Spotlight Thursday: Duo Session with Lori Mechem, Roger Spencer and Bruce & Sandra Dudley
Married duo meets married duo! Join Spotlight Thursday: Duo Session with Lori Mechem and Roger Spencer with Bruce and Sandra Dudley at the Nashville Jazz Workshop in the Jazz Cave on Thursday, August 3, 2023. This intimate performance will be hosted by NJW co-founder Lori Mechem and feature Roger Spencer and Bruce and Sandra Dudley. The concert begins at 7:30pm CDT (Doors at 7:00pm).
LIVE PERFORMANCE TICKETS ($35) – NEW add a charcuterie box on eventbrite with your ticket, more details here.
SANDRA DUDLEY: Sandra has been critically acclaimed both as a solo performer and as the featured vocalist in major big bands, including the Nelson Riddle Orchestra, the Tennessee Jazz Orchestra, and the Jazz Orchestra of the Delta. She has also performed with such jazz greats as Fred Hersch, Barney Kessel, Bobby Millitello. Sandra has also been the featured singer with both the Nashville and Memphis symphonies, and is a member of the vocal performance group, 3rd Coast Vocals.
Sandra holds a B.M. from State University of New York and a Master of Music from Eastman School of Music in Vocal Performance. Sandra’s first solo CD “Close To You”, was released in 2003 on Bella Records. Her latest CD project, “All of My Life,” is a duo with Lori Mechem featuring the songs of Marilyn and Alan Bergman. A skilled educator, Sandra is on the faculty at Belmont University and also teaches advanced vocal styles and techniques at the Nashville Jazz Workshop. For more information about Sandra, visit her website, sandradudley.com.
BRUCE DUDLEY: Bruce Dudley is one of the city’s most elegant and accomplished pianists and educators. He studied at the New England Conservatory of Music, Manhattan School of Music, and Eastman School of Music. He received a doctorate in Jazz Studies from the University of Colorado, and is on the faculty of Belmont University, MTSU, and the Nashville Jazz Workshop. An outstanding composer and arranger, his 1998 CD Semblance was nominated for Best Jazz Album of the Year in Nashville Music Awards.
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.”
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.