Beyond Jazz: Part 1 - PAD Showcase SESSION

Welcome to Week Three (3) of the PAD Showcase SESSIONS! These sessions draw from the rich roots of Jazz and celebrate its evolution.

Jazz emerged in the early 20th century from the vibrant city of New Orleans, where cultures from across the world converged. Blending African rhythms, spirituals, blues, and ragtime, jazz created something entirely new—a music that gave voice to life’s joys, struggles, and everything in between. What set jazz apart from the start was improvisation—the ability for musicians to reinvent melodies in real time, making each performance unique.

—Drew Tucker

Meet the host: Drew Tucker

Photo courtesy of the artist

Drew Tucker is a Vibraphonist, studio musician, clinician, and Director of the Jazz Road program at South Arts. He's recorded and performed with renowned artists such as Shaun Martin, Norah Jones, Victor Wooten, Cory Wong, and Diana Krall, as well as classical and contemporary giants worldwide. Drew has contributed to the growth and development of numerous youths nationally, and has composed, arranged, and taught for competitive academic and professional groups, including Bands Of America and Drum Corps International World Championships finalists. He is a cultural ambassador for the U.S. State Department, tours with regional hip hop and jazz artists, and leads several of his own musical projects.

Read about the artists below.

Meet the Artists

Jussi Reijonen

Photo credit: Juan Carlos Villarroel

Jussi Reijonen brings together an all-star 9-piece ensemble of musicians from Finland, Jordan/Iraq, Palestine, Turkey, Japan and the United States whose credits include performances/recordings with Herbie Hancock, Roy Haynes, Simon Shaheen, Danilo Pérez, Terence Blanchard, Snarky Puppy and Yo-Yo Ma, composer, guitarist and oud player Jussi Reijonen’s long-awaited new album Three Seconds | Kolme Toista [Challenge Records International, 2022] draws from the deep pool of influences and experiences of a childhood spent in the Middle East and East Africa as well as 13 years in the United States as an adult.

Magos Herrera

Photo credit: Shervin Lainez

Born in Mexico City and currently based out of New York City, Magos Herrera is a dazzling jazz singer-songwriter, producer, and educator declared as "One of the greatest contemporary interpreters of song” by The Latin Jazz Network. With a sultry voice and an unparalleled presence in the contemporary Latin American jazz scene, she is best known for her eloquent vocal improvisation and her singular bold style, which embraces elements of contemporary jazz with Ibero-American melodies and rhythms in a style that elegantly blends and surpasses language boundaries.

Janinah Burnett

Photo credit: John Keon

World-renowned soprano Janinah Burnett, lovingly named “La Janinah” by adoring Italian fans, is a singing phenomenon and one of the most accomplished and versatile singers of her generation. Sought after for her shimmering and refined vocal quality, as well as her versatility, Janinah is one of the few singers to perform roles on both Broadway and the Metropolitan Opera stage while maintaining an international performance presence.

Catharsis

Photo credit: Amanda Gentile

Led by Ryan Keberle, Jazz Times’ 2020 Trombonist of the Year, Catharsis has been hailed by the Los Angeles Times for its “potent blend of cinematic sweep and lush, ear-grabbing melodies.” The highly acclaimed group brings together elements of chamber music, South American folk and indie rock within a traditional jazz framework, resulting in a sound that has thrilled audiences across the globe for close to a decade.

Catharsis has toured internationally for years, engaging audiences at the Toronto, Ottawa, Rochester and Bergamo International Jazz Festivals, and at premier jazz clubs including Pizza Express (London), Le Duc des Lombards (Paris), Stadtgarten (Cologne), Jazz Standard and Jazz at Lincoln Center (New York) and Blue Whale (Los Angeles). The band was also featured in NPR’s prestigious Tiny Desk Concert series and on the French TV channel Mezzo.

Dave Meder

Photo credit: Adrien H Tillmann

Pianist, composer, and educator Dave Meder is a leading artist of his generation, recognized in the Thelonious Monk Jazz Piano Competition, American Pianists Awards, and Chamber Music America. His adventurous style blends post-bop, gospel, and contemporary classical influences, earning acclaim from All About Jazz and All Music Guide. His albums, including Passage, Unamuno Songs and Stories, and New American Hymnal, explore themes of philosophy, politics, and American culture. A Yamaha Artist and professor at the University of North Texas, Meder has performed and taught worldwide, including at Jazz at Lincoln Center, The Kennedy Center, and as a Fulbright Scholar in Egypt.

Todd Marcus

Photo courtesy of the artist

Bass clarinetist and composer Todd Marcus is one of the few jazz artists to focus primarily on the instrument, carving out a unique voice in modern jazz with his hard-swinging, lyrical style. A DownBeat Rising Star since 2013, The New York Times calls him “probably the most inventive bass clarinetist working in straight-ahead jazz today.” Leading ensembles from trios to a nine-piece orchestra, Marcus balances performance with activism in his Baltimore community.

Marcus’ performances include national and international touring. He was a featured artist in 2023 at the International Clarinet Association Summit, 2017 Jazz Tales Festival in Egypt, 2015 Cairo Jazz Festival in Egypt, and in 2005 at the 1st World Bass Clarinet Convention in Rotterdam, Holland.