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Regina Carter with Carla Cook at the Orange County Performing Arts 1/12-13 |
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Written by Ronaldo Oregano
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Thursday, 04 January 2007 |
 Regina Carter © Howard A. Gitelson
On January 12th and 13th, the Orange County Performing Arts Center's
Samueli Theater will present violinist Regina Carter in four shows with
vocalist Carla Cook. Carter is acknowledged as America's leading
jazz violinist. Last year, Carter was named a 2006 MacArthur Fellow,
the $500,000 award that has been dubbed a "genius grant", continuing
what has been a veritable crescendo of success that shows no sign of
letting up. Ms. Carter is on a mission: to make a meaningful musical
contribution and do it on her own terms. Indeed, she tours with
relentless purpose and a seemingly endless supply of energy. Over the
past four years, Ms. Carter and her quintet have brought audiences to
their feet with exhilarating performances worldwide.
In addition to her ongoing concert touring, Ms. Carter performs a
program of music for jazz quintet and orchestra. In this capacity she
has appeared with the Minnesota Orchestra, Atlanta Symphony, and the
Milwaukee Symphony, among others. In December 2001, Ms. Carter became
the first jazz artist and the first African-American to be chosen to
play Paganini’s famed Guarneri “Cannon” violin, in the city of Genoa,
Italy, where it resides under lock and key. She subsequently went back
to Genoa to employ the use of the Paganini violin for her latest
recording, “Paganini: After a Dream.” In November 2003, the coveted
violin was flown to New York City, where Ms. Carter performed on the
instrument one more time at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall to a
sold-out crowd. In May 2002, she appeared in a special Boston Pops
program, which featured her quintet as well as the world premiere
performance of Chris Brubeck's "Interplay" for three violinists. She
played this piece with two other world-renowned violinists: Nadja
Salerno-Sonenberg and Eileen Ivers. This performance was taped for
public television and was aired nationally.
Regina Carter's recent triumph by no means came without paying her dues
as a side person and a student. She has won acclaim for her solos on
Wynton Marsalis' Blood On The Fields tour in 1997 and Cassandra
Wilson's Travelin' Miles concert, at New York's Lincoln Center in 1998.
Just as prolific as her accomplishments on stage are Carter's
performances on record. Included in her discography along with
recordings with Patti Labelle and Aretha Franklin are recordings with
vocalist Cassandra Wilson, trombonist Steve Turre, pianists Kenny
Barron and Danilo Perez, and guitarist Rodney Jones. Regina has six
discs under her own name. Freefall,
a collaboration with pianist Kenny Barron was released in spring 2001
and was nominated for a Grammy. Regina Carter continues to reveal a
distinctly diverse musical personality. She's become one of the most
popular young violinists in modern music today.
On January 12th and 13th, the Orange County Performing Arts Center's
Samueli Theater will present violinist Regina Carter in four shows with
vocalist Carla Cook. There are two shows each night with show
times are 7:30 p.m. and 9:30
p.m. Tickets are $56 for the 7:30 shows, and $52 for the 9:30 shows.
Tickets are available at The Center Box Office, by calling (714)
556-2787, or online at www.ocpac.org.
The Orange County Performing Arts Center's Samueli Theater is located
at 615 Town Center Drive, in Costa Mesa. |