Christmas is Coming: A Tribute to “A Charlie Brown Christmas”
The Jazz Cave is the place to be this holiday season! Join the Lori Mechem Quartet at the Nashville Jazz Workshop’s Jazz Cave on Thursday, December 14, 2023 for “Christmas is Coming: A Tribute to “A Charlie Brown Christmas!” The concert begins at 7:30pm CST (Doors at 7:00pm). The Lori Mechem Quartet will feature Lori Mechem on piano, Roger Spencer on bass, Andy Reiss on guitar and Chris Brown on drums.
LIVE PERFORMANCE TICKETS ($35) – NEW add a charcuterie box on Eventbrite with your ticket, more details here.
About Lori Mechem: A respected jazz pianist, composer and educator, Lori, along with her husband Roger Spencer, has lived in the Nashville area since 1988. In addition to directing production shows and conducting musical theatre, she has performed with artists such as Dizzy Gillespie, Red Holloway, Jimmy Smith, Cal Collins, Roy McCurdy, Terry Gibbs, Pete Christlieb, Edie Gorme, Bobby Militello, Kirk Whalum and Donna McElroy. A native of Anderson Indiana, Lori received a Bachelor of Music in Jazz Studies from Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana.
Lori’s first CD, “Welcome to Brazil” was nominated for “Best Jazz Album of the Year” by the Nashville Music Awards in 1997. In 2003, Lori’s second CD, “Shiny Stockings, rose to #26 on the jazz charts. In 2005 she released a Brazilian Christmas album on Village Square Music. Since then she has released three more CD’s: “April in Paris” (a second Count Basie album), “The Dream of Life” (original meditation music), and “Return to Ipanema.”
About Roger Spencer: Originally from Terre Haute, Indiana, Roger has had an extensive musical career. He has performed, traveled and recorded with such artists as Les Brown and His Band of Renown, Harry James, Rosemary Clooney, Sam Butera, Tony Bennett, Ray Conniff, Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis, Terry Gibbs, Buddy DeFranco and Carl Fontana. He and his wife Lori Mechem moved to Nashville in 1988 where he records, performs, and teaches. Roger attended Indiana University, studying under David Baker in Jazz Studies, and graduated from Indiana State with a Bachelor of Music Education degree. Besides performing and recording with Lori, Roger is a longtime member of the Beegie Adair Trio, and is also on the faculty at Vanderbilt’s Blair School of Music. Roger and Lori founded and direct the Nashville Jazz Workshop, where Roger is Artistic Director.
About Andy Reiss: Andy Reiss grew up in San Francisco, Calif., playing in a wide variety of bands all through high school. Finding himself in a starving rock and roll band after high school, when given the opportunity of joining a showband and going on the road, he jumped on it. It was the beginning of a dozen years of playing in a wide variety of bands, ranging from honky tonk bands in bars and casinos to playing show tunes in theaters. He moved to Nashville in 1981, where Andy’s career took on several new dimensions.
One of Andy’s first contacts was the legendary producer/steel guitarist Pete Drake, who helped Andy understand the inner workings of the Nashville studio scene. His first Nashville session was an album for Slim Pickens, an album that had such Nashville greats as Drake, Charlie McCoy, Bob Moore, Pete Wade, Pig Robbins, the Jordanaires…talk about an education!! This led to spending the next 20 years in the Nashville studios, playing on hundreds of records including two that won Grammy awards: BJ Thomas’ “Amazing Grace”, and the Reba McEntire/Linda Davis number one hit “Does He Love You”. Andy plays with the renowned western swing band “The Time Jumpers” as well as with the Lori Mechem Quartet.
About Chris Brown: After arriving from New York in 1992, Chris has been one of the most sought-after jazz drummers in the South. He has recorded and played with many great musicians while in Nashville. Chris’s first professional big band gig was with the Maynard Ferguson Band, and he has also played with Don Grolnick. A native of Albuquerque, New Mexico, Chris graduated from North Texas State with a Bachelors of Music degree in Jazz Studies. Besides being one of Nashville’s top session drummers, Chris tours with Sam Bush and performs regularly with the Beegie Adair Trio.