About the Event

Celebrate the winter solstice with music ranging from sublimely beautiful to playful and creative arrangements of holiday classics. This band seamlessly travels through Latin jazz rhythms to blues, swing, and R&B and then back again, bringing joy and light to the season. 

Beth Lederman is a keyboardist and bandleader who has developed an eclectic and sophisticated sound based in melody and infused with joy and passion. A Phoenix native, Lederman is one of the Valley’s most in-demand players. She has recordings under both her own name and with her Brazilian jazz group Novo Mundo. Beth fuses her love of Latin and Brazilian music with her classical roots to bring fresh arrangements with solid grooves to both traditional and new music. Her groups have been featured at festivals and concerts throughout the Southwest, including Desert Botanical Garden, Ravenscroft, Tempe Center for the Arts, The Nash, and ASU Kerr, just to name a few. 

One of the smoothest singers you may ever hear, Steven Powell never fails to move audiences with his heartfelt vocals. He is famous for singing the National Anthem around the country, but his talents for improvisation and bringing standards and R&B classics to life are his true passion, and he always delivers his songs with integrity. 

Juli Woods is a vocalist and sax player from Chicago who is strongly rooted in the soulful sounds of jazz and blues. It’s easy to see why she is featured in so many groups in Chicago, as well as traveling around the world playing music and singing. She has recorded five albums under her own name. 

Rounding out the group are the amazing Allen Ames on violin, guitar, and violira (a six-string, five octave instrument spanning the ranges of the violin, viola, and cello); the impressive Felix Sainz on bass and vocals; and Valley favorite Todd Chuba on drums. 

Thank you to our Jazz Series Sponsor