Polyrhythms Trio + 2 at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of the Quad Cities -- December 17.
Sunday, December 17, 5 p.m.
Unitarian Universalist Congregation of the Quad Cities, 3707 Eastern Avenue, Davenport IA
Boasting musical director Manuel Lopez III on drums, Ronald Wilson on bass, and Corey Kendrick on piano, the Polyrhythms Third Sunday Jazz Series wraps up its 2023 schedule with a December 17 performance at Davenport's Unitarian Universalist Congregation of the Quad Cities, with the Polyrhythms Trio + 2 delivering festive holiday cheer with the three band members playing alongside special guests Manny Lopez and James Culver.
Drummer and vocalist Manuel Lopez III is a gifted “first call” musician who has served as an invaluable musician and consultant for many bands and organizations in the arts, and for the past 10 years has served as the Polyrhythms musical director. Lopez showed interest in the drums at the age of four, played his first gig at five, and over time, came to discover that music would be his love and vocation. He has performed with countless artists in many different genres of music, including talents such as Louis Bellson, Clark Terry, Buddy DeFranco, Willie Pickens, Bill Bell, Steffon Harris, Clay Walker, and Fr. Stan Fortuna CFR. From jazz to country to hip-hop, Lopez has established himself as a sought-after musician for both local and visiting artists.
Bass player Ron Wilson has been a staple of musical knowledge and dependability to many acts and groups for more than 30 years in and around the Quad Cities area. Coming from a musical family and following in the footsteps of his father, the bass has become a very special part of his life, and he relishes every opportunity to swing. Along with a special ear and groove that many have described as "tasty and smooth," Wilson is always one of the first-call musicians for special shows that require and demand professionalism and execution. He has played with many of the legends of the QC area including trumpet master Manny Lopez & His Big Band, the late, great Ellis Kell, and the Josh Duffee Orchestra.
Corey Kendrick is a pianist, composer, recording artist, and educator. Kendrick received his master's in jazz studies from Michigan State University in 2015, and while currently living in Davenport, he serves as Director of Instrumental Music at Black Hawk College in Moline. His debut album Rootless was released in June of 2016, a recording that Jazz Times' Travis Roger, Jr. called “a debut album that stands among the finest albums of the year.” Kendrick was also praised by John Ephland of DownBeat magazine as a “very accomplished, highly gifted jazz pianist” with “a patient, maturing voice.” As a Quad City Arts 2018 visiting artist, Kendrick performed educational outreach concerts for more than 1,500 K-12 students over a five-day guest artist residency, and he has extensive experience teaching private lessons in jazz piano, theory, and improvisation.
Quad Cities native Manny Lopez has been playing trumpet in the area for more than 40 years. His versatility in music styles has allowed him to perform not only with his own bands, but with touring bands and orchestras that have performed in and around the Midwest region. Over the years, Lopez has performed with such notable acts as The Temptations, Ray Charles, The Manhattan Transfer, Johnny Mathis, Bob Hope, Natalie Cole, Mannheim Steamroller, The 5th Dimension, and many others. In 1993, Lopez organized and served as musical director for the orchestra that performed annually at the Louie Bellson Jazz Festival and later the Quad Cities Jazz Festival at Augustana College in Rock Island. With the artist one of the most reliable assurances of quality on the local jazz scene, many feel no one has been more instrumental in keeping jazz alive in the Quad Cities.
Percussionist James Culver, a well-traveled native of Kewanee, has lived and worked in Germany since 2002. He cites travel as an important element in his musical development and has been to Ghana, Senegal, and Cuba to learn about drumming traditions, and credits a great Venezuelan teacher for learning the connection between the African rhythmic pattern and Latin jazz. Culver frequently travels back to the Quad Cities from his home in Offenbach, Germany, with his trips back including an annual visit for the Quad Cities' Bill Bell Jazz & Heritage Festival, where he first brought the Latin-infused "clave" rhythms of his Kuchina Jazz Collective to the 2014 Polyrhythms Jazz & Heritage Festival. Culver has been a mainstay musician and supporter of Polyrhythms ever since.
The Polyrhythms Trio + 2 performs their Third Sunday matinee concert at Davenport's Unitarian Universalist Congregation of the Quad Cities on December 17, admission to the 5 p.m. event is $15 cash at the door, and children K-12 and college students (ID required) will be admitted free. The venue's front doors will open for a social hour at 4 p.m., with doors for the 5 p.m. performance opening at 4:30 p.m., and more information is available by visiting Polyrhythms.org.
