Monnette Sudler in Middletown This Thursday

photo by Kristine DiGrigoli

Pianist, composer, educator, and author Noah Baerman hosts the Jazz Up Close series at the Russell Library in Middletown approximately four times a year.  This Thursday (June 16) as part of the "Spanning Generations Up Close", Noah and bassist Henry Lugo will perform with guest artist guitarist  Monnette Sudler, the Philadelphia, PA native and still a resident.

Here's how the pianist described his guest in his promotional material. "Forty years after recording "Time for a Change", her debut as a bandleader for SteepleChase Records, Monnette Sudler is still a potent force in music. Adept at straight-ahead jazz, avant-garde music and R&B, she has collaborated with a comparably diverse cast of musicians, including Grover Washington, Jr., Hugh Masekela, Sam Rivers, 'Philly” Joe Jones, Kenny Barron, Khan Jamal, Cedar Walton, Shirley Scott, Byard Lancaster, Steve Turre, Sunny Murray, and rapper Erik Honesty (Ms. Sudler’s son). Her current projects include Sisters in Poetry (in collaboration with poet Trapeta B. Mason), the Ladies Night Out quartet, and the Monnette Sudler World Music Ensemble featuring Liberian vocalist Fatu Gayflor, as well as serving as the organizer of the annual Philadelphia Guitar Summit. Ms. Sudler is a graduate of Temple University and is active as an educator, having recently authored the instructional book "Motif Mojo Jazz Guitar."

Ms. Sudler has issued six CDs since her debut, the latest being 2012's collaboration with Ladies Night Out titled "First Born."  The album is a delightful blend of vocals and instrumentals, with a clean sound  all around and several gospel-flavored tracks.  

If you are a regular attendee of these concerts, you know that the artists take time to answer questions from the audience.  It's .amazing what one can learn and how the artists give a glimpse into the creative process.

The concert begins at 7 p.m. and takes place in the Hubbard Room.  As always at the Library, the show is free and open to the public. For more information, go to resonantmotion.org/jazz-up-close/. 

To learn more about the guitarist, go to www.monnettesudlermusic.com. 

Here's a view of the guitarist at play from 2010: