Don't Miss Saxophonist Grace Kelly in Portsmouth

The Seacoast Jazz Appreciation Project — an initiative of the Seacoast Jazz Society — will present the phenomenal 19-year-old jazz saxophonist/vocalist/composer/lyricist/arranger Grace Kelly at its next session on Sunday, Nov. 27.

Kelly will perform at the Press Room from 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. The session will feature a performance by the young jazz phenomenon and her band and, importantly, an open dialog with the attending audience.

Voted “Best Jazz Act” in Boston four consecutive years in the FNX/Phoenix Best Music Poll, Ms. Kelly also received the ASCAP Foundation’s Young Jazz Composers Award in 2007, 2008, 2010 and 2011. At the Boston Music Awards, in both 2008 and 2010, she was named “Jazz Artist of the Year.” So impressed with Grace’s musicianship was trumpeter Wynton Marsalis, Artistic Director of Jazz at Lincoln Center, that he invited her to join the ensemble at the Kennedy Center’s Eisenhower Theater in Washington, D.C.

Born Grace Chung on May 15, 1992, she became Grace Kelly after her mother divorced and remarried and her stepfather, Bob Kelly, legally adopted Grace and her sister Christina. Grace began piano lessons at age six, and she still does much of her composing at the piano as she sings wordlessly. She is currently a senior at Berklee College of Music in Boston.

Recently, Kelly released her seventh recorded album on her PAZZ label, “Grace,” her first venture into gospel jazz. Earlier she recorded with legendary saxophonist Lee Konitz and also with another sax legend, Phil Woods, with whom she has also toured Europe and continues to tour the U.S. as well as Europe.

The Seacoast Jazz Appreciation Project was launched in 2009 with an objective of enhancing the appreciation of jazz for listeners at all levels of musical sophistication, while de-mystifying the uniquely American musical genre for its newest listeners. It's a chance to "hang" with some outstanding jazz musicians, to hear their music, and about their music, in a casual environment.

Submitted by Terry MacDonald on behalf of the Seacoast Jazz Appreciation Project