival/