Event Pictures
Venue Pictures
Season of Rock
@ The Pearl
Jazz Christmas Concert Feat. Elio Villafranca Quartet
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Jazz at Lincoln Center Shanghai
4/F, 139 Nanjing Dong Lu,
near Jiangxi Zhong Lu
Huangpu District
南京东路139号4楼,
近江西中路
This one’s for jazz lovers looking to end the year on a high note. Lincoln Center Shanghai is bringing in Grammy-nominated pianist Elio Villafranca and his all-star quartet for a holiday run filled with Cuban rhythm, Afro-Caribbean grooves, and big New York-level energy. With powerhouse vocalist Brianna Thomas and a world-class rhythm section, it’s shaping up to be one of the standout jazz shows of the festive season.
Actual program subject to the performance.
Elio Villafranca is a Cuban jazz pianist and composer from Pinar del Río. A graduate of the Instituto Superior de Arte in Havana, he contributed to Chembo Corniel’s album Things I Wanted to Do, which earned a Grammy nomination for Best Latin Jazz Album in 2010. His own album Cinque received a Grammy nomination in 2020. He is the inaugural recipient of Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Millennium Swing Award and teaches jazz ensemble at Manhattan School of Music, Temple University, and The Juilliard School. His honors include the 2017 Sunshine Award, the 2018 Jazz Critics Poll “Rising Star – Keyboard,” the 2019 “Rising Star – Piano,” and the 2021 Guggenheim Fellowship in Music Composition.
Born in Peoria, Illinois, Brianna Thomas grew up in a deeply musical environment shaped by her father, singer and percussionist Charlie Thomas. She made her debut at age six performing “What a Wonderful World” with him. By age eight, she had swept regional talent competitions, and soon began performing at banquets, formal events, and local radio stations. Her talent was recognized early by renowned jazz educator Mary Jo Papich, eventually leading Brianna on a European tour with the Peoria Jazz All-Stars.
Brianna’s singing reflects a strong command of classic jazz stylings. Influences include Sarah Vaughan’s emotional depth, Ella Fitzgerald’s technical ease, the warmth of Nancy Wilson, and the expressive breadth reminiscent of Dianne Reeves. Her distinctive, soulful tone carries both intimacy and conviction, captivating audiences wherever she performs.
Edward Perez is a composer, arranger, and bassist born in Queens, New York. His works have been performed by the Silkroad Ensemble, Yo-Yo Ma, Alan Gilbert, Cristina Pato, Ignacio Berroa, Jorge Pardo, and Kenan Adnawi. His music has been featured at major venues including the Kennedy Center, David Geffen Hall at Lincoln Center, the Chicago Symphony Center, Teatro Nacional de Lima, and Boston Symphony Hall.
Originally a jazz bassist, Perez later immersed himself in Peruvian, Colombian, Brazilian, and wider South American musical traditions. He spent two years in Lima performing with leading Afro-Peruvian musicians such as Eva Ayllón, Juan Medrano Cotito, Oscar Avilés, and Julio Algendones. Returning to the U.S., he built his career in New York, performing with major jazz figures including Lee Konitz, Greg Osby, Seamus Blake, Lionel Loueke, Kenny Werner, and Jason Palmer, as well as Latin jazz icons Paquito D’Rivera, Ignacio Berroa, and Arturo O’Farrill. His recordings include Hector Martignon’s Grammy-nominated Second Chance.
Born in St. Thomas, Dion Parson began studying trombone before switching to drums at age 15. He trained at Interlochen and later at Rutgers University under drummer Keith Copeland, graduating with a Bachelor of Music Education in 1990. During the 1990s he was active in New York City, performing with artists such as Monty Alexander, Ray Anderson, Dwayne Burno, Don Byron, Marc Cary, Laurent de Wilde, Donald Harrison, Ernest Ranglin, Justin Robinson, and David Sánchez. He has collaborated extensively with Ron Blake and fellow Virgin Islander Reuben Rogers.
Parson joined the Broadway production The Color Purple in 2006 and co-founded the United Jazz Foundation in 2007 with Steve Coleman and Branford Marsalis. He has taught at Rutgers University, Cheyney University, the University of North Carolina, and the Harlem School of the Arts.
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