Saturday, August 10, 2013

Marcus Johnson, The Hippodrome Start Off Richmond Jazz Fest Weekend

You could not have asked for a better summer evening to kick off Richmond's Jazz weekend celebration; and what better indoor venue to do so than the newly renovated Hippodrome Theatre in the city's Jackson Ward area.


Washington, D.C.'s own jazz piano extraordinaire, Marcus Johnson, performed to a sold out and nearly standing-room-only crowd in the theatre's stately Mansion 26 room where he eloquently serenaded (and funk-ti-fied) a deserving crowd of nearly 800 MJ fans.

With his mellow blend of signature jazz staples and funky, upbeat contemporary songs Johnson remains a crowd pleaser.

With 17 albums (and a line of bottled wines) to his credit, one can see why this man is one of the hardest working jazz artists in the country.

The talented band of seven performed a jazzy combination of Beyoncé's 'Me Myself and I' along with Parliament Funkadelic's 'Make My Funk the P Funk' (in this case the 'J' funk), and a rendition of Floetry's 'Say Yes'.

Can you say standing ovation?

Add in an amazing band to boot, complete with saxophone great Brian LeNair who left the crowd still wondering how he can hold a note for that long (seemingly three minutes), good food, a chic and stylish crowd, and you got a night on the town not soon to be forgotten.

The historic Hippodrome Theatre, home to vaudeville acts of the 1914s era, and acts of the 1940s that showcased the likes of James Brown, Ella Fitzgerald and Ray Charles, is located at 528 N. Second Street.

If you're looking for a good time and great performances, then The Hipp is it.  

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