MORGANTOWN — The Canady Chamber Series’ penultimate concert is set for 7:30 p.m. Jan. 17 at the WVU Creative Arts Center (CAC) and Jamie Whoolery feels lucky to have snagged Jazzmeia Horn for the performance.
“We’re really fortunate to get her now,” said CAC’s director of production and facilities. “She’s really blowing up. It may not be long until she’s not an artist we could get.”
Horn’s debut album “A Social Call” was nominated for Best Jazz Vocal Album at the 2018 Grammy Awards.
The Dallas native has also won two prestigious jazz honors — the Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocal Competition and Thelonious Monk Institute International Jazz Competition.
And she’s getting ready to release a second record this year.
“Somehow she manages to sound new and also very familiar,” Whoolery said. “She’s a young artist doing her own thing and doing very well for herself in a very short period of time.”
That’s part of what organizers look for when selecting musicians to be a part of the chamber series — not just established acts, such as famed bluegrass band Russell Moore and IIIrd Tyme Out, who played earlier this year, but those who like Horn who “might be the next big thing.”
In addition to Horn and Moore’s group, this year’s lineup opened with the Pacifica Quartet and will close with the JACK Quartet on March 31.
“We have four performances by four very different artists,” Whoolery said.
But, he added, they all have one thing in common.
“The Canady Chamber Music Series brings musicians to the stage who communicate fluently with other musicians on stage. That’s where we started the [selection] process.”
And that’s important not just for the general public who’s in the audience watching, but also the students. In addition to performing, artists must agree to participate in a masterclass.
“We’re expecting [Horn] will work with a few of the jazz combos,” Whoolery said. “And there will be a Q&A so students can ask her questions. What it was like to get her first paid gig, what was it like getting a manager. Those are the kinds of things I think they’ll ask, but we’ll see what they come up with.”
As for what Horn will perform next week during her 90-minute concert (sans intermission), Whoolery doesn’t know, but ventures to guess songs from “A Social Call” and a few standards sprinkled in.
“We’ll all get to discover that together.”
- Jazzmeia Horn will perform at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 17 at the Lyell B. Clay Concert Theatre at the WVU Creative Arts Center, as part of the Canady Chamber Series. Doors open at 7 p.m. Tickets cost $20 for adults, $10 for WVU students and seniors, and $5 for children. Tickets are available at ticketmaster.com and at the CAC box office.
