Celebrated Vocalist and Renowned Jazz Innovator Take the Kiggins Stage

Celebrated jazz and blues vocalist Shelly Rudolph takes the Kiggins Theatre stage May 17th at 6pm for “Soul!” - a special concert to benefit the SWWA Center for the Arts’ “Uplift!” children’s project. Shelly will be joined by renowned jazz innovator, pianist Tom Grant, along with guitarist Dan Gildea, saxophonist Renato Caranto (of the Mel Brown Septet), bassist Bill Athens, drummer Edwin Coleman III, and Paul Mazzio on trumpet. National Cirque Champion Aerialist Rebecca Palmer with Aerial Muse Collective will accompany Ms. Rudolph with a special choreographed performance.

“Soul!” is one of several musical events created as part of the SWWA Center for the Arts’ “Arts for a Cause” initiative. Proceeds from this concert fund the “Uplift!” children’s project, a special day of giving, art, and music this summer for approximately 150 children from Boys and Girls Clubs of Southwest Washington and Friends of the Children Vancouver. Local businesses and nonprofits have teamed up for this project, including the Clark County Food Bank, Artstra’s Creative Relief Clark County, Beacock Music, Star Wars Oregon’s Cloud City Garrison, and others.

Shelly Rudolph’s projects have embraced soul, jazz, blues, R&B, reggae, and pop. She has performed all over the world with ensembles that range from intimate duets to jazz orchestras and most everything in between. She has been dubbed a “robust and captivating vocalist” by Jazz Times, and the LA Weekly praised her ability to use her “honey-glazed throat to send chills up and down your spine.”

As a songwriter and vocalist, she has collaborated and recorded with Grammy-winning cellist David Darling, bassist David Piltch (kd lang), Ken Stange (Joe Cocker), David Mathews (Etta James), Tom Lackner (Airto and Flora Purim) smooth jazz pioneer Tom Grant and Pink Martini’s Phil Baker. She is a proud recipient of RACC’s Professional Development Grant. Ms. Rudolph’s recordings have established her as a notable musician among peers and press, and garnered songwriting and recording work nationally and internationally. Shelly has received placement on national and international jazz stations, and has made numerous live performance and interview appearances on KMHD, KBOO and KGW TV.

As one of the Pacific Northwest’s most renowned musical artists, Tom Grant has performed with jazz luminaries like trumpeter Woody Shaw, saxophonists Joe Henderson and Charles Lloyd, and drummer Tony Williams who himself transformed the Miles Davis Band into a worldwide jazz phenomenon. Tom was considered by many to be the father of the Smooth Jazz sound, recording albums on major labels. He has appeared on the Jay Leno show and was featured in many of the national music mags as well as CNN news.