Sweetwater's Annual Jazz Series Returns

Beginning on Feb. 4, will host the first night of its "Sweet Jazz" music series.

The center is kicking off its seventh annual series with a performance by Max Leake, a jazz pianist, who also composes and produces various types of music.

The following week on Feb. 11, Donna Bailey, whose style combines jazz, swing and blues, will perform.

The next performances will take place on Feb. 18 and Feb. 25, and will feature the Olga Watkins Band, followed by the Ortner Roberts Trio.

Sara Welte, artistic director at Sweetwater, is in charge of coordinating the jazz series and likes to keep the performances interesting.

“We try to feature a different style of jazz each week in order to keep the audience engaged,” Welte said. “We like to offer a variety so that there’s something for everyone.”

The Olga Watkins Band fuses jazz, funk, soul, blues and R&B to create a unique sound that attracts a variety of music fans. Olga Watkins, the band’s lead vocalist, along with pianist Mason Embry and bass guitarist, Brian Sanders, will play a two-hour set that will open the audience’s ears to a more modern type of jazz.

The next week, the Ortner-Roberts Duo will recreate the sounds of the Benny Goodman Trio, a popular jazz trio in the 1930s. Drummer Tom Elrick will join Ortner-Roberts on the clarinet and Tom Roberts on the piano in order to bring back the songs from the “King of Swing,” Benny Goodman and his band.

The jazz series offers a variety and a careful selection of performers. In past years of the jazz series, tickets sold out for several of the shows.

“We transform the community room in Sweetwater Center for the Arts into a jazz nightclub setting with tablecloths, candles and great food and wine,” Welte said. “It creates a fun and inexpensive night out.”

The event attracts both and other Pittsburgh residents, but it is easiest for Sewickley residents to attend, as they can walk to the shows, especially if the weather doesn’t cooperate.

“The jazz series is definitely a great event to attend on a freezing Friday in February,” Welte said. “We really get a wide range of people. Some like it so much that they purchase tickets for the whole series in advance in order to save money.”

Each show runs from 7 to 9 p.m.

Tickets for the jazz series performances are still on sale and cost $8 per show for members if purchased in advance and $12 for non-members. If purchased on the day of the performance, tickets are $10 for members and $15 for non-members.

The event is sponsored by Federal Credit Union, Orr's Jewelers, Penguin Bookshop and Preferred Realty.