The Model

Anita Wardell and Mark McKnight Sligo Jazz Project Lyric FM Double Bill

€15 / The Sligo Jazz Project / Lyric FM Double Bill

Anita Wardell Quintet
Anita Wardell, vocals, John Goldsby, double bass, Paul Clarvis, drums, Frank Griffith, saxophone, Mark McKnight, guitar.

Anita Wardell’s singing is exciting and breathtaking. She is noted for her mesmerizing and captivating vocal improvisations and vocalese lyrics to instrumental solos. Anita is a musician who uses the voice as her instrument, displaying precision and agility, mixed with heartfelt emotion. Kinda Blue , her second and most recent album for Proper Records UK, shows Anita’s versatility and complete command of her instrument. Singer Norma Winstone praised her “unexpected vulnerability, which makes her reading of the ballads both beautiful and touching.” Bebop pioneer, Mark Murphy, proclaimed Anita, “a gift from Australia”, adding “What hits me is how expressive her ballad singing is. Then she has the courage to scat a ballad or two, not unlike a young lady disciple of the Ben Webster school.”

Mark McKnight Quartet
Mark McKnight guitar, Stephen Davis drums, John Goldsby bass and Matthew Halpin saxophone

Rising star guitarist Mark McKnight from Northern Ireland, graduated from Berklee College of Music, Boston, in 2006, receiving awards for outstanding musicianship, since his return he has toured extensively internationally and was named the “Best Young Irish Musician 2009” at the Cork Jazz Festival. Mark has performed and/or recorded with artists such as Jean Toussaint, Terell Stafford and Tim Warfield. Mark’s Guitar Trio was one of twelve emerging jazz ensembles from across Europe to be selected to take part in the 12 Points Festival 2010. He currently leads two groups, the MMcK Guitar Trio and the MMcK Organ Quartet, which bring together some of the UK’s leading young jazz musicians. Mark is currently based in Belfast, N. Ireland whilst completing a PhD in Jazz Performance and has been selected as the UK representative for the European Jazz Orchestra 2010.

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