Saturday, October 28, 8 p.m.
The Redstone Room, 129 Main Street, Davenport IA
Appearing as the headliner in the River Music Experience's and Great Sounds Promotions' annual Smooth Jazz Fall Festival, chart-topping saxophonist Darius will share his talents that are comparable to those of the all-time greats, with JazzReview.com calling him “right up there with the Najees, the Gerald Albrights, and the Art Porters – he's that good.”
A New Jersey native who grew up in Tampa, Florida, Darius received his first saxophone at age 10, and a year later was touring with the youth-based Sonny LaRosa & America's Youngest Jazz Band, a tenure that culminated in a performance at Switzerland's Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland. At 17, Darius independently released his first album Cruisin', and four years later, Higher Octave Music ignited his career with the release of Night on the Town, which peaked at number-18 on Billboard's Contemporary Jazz chart and led to the sax player being named Smooth Jazz News' Debut Artist of the Year.
As he's dovetailed his acclaimed smooth-jazz stylings with music genres ranging from jazz to R&B to hip-hop, Darius has shared stages with the likes of Prince, Jamie Foxx, Mary J. Blige, David Foster, Carlos Santana, George Benson, and Babyface. All five of the solo albums he's released post-Night of the Town have landed in the top 10 of Billboard's U.S. charts, with 2008's Goin' All Out earning the artist his first number-one single on the Contemporary Jazz Chart. And Darius' most recent album, this past May's Breakin' Thru, not only topped the Billboard charts, but inspired SmoothJazzNetwork.com to call him “undoubtedly one of the most dynamic musicians to enter the Contemporary Jazz scene … making innovative music that crosses over all music boundries and creating a very distinctive, fresh sound and approach that is uniquely his own.”
Tickets to Darius' October 28 concert are $39-44 for general admission and $47-52 for VIP seating, and more information and reservations are available by calling (563)326-1333 or visiting RiverMusicExperience.org.
